Reunited, and it Feels So Good

The Sosa formerly known as "Slammin' Sammy" arrived to spring training in Arizona yesterday. Sosa, who signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers, the team that originally brought him to the Majors, hopes to make the team and pursue the 12 home runs he needs to reach 600 for his career.

My most recent memories of Sosa, the only man to hit 60 home runs in a season three times, are his pathetic appearance in congress to deny his steroid use, which if nothing else convinced me entirely of his guilt, and his even more pathetic 2005 season with the Orioles during which he hit .221 with 14 home runs and 45 RBIs, with approximately 847 strikeouts over that same span.

Sosa is washed up. If it wasn't clear when he was caught with a corked bat after his numbers with the Cubs started slipping, it was painfully clear during his season in Baltimore. I'm 99.9999999% sure he used steroids, and the complete and rapid deterioration of his skills certainly points to that. I can understand his desire to get to 600 home runs, but honestly Sammy, what's the point?

Could he end up in the Hall some day? Well, if Mark McGwire deserves to, Sosa does. But his image is forever sullied, and a last gasp effort to reach a now tarnished plateau is not going to help Sammy in the eyes of basball's voting elite. Sosa has done a lot of great things, for baseball and for his home country of the Dominican Republic. His race with McGwire during the '98 season brought new life into baseball. And, while we now look back on it as a complete farce - which it was - it is impossible to deny that it ultimately sparked fan interest and helped the game.

But that was 9 years ago Sammy. 12 more home runs at this point isn't going to be what gets you into the Hall of Fame. Either you're in already or you aren't. What happens if you don't make the team in spring training? Can you handle another embarrassment like that? I doubt it. But hey, that scenario is unlikely. I wish you the best Sammy, because honestly, I have no real reason to not do so. But stay away from Michael Young. That guy is clearly on the juice.