Cubs legend Sammy Sosa returns to Wrigley Field after 20-plus year hiatus
CHICAGO (AP) — Legendary Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa returned to Wrigley Field for the first time in more than 20 years on Friday before Chicago's afternoon game with the Seattle Mariners.
Sosa, who is set to be inducted into the Cubs' team Hall of Fame this year, arrived at the iconic North Side ballpark in a black SUV. He was greeted by owner Tom Ricketts, who embraced him in a hug as he exited the vehicle.
Sosa became the face of the Cubs franchise where he played 13 seasons after coming in a trade from the crosstown White Sox in March 1992. A seven-time All-Star, Sosa hit 545 homers in 1,811 games with the Cubs and hit a franchise-record 66 in 1998 when he was named the NL's MVP.
Sosa, now 56, played his final game with the Cubs at Wrigley on Oct. 2, 2004, when he homered and had two hits in an 8-6 loss to Atlanta. During his years with the Cubs, Sosa appeared to bulk up drastically and was a headliner in a generation of baseball's biggest names linked to performance-enhancing drugs.
The Cubs traded him to Baltimore with cash in February 2005 for three players.
Sosa appeared to acknowledge using performance-enhancing drugs in December when he released a statement saying he was sorry for mistakes, without specifying them.
'There were times I did whatever I could to recover from injuries in an effort to keep my strength up to perform over 162 games,' he said in the statement. 'I never broke any laws. But in hindsight, I made mistakes and I apologize.'
On Friday morning, Sosa posed for photos with rising Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong outside the team's clubhouse and a video showed Sosa embracing manager Craig Counsell in his office before the game.
'(Sosa) saw the wind blowing out today and planned this trip around a good day to be here,' Counsell joked. 'He asked to be in the lineup because the wind's blowing out.'
The Cubs remained mum on any ceremony or event before or during Friday's game.
In Thursday's 8-7 loss to Milwaukee, Crow-Armstrong went deep to set a new team record for reaching 20 homers and 20-plus stolen stolen bases the fastest, doing it in 73 games. Sosa had the old mark of 96, set in 1994.
Counsell, who faced Sosa as a player, saluted the former slugger for his strength at the plate and long homers, as well as star power.
'We're also here to entertain and I think Sammy was great at that.'
___
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
21 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Cal Raleigh Hits MLB-High 30th Home Run, as Mariners Lose to Cubs, 10-7
Ian Happ homered twice and drove in four runs, and the Chicago Cubs held off Cal Raleigh and the Seattle Mariners for a 10-7 victory on Saturday. Raleigh opened the ninth inning with his major league-leading 30th homer after he also went deep twice on Friday. The long ball made Raleigh the first MLB player to hit 30 home runs in his first 75 games of a single season since Barry Bonds and Luis Gonzalez did so in 2001. Luke Raley hit a two-out single for Seattle, but Daniel Palencia closed it out when he retired Donovan Solano on a foul popup. Michael Busch, Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong also homered for Chicago on a 94-degree day at Wrigley Field with a 20-mph wind blowing toward center field. Brad Keller (3-0) got five outs for the win for the NL Central leaders. Solano and Raley each had three hits and two RBIs for Seattle, which won 9-4 in the series opener on Friday. Happ drove Emerson Hancock's first pitch of the game over the wall in left-center for his 10th homer. Tucker went deep on Hancock's third pitch for his first homer since June 9 and No. 14 on the year. Happ became the first player to hit a leadoff homer for the Cubs in consecutive games since Anthony Rizzo in June 2017. Happ added a three-run shot in the second, lifting Chicago to a 6-1 lead. He has four homers in his last three games. Busch hit a three-run homer in the third, and Crow-Armstrong connected for a solo shot in the fifth against Zach Pop. It was Crow-Armstrong's team-high 21st homer. Hancock (3-3) was tagged for nine runs in four innings. The Mariners cut it to 9-6 in the fifth, scoring three unearned runs following Vidal Brujan's throwing error on Randy Arozarena's grounder. Home plate umpire Chad Whitson left after five innings. The game continued with Dexter Kelley behind the plate. Seattle reliever Trent Thornton wobbled on the mound with one out in the eighth. He was helped off by training staff. Key moment Keller entered two runners on and none out in the sixth, then struck out the side. Key stat Happ has two multi-homer games this season and 17 for his career. Up next Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert (1-2, 2.55 ERA) faces Cubs right-hander Colin Rea (4-2, 3.84 ERA) on Sunday. Reporting by The Associated Press. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience Chicago Cubs Seattle Mariners Cal Raleigh recommended Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
