Skip to main content

Sudden Language Barrier: Game Gives Sosa Receipt

DP Sosa Well apparently Sammy Sosa can now speak English quite fluently. And while part of me means that in a very light gesture, the other half is very serious. [Side note: Sosa spoke in broken English during a congressional testimony in 2005 on performance enhancing drugs] Sosa, who has suddenly broken his silence, and in a major way, is clamoring for his number to be retired by the Chicago Cubs. Here is what Sosa stated:

“They disrespected me. That number should be untouchable because of the things I did for that organization. That right there shows me that they don’t care about me, and they don’t want to have a good relationship with me.”

Wow.

Now, before I acknowledge my final feelings on Sosa’s statements, I think it is fair to say that Sosa has been one of the most influential and biggest draws in baseball over the last two decades. Whether you want throw in the asterisks and arguments over his PED use (or not, if your still in denial), Sosa, along with McGwire, really helped bring the game of baseball back from it’s crushing 1994 strike. With his then charming smile and “innocent” personality to go along with the sprinting into the outfield, patented jump after the homerun swing, and the double chest-tap kiss to the sky after touching home plate, Sosa had become one of the faces of Major League Baseball.

However, after 609 homeruns, Sosa is now an afterthought. In all actuality, he is a blemish. A mere reminder of what was wrong with the game. And while other steroid users such as McGwire and Bonds are ceremoniously jeered across the country, both still have a place to call home respectively in St. Louis and San Francisco. Places where both are revered. And in the case with Bonds, an organization and city he one day will have his number retired as well.

However, in the case of Sosa, this will never happen. Primarily, he left the team on terrible terms. While Sosa is one of the best players to ever put on a Chicago Cubs uniform (Seriously, look at the numbers), the truth is in the very fact that #21 is not just unretired, but is in actual use. That alone states that the Cubs want nothing to do with Sammy Sosa – history or legacy.

A great example is that of the New York Yankees who have yet to issue #51 formerly worn by Bernie Williams, which will be retired someday, and #21 for Paul O’neill, which Yankee fans will force into retirement.

Tyler Colvin is currently #21 for the Chicago Cubs. And before him it was Jason Marquis.

Ouch.

Regardless of truth and substance, it is very tacky for a player to beg and gravel to be immortalized by having his number retired. However, in some way weird working of karma, what’s due to you, or what-goes-around-comes-around, this might be baseball’s way of sticking it back to Sosa. In a time of need when fans and the game wanted answers, Sosa suddenly forgot how to speak English. Now, in a time of need of acknowledgement, the rest of the world suddenly forgot how to speak Sosa’s language – including the Chicago Cubs.

Recently Read Posts

A Product of Us: Thoughts on Durant Trade

I said back in July when Kevin Durant rocked the NBA world with his trade request, that he "showed us who he was".  It wasn't a negative comment, but one that encompasses his entire career being a product of our current sport climate - success and focus on legacy. We emphasize the value of a career on rings, and thus, Durant has too. Why wouldn't he?!  Upon waking up and realizing that Durant will don the purple and orange for the Phoenix Suns in what is clearly now a team to watch come the NBA Playoffs, I find myself further pondering if Kevin Durant is the prime result of what we - yes, us! - have done to the modern athlete.  Today, Durant is one of the greatest basketball players I've ever seen. EVER. The dude is rare. He's a seven-foot magician which makes defending him even more difficult based on how damn efficient he is on the basketball court. It's downright poetic and beautiful to watch Durant play. And yes, I'm romanticizing his game. I belie

Sunday Sundown Rundown - 2/19/23

3 Up 1. India's Tap Water Access - This is a rather remarkable story. It's a story that offers humility wrapped in the extraordinary. India's Jal Jeevan Mission provided almost 79 million - 79 MILLION! - households with tap water. Just tap water!  2. Jordan Make-A-Wish Record - MJ is often loved through nostalgia, narrative, and remembrance for being politically neutral - even in giving. MJ these days has made some influential contributions, including this latest $10M donation to the Make-A-Wish foundation.  3. WWE Elimination Chamber - A tremendously entertaining pay-per-view on the road to Wrestlemania. The best storyline in pro wrestling continues to evolve between Sami Zayn and the Bloodline.  3A. City of Montreal - Give it up to the city of Montreal for what made a few nights of pro wrestling an awesome experience. Can we get this city more events?  3 Down 1. Michigan State Shooting - We're broken. Very broken. My thoughts and prayers are with those friends and fam

Impact No Surrender 2023 Review: "Interested in where the Product is Going"

I've fallen behind on my Impact Wrestling viewing, but honestly, that's okay. For viewership and enjoyment, yes. Not so well for posting a review for readership long after it's noteworthy or relevant. But whatevs, that's just where I am in life. Wrestling is much more fun removed from the restraints and influence of the criticism and impact (no pun intended) of the current time. That's just me. You can probably thank social media. Moving on, No Surrender 2023 continues Impact's progress into the new year. The product is still solid and consistent with a nice blend of characters and wrestlers moving in and out of the main event scene, along with a fresh batch of a resurgence of characters and occurrences. Nothing says that more than Rich Swann vs. Josh Alexander.  No Surrender was a solid event, but it does leave me extremely interested in where the product is going, or should I say planning, for 2023. I don't want to say that Alexander's title reign has

Sunday Sundown Rundown - 1/8/22

3 Up 1. New Year - Happy New Year to you all! I've written it in a bunch of emails, mainly to be courteous, but I really do wish you the best for you. I hope 2023 is a great one for all of you DP readers.  2. Buffalo Athletic Trainers - Let's give it up for the Athletic Trainers of the Buffalo Bills who performed with courage, steadfastness, and urgency in regard to Damar Hamlin. We should be celebrating those trainers more.  2A. Athletic Trainers - And because I'm always around them, let's give it up for Athletic Trainers in general. They do so much and very much go unnoticed in the space of sports, athletics, and performance.  2B. Damar Hamlin - Praying for Hamlin and his family... 3. Broadway Bounceback - We all like to believe we're back from COVID, but we're not. But it's news like Broadway having its biggest week of sales since the pandemic began is some nice news. Everyone in the theatre industry deserves it.  3 Down 1. Damar Hamlin Situation - Horri