- Sosa and the Cubs have been at odds since he left the North Side in 2004
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Sammy Sosa expected some softball questions when he spoke with veteran Chicago sportscaster Lou Canellis at a book signing in the Windy City on Friday. Instead, the estranged former Cubs slugger was quickly reminded of the steroid scandal that led to his departure for Chicago.
“Do you recognize the fact that you may have used steroids?” Fox 32’s Canellis asked a visibly surprised Sosa.
“Like I said, this is… um… not a question I expected from you,” Sosa, 55, said.
Sosa, the Cubs’ all-time record holder with 545 home runs, remains at zero on the North Side. Slammin’ Sammy was exiled by the Cubs and traded to Baltimore after showing up late for the 2004 Finals at Wrigley and leaving early. Additionally, he and other accused steroid cheats like Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire were barred from the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America for a decade, limiting their future prospects for enshrinement in Cooperstown.
Naturally, this has caused some lingering friction for the Cubs, who have failed to honor Sosa as they have with other former All-Stars.
Sammy Sosa was surprised when Chicago reporters asked him about his alleged steroid use
Sosa (left) shares a laugh with rival Mark McGwire in 1998 before both were shocked
“I’m a grown man,” Sosa told Canellis when he was first asked about the Cubs at the signing convention. “I think it’s a possibility that we can do that.
‘I’m open. I have no problem with that. Like I said, I’ve had a lot of misunderstandings in the past. I’m a real man, I feel great. So I recognize my mistake, so why not?’
That’s when Canellis saw an opening to ask Sosa about his steroid scandal.
“This isn’t an interview that I’m actually going to do with you right now with that piece,” Sosa said. But like I said, I feel great. Let’s wait and see what happens.’
Bruce Levine, who covered the Cubs for 670 points, reported shortly thereafter that there have been “no discussions between top officials of the Chicago Cubs and Sammy Sosa about returning to Cub Nation.”
Sosa runs under a sign hanging in the stands as he takes a lap around Wrigley Field in 1998
Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts is hesitant to honor Sosa the way he has other players.
“I just want to think about it carefully and do it in a way that is respectful to both the people who loved Sammy as a player – as I did – and to people who respect the game, and I think there’s a balance to that somewhere . and maybe one day we will find it,” Ricketts said in 2023.
Last year, the Cubs unveiled plans to build a statue to Ryne Sandberg, who sympathized with the club’s position on Sosa.
“You have to respect the game and play it the right way,” Sandberg said. ‘There was a little problem with the way Sammy played the game. If that’s a roadblock, then that’s a roadblock.’