Former Chicago Cubs star outfielder Sammy Sosa is one of the most infamous players in Major League Baseball history.
This is due to his role in baseball’s performance-enhancing drug era.
Alongside fellow slugger Mark McGwire, the two dazzled fans of the late 1990s with their displays of worldly power.
In 1998, when the country was occupied with political scandals surrounding then President Bill Clinton, Sosa and McGwire embarked on a home run chase.
While McGwire ultimately won, each broke Roger Maris’ previous single-season record of 61.
#OTD in 1998, Sammy Sosa became the 4th player in MLB history to hit 60 home runs in a single season. pic.twitter.com/wZS7MzbZ05
— Cubs Talk (@NBCSCubs) September 12, 2019
However, it later became known that each took steroids during that season and were one of the first notable stars to be associated with PEDs.
Since then, much of their careers have been disregarded.
While he remains on Hall of Fame ballots, he is only on 13.9%.
This is far from the 75% needed to be brought into Cooperstown.
Is there a place for Sosa in baseball’s HOF, or will he just be reduced to being known as a cheater?
1. Based On Statistics, Sosa Is In
If you just go off his career numbers, Sosa had one of the best careers in MLB history.
While it took the right-handed slugger some time to break onto the scene, he began to turn his career around in 1993.
Here he joined the 30-30 club, hitting 33 home runs and stealing 36 bases.
From 1995-2004, he never hit below 35 home runs, marking a 10-year stretch that only happens in video games.
This included his 66-home run MVP season in 1998, 64 home runs in 1999, and another 64 home runs in 2001.
Sammy Sosa forever 🇺🇸
(@MLB) pic.twitter.com/Qcem66ze9E
— Whistle (@WhistleSports) September 11, 2020
He is the only player to ever have three 60 home run seasons.
At the age of 38, Sosa finished his career with the Texas Rangers and slugged 21 home runs in just 114 games.
After this, he was forced out of the sport just as other steroid users such as Barry Bonds were.
For his whole career, Sosa hit 609 total home runs, with a .273 average, 2,408 hits and a .779 OPS.
As of today, he is just one of nine players in the 600-home run club.
He finished with seven All-Star appearances, one MVP, and six Silver Slugger awards.
However, his career wins above replacement of 50.3 is good but not great.
It shows just how good that generation of baseball was.
2. PED Use or Not
In 2009, a New York Times report said that Sammy Sosa was one of the players who tested positive for PED use in 2003.
This was in a supposedly anonymous test done by the MLB.
In a 2005 congressional hearing about the steroid era where he was under oath, Sosa claimed that he never used steroids.
Even to this day, he denies all allegations of steroid use.
However, this has left a stain on his reputation and career.
The argument all depends on how you view the steroid era.
If you view it as purely cheating, then Sosa doesn’t deserve a spot in the Hall of Fame.
However, before arriving to that conclusion, you have to consider how invasive the problem of steroid use was during that time.
Jose Canseco, a noted PED user, has claimed that 80% of players took steroids.
If you consider this, then Sosa outperformed other players in the league that were on the same stuff he was.
Sammy Sosa hit 66 HRs in a season, and 609 in his career. Yet, of the 319 votes needed for the HOF, he received 36 this year. A look back at our exclusive interview with the former @mlb All Star on his life, career and PEDs.
Sunday at 11am ET on ESPN 2 pic.twitter.com/a71OExyJGw
— E60 (@E60) July 26, 2019
As more time passes, there will be more sympathy for players accused of taking PEDs.
Also, players of every generation have tried finding ways to get an advantage.
Whether it be Gaylord Perry’s spitball or the potential PED use in the 1960s, there are always scandals.
3. His Importance To The Sport
It is difficult to discredit Sosa’s impact on the sport of baseball during the late 1990s.
He was a source of excitement for fans everywhere.
The popularity of baseball skyrocketed as he was one of the players who made it cool again.
The first trailer for Long Gone Summer, which details the great 1998 home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, is out! pic.twitter.com/KAPrByBBte
— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) June 5, 2020
There should be some importance to this as Sosa deserves credit for being a part of it.
In a time when many players were using steroids in the sport, he was one of the best and most important to becoming a face of the game.
This is especially true in Chicago, where I’m sure that most Cubs fans would look back on Sosa fondly.
For a spot in the Hall of Fame, this is something that should be considered.
Does Sosa Deserve A Spot?
The Hall of Fame recognizes players who impacted the sport, and Sosa is one of them.
While he does have a PED-stained legacy, this is something that must be reevaluated.
Love him or hate him, he deserves to be recognized as a major part of baseball history.
He deserves a spot in Cooperstown some day.
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