Today, Sports Illustrated published a long-form article on Sammy Sosa, his tumultuous relationship with the Cubs, the 1998 Home Run Chase, his post-playing life, and where he goes from here.
As usual, you take what you get from and about Sammy Sosa with an understanding that there will always be an air of showmanship and BS at the periphery, but it is nevertheless a very compelling read.
Twenty years after the 1998 home run chase, Sammy Sosa remains in many ways a mystery in the curated glimpses the public gets of him (by @jasonbuckland and @BenReiter). https://t.co/shxS3Sr12X pic.twitter.com/4vHtd7KKrw
— SI MLB (@si_mlb) June 27, 2018
The part that leapt off the page at me, however, focused on the Ricketts Family’s refusal to accept Sammy Sosa back into the Cubs fold until and unless – in not so many words – he acknowledges his past PED usage.
It’s been a hardline, if cryptic, stance since the Ricketts Family assumed ownership in 2009, elements of which we fans (who just want to enjoy those Sammy-related memories again) don’t always understand.
Well, the SI piece offers this striking paragraph of additional context:
The Cubs’ mark on Sosa, though, hasn’t always been indelible. According to a source close to the club, representatives of the Cubs met with Sosa in 2014, at the behest of Dominican government officials, to discuss a possible homecoming. According to the source, Sosa agreed that he would issue an apology—that is, something to acknowledge malfeasance, but short of a total confession. The next day, Sosa backed out.
Sosa confirmed the account to SI, which means this could have all been sorted out four years ago – before the Cubs took off in 2015 – had Sosa not backed out. Whether you agree or disagree with demanding an apology in the first place, I could certainly understand the organization now being pretty chapped about what happened in 2014. Maybe that helps explain better the Ricketts Family’s tone toward Sosa, and the increasing candor over the last few years about what needs to happen before Sosa can return.
Sosa, who pops back into the media spotlight once or twice a year, has certainly had many opportunities in the ensuing years to offer up a more complete take on what happened during his career. He has steadfastly declined to do so, and this SI piece doesn’t offer reason to believe he’ll do so any time soon.
That is to say, you can expect the Cubs to remain a Sosa-free organization for the foreseeable future.