Sammy Sosa
Sammy Sosa | |
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Right fielder | |
Born: San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic | November 12, 1968|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
June 16, 1989, for the Texas Rangers | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 29, 2007, for the Texas Rangers | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .273 |
Hits | 2,408 |
Home runs | 609 |
Runs batted in | 1,667 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Samuel Peralta Sosa (born November 12, 1968) is a
In 1998, Sosa, along with
Sosa is second all-time in home runs among foreign-born MLB players and is one of only three National League players since 1900 to reach 160 RBIs in one season (2001). He is also the only player to have hit 60 or more home runs in a single season three times, which he accomplished in 1998, 1999 and 2001. He did not lead the league in home runs in any of those seasons, although he did lead the league in 2000 with 50 home runs, and in 2002 with 49.
In a 2005
Early life
Sosa was born in the Dominican Republic. Though born in a Batey community in Consuelo,[3] his officially registered birthplace is San Pedro de Macorís, which was "the largest town nearby".[4] Sosa is known to family and friends as "Mikey". His maternal grandmother suggested his birth name of Samuel, and also came up with his nickname: "[She] heard the name on a soap opera she liked and decided from that moment on he would be Mikey."[5]
Professional career
This section of a poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. )Find sources: "Sammy Sosa" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2018) |
Texas Rangers (1989)
Sosa made his major league debut on June 16, 1989, with the Texas Rangers, wearing #17 and leading off as the starting left fielder. He hit his first career home run off Roger Clemens.[6]
Chicago White Sox (1989–1991)
On July 29, 1989, the Rangers traded Sosa with
Chicago Cubs (1992–2004)
The White Sox traded Sosa and
After years as a respected power/speed threat with a rocket arm in right field, he emerged during the 1998 season as one of baseball's greatest. It was in this season that both Sosa and Mark McGwire were involved in the "home run record chase", when both players' prowess for hitting home runs drew national attention as they attempted to pass Roger Maris' single season home run mark of 61 home runs. In the early months of the year, Sosa trailed McGwire significantly, being as many as 16 homers behind at one point in May. But as the chase progressed, Sosa eventually tied McGwire with 46 home runs on August 10. However, McGwire pulled away slightly and reached 62 home runs to break the record first on September 8. Sosa tied McGwire once again at 62 on September 13. Eleven days later, with two games left to play in the season, the two were tied at 66 home runs each. Sosa ended the season with 66, finishing behind McGwire's 70. It was during that season that Cubs announcer Chip Caray nicknamed him "Slammin' Sammy", a nickname that quickly spread. Sammy produced then career-highs in batting average and slugging percentage, at .308 and .647 respectively. Sosa also led the league in RBIs and runs scored.
In 2001, he hit 64 home runs, becoming the first player to hit 60 or more home runs three times. However, he did not lead the league in any of those seasons; in 2001, he finished behind Barry Bonds, who hit 73 homers, breaking the single-season home run record set by McGwire in 1998 (70). In 2001, he also set personal records in runs scored (146), RBI (160), walks (116), on-base percentage (.437), slugging percentage (.737), and batting average (.328).[2] He led the majors in runs and RBI, was second in home runs, second in slugging percentage, first in total bases, third in walks, fourth in on-base percentage, 12th in batting average, and 15th in hits. He also surpassed his 1998 number in total bases, racking up 425. Sosa once again led the league in home runs with 49 in 2002. In recognition of his accomplishments as a hitter, Sosa won the Silver Slugger Award (an award for offensive output, voted on by managers and coaches) in 1995 and in 1998 through 2002.[2]
In 2003, the Cubs won the National League Central Division title. In May, he spent his first period on the
In May 2004, Sosa suffered an odd injury while sitting next to his locker chatting with reporters before a game in San Diego's Petco Park. He sneezed very violently, causing severe back pain. He was diagnosed with back spasms and placed on the disabled list.[16] He finished with 35 homers, far below his numbers of his best years. Despite his declining production and release from the team at the end of the 2004 season, between 1995 and 2004 Sosa clubbed 479 home runs[17] which is the most home runs by a player in history over a 10-year span.[18] He also owns numerous team records for the Cubs and he holds the major-league record for the most home runs hit in a month (20, in June 1998). His tenure came to an end without fanfare, as he did not play in the final game of the regular season (played in Chicago) per his request, with Sosa reportedly leaving Wrigley Field before the game had ended. Sosa had stated he had permission from Baker to not play, while Baker stated that former assistant trainer Sandy Krum (serving as the go-between for the two) told Baker that Sosa had felt a bit injured and wanted out of the final game, but he expected Sosa to be on the bench who weren't in the starting lineup.[19]
Baltimore Orioles (2005)
On January 28, 2005, the Cubs traded Sosa to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for infielder-outfielder Jerry Hairston Jr., infielder Mike Fontenot, and RHP Dave Crouthers. To facilitate the deal, Sosa and his agent agreed to waive the clause that guaranteed his 2006 salary, and the players' union indicated it would not object to that agreement. Under the deal, Sosa earned $17.875 million for the 2005 season, with the Cubs paying $7 million of his salary. By playing for the 2005 Orioles alongside fellow 500-home-run batter Rafael Palmeiro, Sosa and Palmeiro became the first 500 home run club members in history to play together on the same team after reaching the 500 home run plateau.[a] Sosa finished the 2005 season batting .221 with 14 home runs, his worst performance since 1992, and continuing his post-2001 trend of declines in batting average, homers, total bases, and RBI. On December 7, 2005, the Orioles decided not to offer him an arbitration contract, effectively ending his Baltimore Orioles tenure and making him a free agent.
