The “Sammy! Sammy!” chants started as soon as Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts teased the slugger’s return on the main stage Friday night at the Cubs Convention.
As Ricketts introduced Sammy Sosa to the capacity crowd in the main ballroom at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk, he brought his patented showmanship with him — waving a small American flag as he jogged out, invoking the image of when Sosa did the same as he ran to right field in the Cubs’ first home game after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Sosa’s journey back to the organization that began with his apology last month for “mistakes”
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during his career saw him honored in front of hyped Cubs fans. Ricketts announced Sosa and first baseman Derrek Lee will be inducted into the Cubs Hall of Fame this summer.Sosa, 56, won the National League MVP during his historic home run chase in 1998, the 10th player in franchise history to win the award. Sosa, a seven-time All-Star, finished with 545 home runs in a Cubs uniform.
“It’s 21 years, I mean, you grow up, and that’s what happened to me,” Sosa said afterward. “I believe that me making the first step to get that statement out, I think it was the right time for me, and the response right away was incredible. So pretty much that’s what I needed, and now the door is open. I’ve got to continue to contribute.”
Sosa said he doesn’t have any regrets about the past. As for whether he wondered for a long time what he needed to apologize for, Sosa explained he owed it to Cubs fans. When asked if the “mistakes” he mentioned in his statement referred to performance-enhancing drugs (PED), Sosa said no and reiterated fans deserved an apology from him.
“They supported me from Day 1 here,” Sosa said. “I’m glad that I’m back and that the fans responded the way they responded.”
Dansby Swanson, who watched the Cubs on WGN with his grandpa while growing up in Georgia, is looking forward to having a chance to talk hitting with Sosa now that he’s back with the organization. Swanson said it will be “pretty awesome” for Cubs hitters to be able to pick his brain.
“Everybody around that era and watching guys of the era would mimic the Sammy hop,” Swanson said Friday. “It was pretty remarkable what he was able to do. You don’t have that kind of career and post the way he did and hit the homers and produce the way he did without being such a great player and having a great mind for the game.”
Lee, 49, starred for the Cubs from 2004-10 as an offensive force and two-time Gold Glove winner. Lee, who won a batting title in 2005, posted a .298/.378/.524 slash line with 179 home runs, 239 doubles and a 129 OPS+ in his Cubs career.
It was shocking and humbling, Lee said, when he received the call last month that he would receive the Hall of Fame honor from the team.
“When you’re talking about an organization like Chicago Cubs, and you’re putting on a jacket (like) Billy Williams and Ryne Sandberg and Andre Dawson and Aramis (Ramirez) and Kerry (Wood), the list goes on, it’s pretty cool,” Lee said. “By far the best period of my career was my seven years here in Chicago, the way the fans embraced me, embraced my family. There’s something special about Wrigley Field.”
Lee’s first season with the Cubs in 2004 coincided with Sosa’s last in Chicago. He credited Sosa for teaching him a lot about hitting and called him “one of the hardest workers you’ll ever see.”
“He admitted mistakes, he apologized for them, he moved on,” Lee said. “I’m sure we’ve all made mistakes, and we all want forgiveness, so time to move on. It’s been a long time.”