Sammy Sosa Joins an Elite Group

The Texas Rangers' right fielder/designate red hitter Sammy Sosa hit his 600th career home run on June 20th in a game against his former team, the Chicago cubs. Sosa becomes only the fifth player in major league baseball history to hit 600 home runs. The other members of this elite group are Henry "Hank" Aaron with 755, Barry Bonds -748, George Herman "Babe" Ruth -714, and Will Mays - 660. As reported on espn.com, Sosa hit his 600th home run in the Rangers 7-3 victory over the cubs. Sosa hit his milestone homerun in the 5th inning on a 1-2 pitch from Jason Marquis.

Sosa became a household name during the 1998 baseball season. It was in this season that he and Mark McGuire had their memorable home run chase. They were both chasing Roger Maris' single season home run record of 61, which he set in 1961. Sammy ended the season with 66 homers, and Mark McGuire finished with 70. Even though he lost the home run chase to McGuire, Sosa was named the league's most valuable player (MVP) in 1998.

What is most impressive Sosa's 600th career homerun is the fact that his career seemed to be all but over just a short time ago. Sosa played for the Chicago Cubs for the majority of his career from 1992 thru 2004. He was plagued by injuries in the 2003 and 2004 season and his stats reflected this, only hitting 40 and 35 homeruns respectively. Towards the end of the 2004 season, he fell out of favor with some of his teammates, club management and the fans.

The Cubs traded Sosa to the Baltimore Orioles in 2005. This was by far the worst season of his professional baseball career. His play slipped so much during that season that the one time 60 plus home run hitter was benched. He ended the season with a batting average of .233 and only 14 homeruns. The Orioles released him after the 2005 season, and he became a free agent.

In 2006, the only team that came calling for Sosa's services was the Washington nationals. They only offered him a Minor League contract, which Sosa turned down. It seems as if Sammy was all but retired.

Sosa had a change of heart in 2007 and signed a minor league contract with the Rangers, which was the same contract the Nationals offered the year before. The only difference was that this contract included an invitation to the Rangers spring training. Sosa made the roster as the designated hitter and part-time right fielder.

For an individual whose career seemed to be over, Sammy was able to resurrect himself and joined one of the most elite clubs in all of sports.

Source:
Associated Press. Sosa becomes fifth player in 600-homer club. June 21, 2007. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=2911192.Retrieved June 23, 2007.