Sammy Sosa and Steroids
Even If Sammy Took Steroids, He Deserves a Shot at Redemption
Many believe that Sammy Sosa took Steroids or Human Growth Hormone. Even if Sosa Did Take Steroids, he still deserves a chance to play it clean.
Get this straight. Sammy Sosa never admitted that he took steroids. Nor did he test positive for any performance-enhancing drugs. Nor has he ever been convicted of possession, ingestion or distribution of steroids or any other type of muscle-building potion.
That, however, does not mean that Sammy Sosa never took steroids. Many fans and other observers believe that it sure looked like Sosa took steroids. He came to the Majors as a wiry 160-pound kid, and transformed himself into a muscle-bound slugger who topped 60 homers three times. If seeing is believing, many fans say, then I believe Sosa took Steroids.
One thing is for sure. Sammy Sosa got very big and very powerful between 1993 and 1996. It could have been steroids. It could have been spinach. No one will ever know for sure. Except Sammy. The clear consensus among fans and the media is that he did it. Most people say the evidence is both in his rise and in his abrupt fall. In 2005, the first year of tough drug testing in baseball, Sosa was visibly smaller and notably less muscular. He also played terribly. After Sammy Sosa averaged 52 homers a year from 1998-2004, he hit only 14 in 2005.
Then he sat out the 2006 season. He seemed to be retired.
Sosa's Unlikely Return
But Sosa surprised everyone this winter when he signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers. The deal required Sosa, once a lock for Cooperstown, to compete with journeyman ballplayers and young whippersnappers from AAA just to get a job. Some questioned whether his ego was too big to do it.
He did it. He showed up on time and ready to play: his physique a little more solid than 2005 but still a mere shadow of his monstrous 1998 form. He said and did all of the right things. As the weeks went by, Sosa kept giving Ranger fans reasons to cheer. After 11 games this spring, he is hitting .441 with 3 Home Runs and 7 RBI. His slugging percentage is .824.
On March 16 the Rangers announced that Sosa made the Team’s 40-Player Roster. This, and his superb spring hitting, virtually guarantee him the everyday rightfielder's job.
Sosa Deserves a Chance For Redemption
Nobody in sports should take steroids. No one should encourage others to take steroids. Nor should a player make the Hall of Fame if his accomplishments were due primarily to any type of cheating. But while every player does not deserve a plaque in the Hall, every person does deserve a shot at redemption. To prove to his fans that it wasn’t all fake. Everyone deserves that.
Even Sammy Sosa. After all, he wasn’t the only one. Dozens of players have been caught, tested positive or have given us other good reasons to believe they took the juice as well. Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Gary Sheffield, Rafael Palmiero, Jason Grimsley, Gary Matthews and Jose Canseco all have some level of involvement. Sosa also made a connection with the American people like no player since Willie Mays. He played the game with enthusiasm and childlike innocence. He reminded us that baseball was supposed to be fun. The “Real Sammy” may be a very different man, but Baseball fell in love with his public persona and baseball suffered when he was shamed. Baseball needs Sosa's redemption just as much a Sammy does.
For Sosa to win back some of what he lost, he must play drug free, play hard, never squabble with management, and he must produce at the plate. If he does all of that, and if he hits 600 home runs then he will have begun to redeem his Baseball Self.
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For more baseball articles written by James L. Ray, click here.
