Thursday marked a significant repair in the relationship between the Chicago Cubs and Sammy Sosa. ESPN MLB insider Buster Olney does not seem pleased with how things happened.
Sosa last played with the Cubs in 2004 and retired following the 2007 season. While his career numbers are undeniably worthy, Sosa—like other stars of his era such as Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Roger Clemens who have been tied to PED use—is not enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
Sosa’s relationship with the Cubs soured toward the end of his tenure with the team. And until Thursday, little had been done to mend fences. On Thursday, Sosa issued an apology. And while he didn’t explicitly acknowledge PED use, it was strongly implied.
“There were times I did whatever I could to recover from injuries in an effort to keep my strength up to perform over 162 games,” Sosa said, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN. “I never broke any laws but in hindsight, I made mistakes, and I apologize.”
Rogers then added, “Minutes after the apology was released, the Cubs invited Sosa to their winter fan convention for the first time since he retired in 2007.”
That didn’t sit well with Olney. While Olney didn’t specifically identify any team or player, it was not hard to read between the lines.
“Organizations that insist upon apologies from the Steroid Era players in return for entrance into team events should be required to issue their own apologies, for looking the other way while cashing checks,” Olney posted on X. “The sanctimony is ridiculous.”
Organizations that insist upon apologies from the Steroid Era players in return for entrance into team events should be required to issue their own apologies, for looking the other way while cashing checks. The sanctimony is ridiculous.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 19, 2024
He’s right.
In addition to having Hall of Fame caliber numbers, Sosa is also one of the biggest draws in the history of the sport. Fans flooded stadiums throughout the league in the summer of 1998 to watch McGwire and Sosa in their pursuit of Roger Maris’ longstanding single-season home run record of 61.
Both men broke that record handily, with McGwire hitting 70 and Sosa hitting 66. The following year brought much of the same, as McGwire hit 65 and Sosa 63. MLB was slow to get fans back into the stadiums following the strike of 1994-95. Sosa was a big part of getting them back.
As someone who lived through that era, steroids were certainly mentioned. Does that mean that every executive knew what was happening? No. But some did and the ones who didn’t certainly knew it was possible.
Players like Sosa not being in the Hall of Fame is one thing. That’s a decision made not by the league, but Hall of Fame voters. But for the Cubs to only welcome him back shortly after an apology is out of bounds.
