So we’re probably not the only media outlet (yeah, that’s right- we’re calling ourselves a media outlet these days) to be reporting on Sammy Sosa hitting his 600th honron last night against his former employer, the Cubbies. And we won’t have the most eloquent article. Nor will we have the most stats or anything like that. In fact, this article might blow. But you’re here already, and might as well get your read on.
Care To Get Nice?
Remember how beloved Sammy Sosa was back in 1998? Really, he and McGwire saved baseball. Who among you only got back into baseball again after the ‘94 strike to see two guys chasing the most hallowed record in sports (and no, we will give absolutely no credit to Luis Gonzalez)? 
Sammy was still revered enough that just three years ago, Bud Selig went to his birthday party in the Dominican. But that ’season’ with the Orioles and his subsequent ‘retirement’ (who would take a non-guarenteed $500K deal when they’re 12 HR short of 600?) really removed him from the eyes of the world. Despite never being named in a book (McGwire) or being named in a scandal involving a drug company (Bonds), Sosa has been and will likely forever be linked to the steroid era in baseball. And, not without some reason. Check out this picture (above) from Sosa’s rookie year. Not quite the boulder biceps and tree-trunk legs we’ve come to expect when we see Slammin Sammy. This was back when Say It Ain’t Sosa was a potential 30/30 guy early on in his career.
But, as he bulked up, he became one of the greatest power hitters of all time. It’s become easy to talk shit about Sosa. He’s huge, he played in the steroid era with McGuire and Bonds, the corked bat incident. 
But at the end of the day, doesn’t he still seem like a great guy off the field? And really, can you diminish what he did on the field to the point where he shouldn’t be inducted into the Hall of Fame? Let’s take a quick look at some numbers: Of the 8 60-HR seasons in baseball history, Sosa has 3. He had 6 straight seasons of 40+ HR, the NL record, and only 1 season shy of Babe Ruth’s MLB record. He’s one of only 5 people in the 600 HR club, along with Aaron, Bonds, Ruth, and Mays. He’s a 7 time all-star, and won the 1998 MVP award. Combine those numbers with the fact that Sosa testified to a grand jury that he never took steroids, something McGuire wouldn’t do. He doesn’t have any teammates pointing fingers at him. Really, he’s only guilty by association, and this country was founded on the idea of being innocent until proven guilty.
So, we at Brahsome.com celebrate Sosa’s accomplishment. He is one of the more beloved players in MLB history, and also 
one of it’s greatest. Before the season, Sosa was asked if he was hoping to hit #600 in Texas. He jokingly responded that he was aiming for 700. That may end up being a stretch, but you have to respect a guy who was out of the game last year and who has 12 HR and 53 RBI through less than half the season this year. He’ll likely end up #4 on the all-time HR list before his time is done, and will hopefully end up in Cooperstown. Congrats, Sammy (we say as we kiss our two fingers and pound our chest before pointing to the skies).
