Sammy Sosa was one of the most iconic Chicago Cubs players in the past two decades, yet he hardly has anything to do with the franchise these days. And it sounds like the Cubs are just fine with that being the case.
The Wall Street Journal on Thursday published an article about the relationship between the Cubs and Sosa. They phrase it as the former slugger being exiled by the franchise.
From Brian Costa’s article:
Nine years after he ended his career with 609 home runs, Sosa remains in exile from Wrigley Field. The Cubs have not retired his No. 21 jersey. They have not invited him to throw out a ceremonial first pitch, or sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” or work with their young hitters. Sosa said about three years have passed since he had any kind of contact with anyone in the organization.
Cubs officials declined to comment on the story to the WSJ.
Meanwhile, the team has brought back former franchise icons such as Kerry Wood, to be a part of the postseason run and celebration.
Sosa wonders why he has been exiled by the team. Even though Sosa was surrounded with steroids questions, Manny Ramirez has a similar history yet was employed by the organization as a coach.
Sosa doesn’t know why the team has distanced themselves from him, but he says he is rooting for the Cubs in the World Series. Sosa played 18 seasons in the bigs, 13 with the Cubs. He won an MVP award with the team and clubbed over 60 home runs in three seasons for the team.
The Cubs explained in 2014 what Sosa needs to do to make amends with the franchise.
