Commentary: The Cubs should forgive Sammy Sosa |
All of us in life have had disagreements, whether it be with past loved ones or former bosses. Sometimes the pain hurts too much to let the past feelings go. There is one that I hope can be mended, that is between the Cubs and Sammy Sosa.
I don't know all the parameters of what happened on the last day of the regular season for the Cubs back in 2004, but from what I understand, Sammy Sosa basically quit on the Cubs and left the Wrigley Field before the game started. He later said that he took all the blame for the Cubs underperforming in 2004, and for them not reaching the World Series in 2003. Sosa was eventually traded to the Baltimore Orioles in the offseason. He and the Cubs have not made up since. Some people loved Sammy Sosa; others hated him. Some thought that his ego had gotten too big, and he only cared about hitting home runs, which some people think was steroid-induced, people also don't forget about his corked bat back in 2003. Let us as Cubs fans remember the good times, who can forget the 1998 season? The way he captured not only Chicago, but all of the nation in his home run duel with Mark McGwire while leading the Cubs to the National League Wild Card, and their first playoff appearance since 1989. A lot of fans only remember that season, but also, he was a member of the 30/30 club before that, being the first and only player in Cubs history to achieve that moment.
He also gave me two of my favorite moments at Wrigley Field, the first was in 1996, and I was running through the aisles to get this autograph, and I cut my leg on one of the seats, blood was pouring down my leg, but I got his autograph. I even missed half the game getting stitched up, and still have a scar from it, but hey I got Sammy Sosa's autograph.
My second memory was in 1998, it was early May before he started on his home run terror, I went to Chicago to watch the Cubs play the Cardinals for the weekend because my prom date broke up with me two weeks before the dance, and I wanted to get away, and there was no better place to be when you are feeling down than Wrigley Field. The Cubs won both games I attended, and he had the game-winning hit in the second game that weekend, driving home Mark Grace for the winning run.
Sammy Sosa gave Cubs fans hope, he basically played every day, and a lot of the times in the down years of 1999, 2000, and 2002, he was the only reason to watch the Cubs, he helped back the house not only at Wrigley Field, but put also on the road. How many can remember getting up early for the start of the season in 2000, when the Cubs opened vs. the Mets in Japan?
How many fans got excited when he made his sprint out to right field to begin warm-ups, and got the bleacher bums in right field fired up?
Who didn't go crazy when he hit that home run off the Marlins in the bottom of the ninth inning with two out in game 1 of the NLCS to tie the game in 2003?
Who didn't get excited when it was an extra-inning game, and we all wanted the game to end, and he came to the plate, and we were hoping he would hit a home run?
Sammy Sosa means so much to the Cubs, it was sad in 2014, when the Cubs celebrated the 100 years of Wrigley Field and brought back not only so many former Cubs, but other people who performed there like old Chicago Bears, and each seemed to have their special bobblehead, but how can you honor the past performers at Wrigley Field, and not recognize Sammy Sosa? It was sad also in 2016 when the Cubs made their run to the organization's first World Series title in 108 years, and all the formers players were brought back to throw out the first pitch or sing the seventh-inning stretch, and no Sammy Sosa.
It is the Cubs and Sammy's call to mend the fences, I just hope it happens. You look at what the Chicago Blackhawks did with their former players when there was bad will, and how the makeup helped lift the organization. I'm not asking for a statue of Sammy Sosa, I'm just asking for the Cubs to remember the good times and what he did.