In 2005, The Sporting News published an update of their 1999 book Baseball's 100 Greatest Players. Sosa did not make the original edition, but for the 2005 update, with his career totals considerably higher, he was ranked at Number 95. During a stretch of nine consecutive years, Sosa hit 35 or more home runs and 100+ RBIs, all with the Chicago Cubs.[2]
Year off (2006)
At the end of January 2006, the Washington Nationals offered Sosa two different minor-league offers, both of which he turned down. On February 15, 2006, Sosa's agent Adam Katz stated: "We're not going to put him on the retirement list. 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."[20] During that year, Sosa accompanied President Leonel Fernández of the Dominican Republic on several diplomatic trips including to the United States, Japan, and Taiwan.
Texas Rangers (2007)
The Texas Rangers, Sosa's original team, signed him to a minor league deal worth $500,000 on January 30, 2007. This was the same contract that Sosa turned down the previous year from the Nationals. The contract included an invitation to spring training, where Sosa competed for a spot in the lineup with Nelson Cruz, Jason Botts, and other rookies/prospects.[21] Sosa was successful during spring training and was added to the team's 25-man roster. He started the 2007 season as the Rangers' designated hitter and occasional right fielder. At the same time, the Chicago Cubs awarded Sosa's number 21 to new pitcher Jason Marquis, who coincidentally served up Sosa's 600th career home run. This caused some concern, due to Sosa's accomplishments with the Cubs, including his status as the Cubs' all-time home run leader.[22]
On April 26, 2007, Sosa made history by hitting a home run in his 45th major league ballpark. He has also homered in
End of career (2008–2009)
On May 28, 2008, Sosa announced that he instructed his agent not to offer his services to any MLB team for the 2008 season, and planned on filing for retirement, but never did.[24] On December 25, 2008, Sosa announced he intended to unretire and play in the World Baseball Classic and once again test the free agent market in hopes of signing with a Major League ballclub in 2009. Sosa said that he had been keeping in shape at his home, and was hoping that after a strong World Baseball Classic he would prove to major-league teams that he was still capable of playing in MLB. However, he was not selected as part of the Dominican Republic's roster. He remained a free agent and did not actively look for a team.
On June 3, 2009, Sosa announced his intention to retire from baseball. He made the announcement in the Dominican Republic and said that he was calmly looking forward to his induction into the
Drug test controversy
On June 16, 2009,
Previously, Sosa sat alongside Rafael Palmeiro, Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire at a 2005 hearing before Congress. His attorney testified on his behalf,[27] stating, "To be clear, I have never taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs. I have never injected myself or had anyone inject me with anything. I have not broken the laws of the United States or the laws of the Dominican Republic. I have been tested as recently as 2004, and I am clean."[28]
National Baseball Hall of Fame consideration
In an interview with ESPN Deportes, Sosa said he would "calmly wait" for his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, for which he became eligible in 2013. In results announced on January 9, 2013, Sosa was not elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) into baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, receiving 12.5% in his first year on the ballot—the requirement for election is 75%. In the following years, his voting percentage dropped as low as 6.6% in 2015 to a high of 17% in 2021. A candidate remains eligible for inclusion on subsequent ballots as long as he receives a minimum of 5.0% of the vote in a given year, and is removed from consideration by the BBWAA after 10 years of not being elected; thus, Sosa's final appearance was on the 2022 ballot, where he received 18.5% of votes.[29]
Personal life
Sosa is married to Sonia Rodríguez, a former Dominican TV dancer,[30] with whom he has four children. In 2009, Sosa appeared at a music awards show looking much lighter in complexion than he had just months earlier. The buzz around this drastic change prompted him to go on a Spanish-language television station to deny that he was ill, or that he hated being dark-skinned, or that his new skin tone was the result of steroid use. Sosa explained that he uses a bleaching cream before going to bed that softens and lightens his skin.[31]
See also
- 30–30 club
- 50 home run club
- List of Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic
- List of Major League Baseball annual runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders
- List of Major League Baseball home run records
- List of Major League Baseball runs-batted-in champions
- List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders
Notes
- ^ Hank Aaron reached 500 homers shortly after his teammate Eddie Mathews (512 homers) retired.
