CHICAGO — Sammy Sosa and the Chicago Cubs made up Thursday afternoon, ending their 17-year estrangement after the previous slugger apologized for making “errors” throughout his taking part in profession.
Sosa, who has been linked to performance-enhancing medicine for many years, stopped wanting straight admitting to PED use in an announcement launched Thursday.
However the former Nationwide League MVP stated that at instances all through his taking part in profession he “did no matter I may to get better from accidents in an effort to maintain my power as much as carry out over 162 video games” and added: “I by no means broke any legal guidelines however in hindsight, I made errors, and I apologize.”
Sosa, 56, hit 609 residence runs — the ninth-most in Main League Baseball historical past — throughout an 18-year profession highlighted by his 13-year stint with the Cubs. He hit at the least 60 homers in three seasons over a four-year stretch from 1998 to 2001, all of which got here within the coronary heart of baseball’s steroid period.
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Minutes after the apology was launched, the Cubs invited Sosa to their winter fan conference for the primary time since he retired in 2007.
Sosa considered one of a bunch of gamers, together with Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire, who have not made the Corridor of Fame partially as a result of their ties to the steroid period, which ran from about 1994 to 2004, when extra stringent testing started. Sosa testified in entrance of Congress in 2005 and denied utilizing PEDS, though a New York Occasions report later claimed he had examined optimistic in 2003.
Sosa, Bonds and McGwire all fell nicely wanting Corridor of Fame election in 2022 on their tenth and closing look on the Baseball Writers’ Affiliation of America poll.
Sosa obtained a excessive of 18.5% assist in his closing look, lower than 1 / 4 of the 75% wanted. His subsequent probability for consideration could be if he’s positioned on the poll for the modern participant committee, which meets subsequent December.
Cubs possession hinted at needing an apology from Sosa earlier than welcoming him again to the group and even inviting him to an offseason group perform.
“We respect Sammy releasing his assertion and for reaching out,” Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts stated in an announcement Thursday. “Nobody performed more durable or wished to win extra. No one’s excellent however we by no means doubted his ardour for the sport and the Cubs. It’s an understatement to say that Sammy is a fan favourite.
“We plan on inviting him to the 2025 Cubs Conference and, whereas it’s quick discover, we hope that he can attend. We’re all prepared to maneuver ahead collectively.”
Sosa is more likely to attend for the primary time since he retired in 2007. His 545 residence runs in a Cubs uniform is essentially the most in franchise historical past.
“We will not change the previous however the future is shiny,” Sosa stated in his assertion. “In my coronary heart, I’ve all the time been a Cub and I am unable to wait to see Cubs followers once more.”
The Related Press contributed to this report.
