Sammy Sosa Accused of Using Steroids
Sammy may not be elected to the Hall of Fame, Sammy's Reputation
Jun 26, 2009
Sammy may not be elected to the Hall of Fame
For Sammy Sosa 1998 was a leap year. He leaped 66 times from home plate to run the bases freely, untouched and with a radiant smile that captivated America. And leaping and smiling while running the bases brought a lot of financial success for Major League and great notoriety for Sosa.
The media and fans loved him. For a while, it seemed as if Sammy would never leave the television screen: ESPN’s highlights of his home runs and the blowing of kisses (supposedly to his mom) became a staple for fans of the network. Sosa also appeared in television commercials promoting Pepsi Cola and other products. Sosa loved America -- and the country, without hesitation, reciprocated the hospitality for the foreign-born baseball hero. But heroes fall.
Although Sosa’s legendary status has been ruptured throughout the years, his downfall began on Wednesday, June 17, 2009. The New York Times published a report indicating that Sosa was listed as one of the players appearing in a 2003 list of baseball players who tested positive for illegal use of steroids, according to a lawyer with knowledge of the drug-testing results from that year.
Sammy Sosa’s Fall Began when…
Prior to 1998, Sammy Sosa was just another skinny malnourished baseball player out of the Dominican Republic. Sosa became famous for being traded to the Chicago Cubs for compatriot George Bell by none other than former President of the United States George W. Bush! In 1998, Sosa elevated his name to national and international prominence when he and Mark McGwire, then of the St. Louis Cardinals, broke Roger Maris’s single-season home run record of 61. The season ended with 70 for McGwire and Sosa with 66. McGwire and Sosa were credited with reviving interest in baseball after Major League Baseball and the Player’s Union had inflicted a black eye to the league in 1994 by closing out the season and walking out on its fans.
Although Sosa has always been suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs, he had never been linked to a positive test until now. The timing of the report coincides with Sosa recently indicating to ESPN’s Deportes that he would “calmly wait” for his induction into the baseball’s Hall of Fame, for which he will become eligible in 2013. This report, however, may have shattered the possibility of Sosa being the second player from the Dominican Republic to enter the prestigious Hall of Fame club.
Sammy Sosa's Reputation
In 2003, five years after his home run triumph, Sosa was accused of using a corked bat during batting practice. Sosa’s reputation suffered, and he spent a few months trying to win the fans back. Then, as Sosa continued hitting homeruns, fans temporarily forgave him. Also, in 2005 Sosa testified to the United State Congress that he had never injected himself with AN illegal substance and that he was not stupid to put dangerous stuff in his body. Now, Sosa has a bigger challenge ahead: exculpating himself from the alleged charges. So far, Sosa has not said anything. Nonetheless, for many baseball fans, Sosa, with a corked bat or not, continues to be Slamming Sammy.
