February 15, 200620 yr To think this guy ran out onto the field carrying an Ameriacn flag after Sept. 11. He was THE biggest thing in sports for a while. Funny how things change.
February 16, 200620 yr ESPN is saying he's gone. There was no teary press conference. No wave goodbye. Not even a word or a sighting of the man himself. But barring something shocking, Wednesday marked the final chapter in the historic, controversial, always-riveting career of Sammy Sosa. Sosa didn't formally announce his retirement Wednesday. He merely notified the Washington Nationals that he was respectfully passing on their much-publicized one-year, $500,000, non-guaranteed contract offer. But even Sosa's agent, Adam Katz, didn't attempt to pretend there's some stunning comeback on Sosa's horizon. Not with the Nationals. Not with the Yomiuri Giants. Not even for a few weeks, with that WBC dream team from the Dominican Republic. Nope. This, Katz said, was clearly it. "We're not going to put him on the retirement list," Katz told ESPN.com. "We decided that [not putting him on that list] was the best thing to do. But I can say, with reasonable certainty, that we've seen Sammy in a baseball uniform for the last time." ... "Sammy spent a lot of time ruminating on this," Katz said. "And it basically came down to this: He has such high expectations for himself, and last year was absolute misery for him, the way he under-performed. Sammy just didn't want to put himself through the possibility of going through something like that again. He still thinks he can do it. But there's some doubt there." There also weren't enough dollars there to help him cushion the fall -- if there was going to be a fall. But Katz flatly rejected any suggestion that Sosa walked because the money wasn't worth his while. "This was not a money issue," Katz said. "The Nationals were very respectful throughout this thing. Was the money fabulous? No. Was it part of the decision-making process? Absolutely. But it basically came down to the expectations Sammy sets for himself. "I'm not going to sit here and say money wasn't a consideration in the decision-making process. But by no means was it the only thing involved. In the end, the money was a secondary, maybe even a tertiary, consideration." Once, Sosa owned this sport. Once, he was more popular in the city of Chicago than deep-dish pizza. Once, he seemed to be a symbol of all that was good about baseball. His page in the encyclopedia will show he had more 60-homer seasons (three) than anybody who ever swung a bat. In the eight seasons, from 1996 through 2003, he averaged 51 homers. And nobody else in the sport was within 40 of him in that astonishing slice of baseball time. But it's been one messy tumble down the mountainside over these last three years. Cork exploded out of his bat. Clouds hovered over his accomplishments. He got subpoenaed by Congress, and suddenly forgot how to speak English. The Cubs all but booted him out of town. His final season in Baltimore was a nightmare (.221, 14 HR, 45 RBI and just a .295 slugging percentage). And it wasn't just painful every time he looked at the stat sheet. A nasty foot infection made it difficult for him to walk, let alone pound baseballs onto Eutaw Street. But as he headed over the horizon Wednesday, Katz wasn't thinking much about Sosa's stumble toward the finish line. Katz called him "a humble and decent man" who made massive contributions to his sport. "We don't need to restate those contributions now," Katz said. "They were powerful and prolific. Everyone who is an athlete, their career comes to an end at some point. And regardless of what others may think, I think Sammy has conducted himself with a great deal of dignity."
February 16, 200620 yr Author Sham-Me is full of s*** until the end. If he truly thought that he could still do it and money isn't an issue, why wouldn't he accept the Nationals' offer? Because he truly doesn't think that he can earn a roster spot in Spring Training without the benefit of steroids.
February 16, 200620 yr Sosa may be a decent man ( I don't know him well enough to say he's not ) but nothing in his public persona suggests humility to me. Proud? Yes. Arrogant? Seemed like it to me. Selfish? I'd suggest so. Gone? Looks that way.
February 16, 200620 yr This has to be a record for how fast you can fall from superstar to a joke. The results of the poll on the bottom of the page made me laugh. Only Wyoming and Delaware think he's a hall of famer. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/index
February 16, 200620 yr QUOTE(The Bones @ Feb 16, 2006 -> 03:41 AM) This has to be a record for how fast you can fall from superstar to a joke. The results of the poll on the bottom of the page made me laugh. Only Wyoming and Delaware think he's a hall of famer. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/index Wyoming and Delaware have a total of about 100 votes. It is pretty clear that he took some type of performance enhancer, and last year showed what one year off the juice gives you.
February 16, 200620 yr Sosa sure went down hill quick. It seems when steroids were made illegal in baseball he went became just a ordinary player in a hurry.
February 16, 200620 yr Author Sosa ruined his career — and his legacy Ego, corked bat, congressional shenanigans erased memories of brilliance http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11376697/
February 17, 200620 yr its still a little sad to see a man fall so far down from greatness so quickly.... not saying I'm a Sosa fan but still Idonno I feel a little bad for him and think a little worse of cubs fans.
February 17, 200620 yr I always liked Sammy, but that corked bat incident seemed to be the beginning of the end for him. Hey Hey Hey Good bye!
February 17, 200620 yr I always liked Sammy, but that corked bat incident seemed to be the beginning of the end for him. Hey Hey Hey Good bye! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I think the beginning of the end was that collision he had with Mark Bellhorn in August 2002. Edit: The collision along with the beaning he got in April 2003 are what caused his decline IMO I can't find a photo of that collision Edited February 17, 200620 yr by Cuck the Fubs
February 17, 200620 yr QUOTE(Cuck the Fubs @ Feb 17, 2006 -> 08:31 AM) I think the beginning of the end was that collision he had with Mark Bellhorn in August 2002. Edit: The collision along with the beaning he got in April 2003 are what caused his decline IMO Are you sure that this cute new testing policy didnt' have something to do with it?
February 17, 200620 yr Are you sure that this cute new testing policy didnt' have something to do with it? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm not saying that. I'm saying his decline started when he collided with Bellhorn. No doubt in my mind he was a juicer.
February 17, 200620 yr QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Feb 16, 2006 -> 09:47 PM) Poetic justice indeed. So long, sucka! Is that Steam I hear singing in the background? Good riddance tool...........you wont be missed.
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.