San Francisco Chronicle
40 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins NASCAR national series debut as crew chief at Pocono
LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Dale Earnhardt Jr. might already be NASCAR's most popular crew chief. He's certainly an undefeated one. Pressed into unexpected service, Earnhardt called the shots for 18-year-old prospect Connor Zilisch in the No. 88 Chevrolet and they landed in victory lane Saturday in the second-tier Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway. 'We had a lot of things going our way,' Earnhardt said. Earnhardt — who won NASCAR's most-popular driver award 15 times — made a pit stop from his day job as team owner at JR Motorsports with normal crew chief Mardy Lindley suspended one race because of a lug nut infraction this month at Nashville. Aside from his duties as team owner, Earnhardt also was at Pocono for his role on the Prime broadcast for the NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday. 'Lot of fun for me today,' Earnhardt said. 'I missed the thrill of competition. I love broadcast, don't get me wrong. But nothing compares to driving or just being part of the team. Being an owner doesn't really deliver like this. This is a lot of fun.' Earnhardt had his wife and two young daughters in tow with him as he made the celebratory walk to victory lane. Oldest daughter Isla Rose clutched the checkered flag while youngest Nicole Lorraine soaked in the scene from her dad's arms. The win continued a banner season for the NASCAR Hall of Fame driver — who swept two races at Pocono as a driver in 2014 — after JR Motorsports and reigning Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier qualified for the season-opening Daytona 500 and secured their Cup Series debut. Earnhardt won two Daytona 500s, in 2004 and 2014, and 26 races overall. His side hustle Saturday was made a bit easier with Zilisch behind the wheel. Zilisch, who turns 19 in July, raced to his second Xfinity victory of the season and third of his young career. He won his Xfinity debut last year at Watkins Glen International. Earnhardt even pitched in during the race and tossed tires over the wall during pit stops. 'Dale Junior, not too bad on the box,' Zilisch said. 'Pretty cool to have him up there. Getting him a 1-for-1 win as crew chief is pretty awesome.' ___
New York Times
40 minutes ago
- New York Times
Mariners' Cal Raleigh sets MLB records with 30th home run
CHICAGO — Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh homered in the ninth inning of a 10-7 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Saturday afternoon, his 30th long ball of the season. On Friday, Raleigh hit his 28th and 29th homers of the season, passing Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famer Johnny Bench with the most home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break. Raleigh now also has the mark for most home runs before the break by a switch-hitter. Advertisement 'Thirty home runs is impressive,' Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. 'And we're not even at the halfway point. He's good.' Catcher, switch-hitter or just any player, what Raleigh is doing is rare. Only eight other players had hit 30 or more home runs in their first 75 games of the season. The last to do it were Barry Bonds and Luis Gonzalez in 2001. Raleigh has gone from a very good catcher to clearly the best in the game this season. While Aaron Judge remains the favorite to win the AL MVP, Raleigh's performance has been hard to ignore. According to FanGraphs, he's second to Judge in WAR (4.9) and wRC+ (187). Still just June 21, Raleigh is on pace to put together one of the greatest seasons for a catcher ever seen. Saturday's blast put Raleigh three ahead of New York Yankees star Aaron Judge for the major-league lead in homers, and five ahead of Shohei Ohtani. Raleigh's performance isn't a one-off, either. He now has 30-plus homers in three consecutive seasons and hit 27 in 2022, his first full season. The man known as 'Big Dumper' will probably be busy during the All-Star break, too. In the voting results released on June 16, Raleigh led all American League catchers with more than a million votes. Alejandro Kirk of the Toronto Blue Jays was in second place with just over 370,000.
