MESA, Ariz. — Sammy Sosa, wearing a Chicago Cubs uniform for the first time in 21 years, is smiling and laughing during the morning conversation, but the subject changes and his mood suddenly switches gears.
His expansive smile vanishes.
He’s still pleasant, but now seems uncomfortable. He shuffles his feet, lowers his head and temporarily looks away.
“Man, I don’t really want to go that route,’ Sosa softly says to USA TODAY Sports, “not now.’
Sosa’s voice halts, he pauses and then slowly starts speaking again.
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“That’s a very delicate route,’ Sosa says, “you know what I mean? But come on, nobody was blind.’
Steroids and performance-enhancing drugs.
The PED ties and suspicions have prevented Sosa from being voted into the Hall of Fame, just like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.
The positive drug tests and suspensions will always keep Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez out of the Hall of Fame. They were caught, and later acknowledged PED use.
The mere suspicions of PEDs delayed Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell’s elections.
Now, the Hall of Fame’s Contemporary Baseball Era committee will meet in December and vote on whether the likes of Bonds, Clemens and Sosa will be elected into Cooperstown in 2026 – or if their waits will continue.
Sosa is hopeful, but hardly optimistic.
“I believe in time,’ Sosa says. “Nobody’s perfect. Time will heal all wounds. I really believe that one day the door will be open for us.’
Sosa, along with Mark McGwire will forever be cherished for saving baseball with their great home run race in 1998, captivating the entire country. They each broke Roger Maris’ record with McGwire hitting a record-setting 70 homers while Sosa wound up with 66.
McGwire publicly apologized for steroid use in 2010, nine years after his retirement. He talked again about steroid use with USA TODAY Sports in 2023 on the 25-year anniversary of the home run chase.
“There was nothing illegal about it,’ McGwire said. “There was no testing at that time. It was a widespread thing in the game. It wasn’t like you’re feeling guilty. The mentality was to keep yourself healthy on the field.
“Looking back now, yeah, I feel horrible about that. I wish there were testing. I wish there were some regulations. If there was rules and regulations, that would have never even crossed my mind to do something like that. But there was nothing back in the day.
“Believe me, if there was, this never would have happened.’
Sosa has never admitted to steroid use – only for past ‘mistakes’ – apologizing to the Cubs in December and the club welcomed back him into the organization. He was elected into their Hall of Fame in January.
“I read Mark’s interview,’ Sosa says, “and I agree with what he said. There was no testing. There were no rules. We didn’t break any laws.’
If truth be told, PEDs were nearly as common as chewing tobacco. There were a few front office executives and managers who actually encouraged some players to take PEDs. And if you traded or signed a free agent who was using PEDs, you certainly didn’t want him to suddenly stop.
“That was the worst,’ one former GM said. “I signed a guy that I knew was on the stuff, and once we got him, he stopped using. It helped cost me my job.’
Wild, wild west of baseball
While Bonds, Clemens and Sosa never once tested positive for PEDs, were suspended a day or fined a nickel, they’re going to need assistance if they ever are going to enter the Hall of Fame without buying a ticket.
Perhaps the best way to pave their entrance into Cooperstown, it was suggested to Sosa, would be for a current Hall of Famer to admit to PED use. The Hall of Fame can’t strip them of their honor. The writers can’t re-vote. Those players are enshrined forever.
If just one person who’s already enshrined speaks out, maybe then voters will acknowledge that it was just part of the fabric of that era of baseball. Hitters faced plenty of pitchers who were juiced and pitchers faced hitters who were taking PEDs. It was the wild, wild west of baseball.
“I’m still proud of what I did,’ Sosa says. “I had great years, I never tested positive. And anyways, there were no rules. No rules back then. None.’
“I played hard and I made a lot of people happy.’
MLB did not begin testing for PEDs until 2004, began banning amphetamines in 2006, and started testing for HGH with blood samples in 2013.
Sosa, who had 609 career home runs, remains the only player in baseball history with three seasons of at least 60. He also led the league in games played in three different seasons, playing at least 159 games in six seasons.
“I used to fight with the manager because they wanted to give me the day off,’ Sosa says, laughing. “I kept saying, ‘I don’t need a day off.’ It’s a day I could hit three home runs.
“I prepared myself mentally and physically to play the whole year. The more I was out there, the more damage I could. I was excited to be out there there, every day.’
Besides, Sosa was the main attraction. He was the primary reason Cubs fans packed the place. The Cubs made the playoffs only twice during Sosa’s stay, but beginning in 1998, they drew between 2.6 million and 3.1 million fans each year until his departure after the 2004 season.
“I know we’re losing games,’ Sosa says, “but at least they were there to see me and hope I’d do something special. I had a lot of tremendous years. I gave the Cubs everything I had. The fans loved that.
“And, on top of that, I did great.’
‘Feels great making people happy again’
Now, 21 years later, he’s back again. Fans at Sloan Park have been cheering at the mere sight of him. Players have gravitated toward him. Hitters listen to his tips as a guest instructor at the batter’s cage.
Really, it’s like he never left this place.
“Baseball has been my life, and will always be my life,’ Sosa says. “I grew up in baseball. I spent my career in baseball. This means everything to me.
“This is the team that gave me the opportunity to put up my numbers.
“This is my house.’
There hasn’t been a Cubs player to hit hit 50 homers in a single season since Sosa’s departure. Derrek Lee, who was elected into the Cubs’ Hall of Fame with Sosa, is the only other player to even hit 40 homers.
And the only players in all of baseball to hit at least 60 homers since Sosa’s retirement in 2005 was Aaron Judge of the Yankees when he hit an AL-record 62 homers in 2022.
Can anyone ever break Bonds’ single-season record of 73 homers?
“No, I don’t think so, not the way the game is now,’ Sosa says. “I think 73 is crazy. Barry was the best in the world. When they made a mistake, he didn’t miss it.’
Will anyone break Sosa’s record of three seasons hitting at least 60 homers?
“In this day and age, I don’t know it that can happen, either,’ Sosa says. “If it happens, great. It’s just not that easy. Fortunately, I’m the lucky one to do it.
“Hopefully, that will stay forever, too.’
And will we ever have another 700-home run hitter again – with Albert Pujols the last to accomplish the feat?
“You never say no in this game, but I don’t know,’ Sosa says. ‘Hopefully, someone will do it. But look at Albert. Oh, my God, what an unbelievable hitter. I don’t know if we’ll ever see someone hit like Albert again. He can do it all.’’
Then again, who knows if we’ll see Sosa again in a Cubs uniform.
He doesn’t know if he ever wants to coach, or even be a full-time instructor, but for now, just being back with the Cubs in his limited role for a week has made everyone happy.
“It’s been great,’ Cubs manager Craig Counsell says. “It’s so hard to believe it’s been 20 years, but his name is never that far away. I think just for him, not being around players for the last 20 years, that’s kind of the challenging part about coming in.
“But he’s been great. It’s been great. I tell the guys, you don’t know what you’re going to pick up. Just keep your ears open.’
Several players, like Vidal Bruján and Kevin Alcántara are already raving about Sosa’s impact, with Alcántara calling him a mentor.
“Just being back here and helping with what I can,’ Sosa says, “I feel like a little boy again. This is there I belong.
“It feels great to be back. And it feels great making people happy again.’
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