Outfielder, Chicago Cubs
Age: 29
7th season
with Cubs
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’0” Weight: 200
Prior to 1998:
A native of San
Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic, Sosa shined shoes as a boy
following his father’s death. He turned to baseball after his mother quashed
his boxing ambitions and quit school at 14 to join a traveling baseball team.
He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies at 15, but the contract was voided due
to his being underage. Following several tryouts when he reached 16, Sosa
signed with the Texas Rangers for $3500. Initially assigned to the Rookie-level
Gulf Coast League in 1986, the lithe 17-year-old outfielder batted .275 with 19
doubles, 4 home runs, and 28 RBIs in 61 games. Moving up to Gastonia of the
Class A South Atlantic League in 1987 he hit .279 with 11 home runs and 59
RBIs. Sosa’s next stop was Port Charlotte of the high Class A Florida State
League in 1988. His average dropped to .229 and he struck out 106 times while
hitting 13 doubles, 12 triples, and 9 home runs with 51 RBIs and 42 stolen
bases. He started 1989 with Tulsa of the Class AA Texas League where he was
batting .297 with 7 home runs and 31 RBIs when he was called up to the Rangers
in June to fill in for injured outfielder Pete Incaviglia. After getting off to
a hot start, he cooled off as he struggled to hit breaking pitches and was
demoted to Oklahoma City of the Class AAA American Association where he moped
and hit poorly until he was traded to the Chicago White Sox along with LHP
Wilson Alvarez and infielder Scott Fletcher for OF Harold Baines and 2B Fred
Manrique. Assigned to Vancouver of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League, Sosa hit
.367 in 13 games before being called up by the White Sox. In 33 games with
Chicago he batted .273 with three home runs and 10 RBIs and drew praise for his
play in the outfield. Still very much a raw talent in 1990, Sosa started in
right field but struggled under the direction of hitting coach Walt Hriniak and
batted just .233 with 15 home runs and 70 RBIs while striking out 150 times. He
also had 14 assists in right field as well as 13 errors. Off the field his first
marriage ended in divorce after eight months. He hit poorly while being
platooned in 1991 and was sent down to Vancouver in July. Recalled in August he
ended up batting .203 in 116 games with the White Sox. During 1992 spring
training Sosa was dealt across town to the Cubs along with LHP Ken Patterson
for OF George Bell. Installed in center field due to the presence of Andre
Dawson in right field, he began to show off his power potential but was sidelined
for six weeks with a broken wrist. Playing in a total of 67 games he hit .260
with 8 home runs and 25 RBIs. 1993 proved to be his breakout year. Playing
regularly in right field he batted .261 with 33 home runs, 93 RBIs, and 36
stolen bases, becoming the first Cub to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in a
season. He drew some criticism for his free-swinging tendencies at bat leading
to many strikeouts and accusations of putting his statistics ahead of the
team’s success. In the strike-shortened 1994 season he hit .300 with 25 home
runs, 70 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases. 1995 proved to be Sosa’s first All-Star
season, on his way to batting .268 with 36 home runs, 119 RBIs, and 34 stolen
bases. He also placed eighth in league MVP voting and was awarded a Silver
Slugger. Receiving a three-year, $16 million contract extension prior to the
1996 season, the bulked-up Sosa hit .273 with 40 home runs and 100 RBIs, despite
missing the last six weeks of the season with a broken hand. During the 1997
season, a poor one for the Cubs, Sosa was signed to a four-year, $42 million
contract extension on the way to batting .251 with 36 home runs, 119 RBIs, and
a league-leading 174 batter strikeouts.