References
- ^ "Sortable Player Stats". Major League Baseball. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Sammy Sosa career stats. Baseball-Reference.com. Accessed June 5, 2007.
- ^ "ACTA IMPACTA El dirigente de Cleveland trabaja con niños en Ingenio Consuelo".
- ^ Sosa: An Autobiography, Sammy Sosa and Marcos Bretón, Time Warner, 2000, p. 23
- ISBN 978-0446555364.
- ^ "BASEBALL; Sammy Sosa joins the 500 club". Archived from the original on January 24, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019 – via www.MLB.com.
- ^ "BASEBALL; Baines to Rangers For Fletcher". The New York Times. AP. July 30, 1989.
- ^ "Flashback #1: White Sox Trade Sosa To Cubs For Bell (1992)". January 3, 2012.
- ^ Cunniff, Bill (November 26, 1999). "Sosa plays host at party at his island mansion". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 3. Retrieved October 4, 2008.
- ^ MacMullan, Jackie (October 17, 2002). "A bronze homage to Babe". The Boston Globe. p. E3. Archived from the original on July 25, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
By 2001, they were paying their own way to present Sammy Sosa with his Babe Ruth Award.
(subscription required) - ^ Sosa ejected after cork is found in shattered bat. (June 4, 2003) ESPN.com. Accessed June 5, 2007.
- ^ Seventy-six Sosa bats found to be clean. (June 5, 2003). ESPN.com. Accessed June 5, 2007.
- ^ Mead, Doug. "The 25 Most Embarrassing Moments in MLB History". Bleacher Report.
- ^ Sosa banned over bat. (June 6, 2003) BBC Sport. Accessed June 5, 2007.
- ^ Sosa has ban reduced. (June 12, 2003) BBC Sport. Accessed June 5, 2007.
- ^ "Slugger hurt back while sneezing". ESPN.com. May 19, 2004. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
- ^ "Sammy Sosa Stats".
- ^ Sammy Sosa. (n.d.). Major League Baseball. Retrieved June 22, 2021, from https://www.mlb.com/player/sammy-sosa-122544
- ^ "Still taking their cuts". Chicago Tribune. February 25, 2005.
- ^ Jayson Stark (February 16, 2006). Sosa passes on Nats; likely to end career. ESPN.com. Accessed June 5, 2007.
- ^ T. R. Sullivan (January 17, 2007). Sosa, Rangers agree in principle to deal.[permanent dead link] MLB.com. Accessed June 5, 2007.
- ^ DeLuca, Chris (February 22, 2007). "Sosa's 21 a long-distance number". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
- ^ "Sosa becomes fifth player to blast 600 home runs". ESPN. Associated Press. June 20, 2007. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
- ^ "Sosa not pursuing MLB job, says he intends to retire in 2009". ESPN.com. May 28, 2008. Retrieved October 3, 2008.
- ^ Adames, Yoel (June 4, 2009). "Sosa planning to announce formal retirement". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
- ^ Schmidt, Michael S. (June 17, 2009). "Sosa Is Said to Have Tested Positive in 2003". The New York Times. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
- ^ McCann, Michael (June 16, 2009). "Will steroids report lead to perjury investigation of Sammy Sosa?". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
- ^ "Report: Sosa is on '03 MLB positive drug test list". ESPN.com. June 16, 2009.
- ^ "David Ortiz Elected to Hall of Fame by BBWAA". baseballhall.org. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. January 25, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
- ^ Cruz, Héctor J. (June 7, 2010). "Él también es un humano, no lo olviden" (in Spanish). Listín Diario. Note: The vedettes of the TV program "Sábado de Corporán " were known as "corporette". Archived from the original on July 1, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
- ^ Bonesteel, Matt (July 13, 2017). "Sammy Sosa's appearance gets even more peculiar". Retrieved December 28, 2017 – via www.WashingtonPost.com.
Further reading
- Lupica, Mike (1999). Summer of '98: When Homers Flew, Records Fell, and Baseball Reclaimed America. Chicago: Contemporary Books.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- extended biography and photos Latino Sports Legends
- Appearances on C-SPAN
Awards and achievements | ||
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Preceded by | National League Player of the Month July 1996 June 1998 May 1999 July 2000 August 2001 |
Succeeded by |