Cubs legend Sammy Sosa returns to Wrigley Field after 20-plus-year hiatus
FILE - Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa (21) and San Diego Padres catcher Phil Nevin watch Sosa's game-winning three-run homer with one out in the ninth on June 2, 1999 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Stephen J. Carrera, File)
baseball
By MATT CARLSON
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 honored Sosa with a video board tribute after the second inning. Sosa waved and bowed to fans from a suite during the presentation.
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.
'Probably the best thing, Sammy was a true entertainer," Counsell said. "I think when you're in this long enough, you realize that's part of this.
'We're also here to entertain and I think Sammy was great at that.'
© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Today
8 hours ago
- Japan Today
Cubs legend Sammy Sosa returns to Wrigley Field after 20-plus-year hiatus
FILE - Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa (21) and San Diego Padres catcher Phil Nevin watch Sosa's game-winning three-run homer with one out in the ninth on June 2, 1999 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Stephen J. Carrera, File) baseball By MATT CARLSON 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 honored Sosa with a video board tribute after the second inning. Sosa waved and bowed to fans from a suite during the presentation. 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. 'Probably the best thing, Sammy was a true entertainer," Counsell said. "I think when you're in this long enough, you realize that's part of this. 'We're also here to entertain and I think Sammy was great at that.' © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Times
21 hours ago
- Japan Times
SGA says Thunder will be ready for do-or-die Game 7 in NBA Finals
The Oklahoma City Thunder "sucked" in a sloppy, lopsided Game 6 loss against the Indiana Pacers, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said, but he's confident they have what it takes to claim the title in Game 7 "The way I see it, we sucked tonight," Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA MVP, said after the Thunder's bid to close out the Pacers ended in a 108-91 defeat in Indianapolis. Gilgeous-Alexander, who is averaging over 30 points per game in the series, scored just 21 to go along with four rebounds, two assists and eight of the Thunder's 21 turnovers in Game 6. "Some of them I think was carelessness, not being as focused, not being engaged," he said of the Thunder's uncharacteristic turnovers. "They played harder than us tonight as well. When a team plays harder, they turn the other team over." Gilgeous-Alexander's eight turnovers were more than his seven baskets, but Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said the defeat was on the entire team. "First of all, credit Indiana," Daigneault said. "I thought they obviously earned the win. They outplayed us for most of the 48 minutes. "That's the story of the game. They went out there and attacked the game. "From our standpoint, it was uncharacteristic," Daigneault added. "It was disappointing. It was collective. It wasn't one guy ... just we were not where we needed to be on either end of the floor for much of the game." Gilgeous-Alexander admitted that the chance of clinching the franchise's first title since it relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008 was "definitely in the back of our minds." "Now, we didn't play like it at all," he added. "That's why the night went the way it did. We got exactly what we deserved, what we earned. We have to own that." But he does not think he and his Thunder teammates — who ousted the Denver Nuggets with a lopsided Game 7 win in the Western Conference semifinals — need to do anything new. "I don't feel like I have to do anything other than just be the best version of myself," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "I think that goes for everyone else in the room. We just have to bring what we bring to the table, what we've brought to the table all year. "One game for everything you ever dreamed of," he added. "If you win it, you get everything. If you lose it, you get nothing. It's that simple."
Japan Times
a day ago
- Japan Times
Shohei Ohtani to make second start for Dodgers on Sunday
After pitching for the first time in nearly two years on Monday, the Los Angeles Dodgers will give right-hander Shohei Ohtani his second start of the season at home against the Washington Nationals on Sunday. A rusty Ohtani pitched one inning in his Dodgers pitching debut against the San Diego Padres on Monday, needing 28 pitches to get through his one frame. He gave up one run on two hits with no walks or strikeouts while facing five batters. Los Angeles, crushed by injuries to its starting pitchers, welcomed back left-hander Clayton Kershaw last month, while Ohtani and right-hander Emmet Sheehan returned this week. Ohtani, 30, has been on the mend from Tommy John revision surgery in September 2023. On Monday, Ohtani's fastest pitch was 100.2 mph to Padres No. 2 hitter Luis Arraez. He threw three other fastballs at 99.1 mph. "I was aiming to sit 95, 96, but the game intensity really allowed me to throw a little harder, and I was able to adjust back to be able to throw 95, 96 against (Xander) Bogaerts in the last at-bat," Ohtani said through an interpreter. In 86 career pitching starts with the Los Angeles Angels from 2018 to 2023, Ohtani went 38-19 with a 3.01 ERA and 608 strikeouts in 481⅔ innings. He was voted American League MVP in 2021 and 2023 for his hitting and pitching exploits, then won the National League MVP last season with the Dodgers after he hit 54 home runs with 59 stolen bases.