1998 Season Summary
Appeared in 159
games
RF – 156, CF – 7
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 722 [3, tied with Fernando Vina]
At Bats – 643 [7]
Runs – 134 [1]
Hits – 198 [5,
tied with Derek Bell & Fernando Vina]
Doubles – 20
Triples – 0
Home Runs – 66
[2]
RBI – 158 [1]
Bases on Balls
– 73 [20]
Int. BB – 14 [3,
tied with Bobby Abreu & Mike Piazza]
Strikeouts – 171
[1]
Stolen Bases – 18
Caught Stealing
– 9 [11, tied with five others]
Average - .308
OBP - .377
Slugging Pct. -
.647 [2]
Total Bases – 416
[1]
GDP – 20 [7,
tied with Kevin Young & Ricky Gutierrez]
Hit By Pitches
– 1
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 5
League-leading
runs scored were +4 ahead of runner-up Mark McGwire
League-leading
RBIs were +11 ahead of runner-up Mark McGwire
League-leading batter
strikeouts were +13 ahead of runner-up Jeromy Burnitz
League-leading
total bases were +33 ahead of runner-up Mark McGwire
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 33, RBI – 81, AVG – .324, SLG – .667
Most hits, game
– 3 on fourteen occasions
Longest hitting
streak – 14 games
Most HR, game –
3 (in 4 AB) vs. Milwaukee 6/15
HR at home – 35
HR on road – 31
Multi-HR games
– 11
Most RBIs, game
– 6 at Arizona 7/27, at San Diego 9/16
Pinch-hitting –
No appearances
Fielding
Chances – 357
Put Outs – 334
Assists – 14
Errors – 9
DP - 2
Pct. - .975
Postseason
Batting: 3 G (NLDS vs. Atlanta)
PA – 12, AB –
11, R – 0, H – 2, 2B – 1,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 1, IBB – 0, SO – 4, SB –
0, CS – 2, AVG - .182, OBP - .250, SLG -.273, TB – 3, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0,
SF – 0
Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: BBWAA
MLB Player of
the Year: Sporting News
Silver Slugger
All-Star
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Sammy Sosa, ChiC.:
438 pts. – 30 of 32 first place votes, 98% share
Mark McGwire,
StL.: 272 pts. – 2 first place votes, 61% share
Moises Alou,
Hou.: 215 pts. – 48% share
Greg Vaughn, SD:
185 pts. – 41% share
Craig Biggio,
Hou.: 163 pts. – 36% share
---
Cubs went 90-73
to finish second in the NL Central Division, 12.5 games behind the
division-winning Houston Astros and qualifying for a Wild Card playoff spot
after defeating the San Francisco Giants 5-3 in a season-extending single-game
playoff. In a season in which the home run race between Sosa (who hit a record
20 home runs in June) and Mark McGwire of the Cardinals dominated attention,
the Cubs went on a 21-9 run in May and stayed in the Wild Card race until the
end. They came from behind for 49 of their wins. Lost NLDS to the Atlanta
Braves, 3 games to 0.
Aftermath of ‘98:
The
enthusiastic and ever-smiling “Slammin’ Sammy” followed up with another huge
season in 1999, swatting 63 home runs (again second to Mark McGwire),driving in
141 RBIs, and batting .288 while topping the NL in strikeouts for the third
consecutive year with 171. He was the league leader in home runs in 2000 with
50, to go along with 138 RBIs and a .320 average, although he was no longer
much of a threat to steal and his play in right field also dropped off. In 2001
Sosa became the first player to have three 60-home run seasons, as he clubbed
64 four-baggers (coming in second to San Francisco’s Barry Bonds). He also led
the NL with 146 runs scored, 160 RBIs, 425 total bases, and 37 intentional
walks drawn (out of a total of 116). In addition, he batted .328 with a .437
OBP and remained a fan favorite despite rumors of steroid use and dissension in
the clubhouse. In 2002 Sosa led the NL with lesser numbers in home runs (49)
and runs scored (122) while hitting .288 with 108 RBIs. His early production in
2003 was slowed after he was hit in the head with a pitch. Furthermore, he was
suspended for seven games after a bat that he was using in a game broke and was
found to be corked. While others of his bats were X-rayed and declared cork
free, his credibility took a major hit. The rumors of PED use became more
prevalent. His performance picked up in the second half of the season and he
finished with 40 home runs, 103 RBIs, and a .279 average. Back spasms put Sosa
on the disabled list in 2004, and over the course of 126 games he batted .253
with 35 home runs and 80 RBIs. With the Cubs falling out of contention in the
season’s final week, Sosa asked to sit out the final game and apparently left
while it was in progress, much to the anger of his teammates. The incident
marked a sad end to his tenure with the Cubs. Dealt to the Baltimore Orioles in
2005, Sosa appeared in only 102 games and hit .221 with 14 home runs. A free
agent after the season, he sat out 2006 but returned with the Texas Rangers in
2007. Playing in 114 games he batted .252 with 21 home runs and 92 RBIs while
being used primarily as a DH. His career thus ended at age 38. For his major
league career, Sosa batted .273 with 2408 hits that included 379 doubles, 45
triples, and 609 home runs. He scored 1475 runs and compiled 1667 RBIs along
with 234 stolen bases. He drew 929 walks, struck out 2306 times, and had a
career on-base percentage of .344. With the Cubs he batted .284 with 1985 hits,
296 doubles, 32 triples, 545 home runs, 1245 runs scored, 1414 RBIs, 181 stolen
bases, 798 walks drawn, and 1815 batter strikeouts. Appearing in 15 postseason
games, Sosa hit .245 with two home runs and 7 RBIs. He was a seven-time
All-Star who received six Silver Sluggers. Sosa finished in the top ten of
league MVP voting seven times, with the one win. Allegations of steroid use
have tarnished his reputation, including a published report that he failed a
random drug test in 2003. He denied using performance-enhancing drugs in
testimony before Congress in 2005. Charismatic but controversial, Sosa leaves a
mixed legacy.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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