Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire saved Major League Baseball. Fan interest in the sport was at an all time low after the 1994 players’ strike, but Sammy and McGwire’s quest for Roger Maris’ home run record restored fan passion. Both Sammy and Mark eclipsed Roger’s record, but Mark came out on top with 70 home runs to Sammy’s 66.
Sosa retired with 609 home runs, but doping allegations marred his exit from baseball. Although he denied using steroids, drug tests rarely lie. Although he may never be a Hall of Famer, Sosa’s contribution to baseball will never be forgotten.
Sosa runs a multinational business empire and has no desire to return to the Chicago Cubs.
After his retirement, Sosa disappeared from the public eye to establish a multinational business empire. He had made hundreds of millions of dollars in the MLB, which he invested in various business ventures.
During a 2018 interview with Sports IllustratedSosa declined to detail his dealings, but gave the publication the following description of his business interests:
“Although he does not give many verifiable details, he says that he has interests in his country of origin, the Dominican Republic (oil); as well as in Panama (storm-proof housing); United Kingdom (drinks and hospitality); and the United Arab Emirates (real estate)”.
Sosa is so secretive that his family doesn’t know the details of his dealings. “He is a very closed person, even with me,” says his son, Sammy Sosa Jr.. “He doesn’t pretend to be. There are some things I don’t know about my father that I wonder.”
Sammy shares six children with his wife, Sonia Rodríguez. The couple married in 1992 and renewed their vows in 2004. He reportedly enjoys a life of extreme luxury in the United Arab Emirates.
Sosa has refuted speculation that he wants to work for his former team, the Chicago Cubs. Sosa lived his best playing period with the club, but he did not want to return. He said nbc sports chicago:
“I was playing for a company many years ago, it was the Tribune Company, so after I retired I formed my own company, so I’m not looking for a job. When I call someone, the first thing I say is: ‘I’m not looking for a job. I just called to say hello. So I have my own company, I feel comfortable.”
Sammy’s dramatically lightened skin has drawn criticism, but he has remained defiant.
Seth Browarnik/Getty Images
Sammy Sosa shocked fans when he re-emerged in the public spotlight with significantly lighter skin than he had during his retirement. The Dominican Republic native of part-Haitian descent sported a dark complexion throughout his illustrious baseball career, but now looks almost white.
Social networks were filled with memes ridiculing Sosa’s new complexion. Some tried to empathize with Sosa, but most saw the funny side of the situation. Others even suggested that doping caused Sosa’s skin to lighten. In a 2009 interview with univisionSammy offered the following explanation:
“It’s a bleaching cream that I apply before going to bed and it lightens my skin a bit. The thing is, I had been using the cream for a long time and that, combined with the bright lights on the TV, made my face appear whiter than it really is. I don’t think I look like Michael Jackson.”
Interest in Sammy’s complexion arises sporadically, forcing him to answer questions about it. In 2018, he responded to several tweets and memes about it. he also told him nbc sports chicago:: “Those people sometimes criticize me, they don’t know me, they don’t put food on the table and they don’t pay my bills.”
He echoed that message in his interview with Sports Illustrated. He pointed to his life of luxury as one of the reasons why criticism doesn’t affect him. “Look what I am today,” Sosa said. “This is my life, and I don’t take shit from anyone. I do what I want.”
Sammy Jr. affirmed Sosa’s claims, but speculated that his father secretly hurts himself due to criticism. “It doesn’t affect him, but I’m sure he feels a certain way,” Junior said.
“Like, ‘Man, I gave so many years and so much hard work for you, and no, you want to undermine all of that because of some decision I’m making, a personal decision that doesn’t affect you at all. ?’ ”
Sammy Sosa will not be inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame unless he admits to drug use
Alejandro Tamargo/WireImage
Perhaps unfairly, Sammy Sosa’s name will forever be tarnished by doping accusations. The 2003 drug test results found Sammy guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs. In a 2005 appearance before Congress, Sosa, through his attorney, refuted the findings:
“To be clear, I have never taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs. I never injected myself and no one injected me with anything. I have not broken the laws of the United States or the laws of the Dominican Republic. I was tested in 2004 and I’m clean.”
Since then, Sammy has insisted that he did not take drugs, which significantly handicapped him. After his retirement, he expected his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame to be a formality. His numbers justify Hall of Fame status, but the doping scandal presents a seemingly insurmountable obstacle.
Sosa’s last chance to join the Hall of Fame will come in 2022. He’ll probably never be a Hall of Famer if he doesn’t get 75% of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America votes.
Sammy has a better chance of becoming a Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer. All he has to do is confess to his drug use. As of mid-2021, the Cubs inducted 56 players into their hallowed Hall of Fame. As expected, Sammy Sosa’s name did not appear on the list.
Team president Tom Ricketts gave Sammy an easy way to get back in the good books at Wrigley Field. At the 2018 Cubs Convention, Tom said:
“I think we all need to be sensitive and understand their situation. But I also think that the players of that era owe us a little bit of honesty, and I feel that the only way to turn the page is to put everything on the table.
A little honesty wouldn’t hurt, says Ricketts. Some agree with him, but others find the Cubs’ treatment of Sosa unacceptable. Former baseball player Ozzie Guillén had the following to say after the Cubs’ latest slight to Sosa:
“That’s none of my business. I’m not part of the team. They treat Sammy Sosa like he’s doomed for something. The reason the Cubs came back on the map was because of Sammy Sosa. The reason people knew the Cubs Cubs at that time was Sammy Sosa.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn