Sammy Sosa Tested Positive for Steroids in 2003

It's now official that Sammy Sosa tested positive for steroids in 2003, when players were anonymously tested as MLB began to dip their toes into an improved drug testing policy.

Sammy Sosa Steroids Revelation

Sammy Sosa's name was among the 104 who tested positive during the 2003 MLB season. The list of names were never supposed to be made public but were mysteriously never destroyed. He joins the likes of Alex Rodriguez as players from that list who have recently been exposed.

The timing is ironic, as just weeks ago Sammy Sosa conducted an interview in which he said he would be calmly awaiting his induction to the Hall of Fame. This piece of news goes a long way towards making that an impossibility, at least in the short term.

Coincidentally, he'll be made available for induction to the Hall of Fame in 2013, a class that could have been one of the greatest ever with Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Instead, that group now will be the most infamous collection of names on the voting ballot ever.

Prior to this Sammy Sosa steroids test result being made public, there was never any substantial proof that he had used performance enhancers. There was plenty of circumstantial evidence, with his outburst of homeruns during a 5 year stretch of his career and his famous no habla ingles routine during a congressional inquiry several years ago. Additionally, he had been caught corking his bat during a game in the latter stages of his career.

Sammy Sosa Stats

The recent Sammy Sosa steroids link has made a lot of people curious about Sammy Sosa stats. Just how does his career look in terms of some key numbers? When people think about Sammy Sosa stats they think about homeruns, so here's a closer look:

-Sammy Sosa currently ranks sixth on the all time Major League Baseball homerun list, with 609.

-From 1998 to 2003 Sammy Sosa averaged 58.4 homeruns, including a high mark of 66 in 1998 and three seasons with more than 60.

-In his 7 previous complete seasons prior to 1998 he averaged 27.8 homeruns, never blasting more than 40 in a single season.

This collection of Sammy Sosa stats certainly doesn't bode well for any claims of innocence.

The Sammy Sosa steroids revelation is just another in a long list of fallen Major League Baseball superstars.

Sources:Sosa Said to Test Positive in 2003 - Michael Schmidt, New York Times; ESPN coverage; www.baseball-reference.com