Sammy Sosa welcomed back by Cubs as slugger apologizes for past 'mistakes'
Sammy Sosa hasn’t been back to Wrigley Field since his iconic 13-year career on the North Side ended with a trade to the Baltimore Orioles in 2007. That streak seems like it’s about to end in 2025.
On Thursday, Sosa took the first step towards rebuilding a relationship with the franchise he’s most closely associated with, releasing an apology for his actions during the height of the era of performance enhancing drugs — albeit one short on specifics — that seems to have satisfied Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts enough to finally invite him back.
The Cubs released a statement shortly after, thanking Sosa for his comments and inviting him to the team’s annual Cubs Convention this winter.
Cubs owner Tom Ricketts will now be inviting Sammy Sosa back and inviting him to the convention. Nice! pic.twitter.com/x1Di9gbQlt
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 19, 2024
Cubs Statement regarding Sammy Sosa pic.twitter.com/JSsxjjPbtO
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 19, 2024
Sosa and the Cubs haven’t had any legitimate relationship since 2007. He was not part of the team’s 100th anniversary celebration in 2014, nor the World Series celebrations in 2016. Despite remaining a fan favorite on the North Side, Ricketts was steadfast in his belief Sosa could not be welcomed back until he came clean about any performance-enhancing drug use and apologized.
Asked by a fan at Cubs Convention 2018 when Sosa would return to Wrigley, Ricketts spelled out his position pretty clearly, per the Chicago Sun-Times:
“I really believe all the players from that era who were in that kind of steroid era … I think we owe them a lot of understanding,” Ricketts said. “We have to put ourselves in their shoes and be very, very sympathetic to everything, all the decisions they had to make, and certainly as it turned out after testing had begun in 2002, a large number of players test positive. Players of that era owe us a little bit of honesty, too. I feel like the only way to turn this page is just to put everything on the table. That’s the way I feel.”
If this all seems a bit trite, it’s because it is. We’ll likely never know the final tally of who was or wasn’t using PEDs from the 1980s to the early aughts, and it’s not like there’s been much derision from Cubs fans over the years regarding Sosa’s alleged use. We’re not talking about the Hall of Fame or any accolades here, either. Merely an opportunity for Cubs fans to show Sosa just how much he meant to them — something fans have been begging for years to do. Your mileage may vary on the scandal at this point with all this *gestures at the world* going on, but it never made much sense to punish one player and a generation of fans who came to love the game because of him.
Still, Ricketts — who was still years away from purchasing the Cubs when Sosa left — arbitrarily decided on the conditions of Sosa’s return. While noted alleged dopers like Mark McGuire served as hitting coach for multiple MLB clubs and Alex Rodriguez serves as an analyst for national broadcasts on Fox, Sosa was effectively banished from baseball entirely until Thursday.
It appears those conditions have been met. The right fielder who hit 545 home runs for the Cubs and battled McGuire in the epic 1998 chase to break Roger Maris’ single season home run record will be back at Wrigley Field sooner than later.
Sammy Sosa was my favorite player growing up. It shouldn’t have taken this long for him to be invited to a team event, but I’m happy for him that it finally happened. One of the greatest ever. https://t.co/TeaEUTX1EZ
— Ben Porter (@Ben13Porter) December 19, 2024
Sammy Sosa apologized. Good for him, that dude helped save baseball in 1998 with Mark McGwire and the HR record chase. I'll also never forget when he came out after 9/11. pic.twitter.com/lkQph2Fr8j
— Edgar Woo (@edgarwoo_) December 19, 2024
Sammy Sosa releases statement that addresses the widespread PED allegations in his return to the Cubs: ‘There were times I did whatever I could to recover from injuries in an effort to keep my strength up to perform over 162 games. I never broke any laws, but in hindsight I made…
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 19, 2024
“The Cubs fans have been waiting for this. This city has been waiting for this.”
Elise Menaker on Sammy Sosa’s statement and apology. pic.twitter.com/GRYFUbu2WC
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) December 19, 2024