After deeming a one-year, non-guaranteed, $500,000 contract from the Washington Nationals a “humiliation,” Sammy Sosa is contemplating retirement, rather than reach the 600-home run plateau – he’s currently sitting at 588 – that would certainly make him a Hall of Famer (he has HOF numbers already, but one more good year would put a lot of whispers to rest). The funny thing is, I agree with him; that contract is humiliating, since he made just under $18 million last season. But what Sosa clearly doesn’t realize is that he is in dire need of a little humility.
Yep, the Orioles and Cubs paid him just under $18 million – enough money to make four “Saw” movies – to hit .221-14-45. He had as many strikeouts as he had hits. And yet he claims that he shouldn’t have to beg for a spot on a roster? Yeah, Sammy, you kinda do at this point. Any other player that put up that stat line would be in AAA, if they were lucky. The Nationals’ contract offer is the only one out there, which means that the league is in near-unanimous agreement that you, Samuel Peralta Sosa, are finished. If you choose to retire instead of busting your ass in spring training and shooting for 600, you are only proving them right.
The Chicago press was fond of saying that Sosa didn’t bask in his adulation so much as he demanded it, and this serves as the ultimate example of that. Sosa has always had a higher opinion of himself and his abilities than anyone else alive. This, despite the fact that, as Mike Greenberg astutely pointed out this morning, he never, ever hit a cutoff man – something that directly contributed to the Cubs’ eighth inning meltdown in Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS – he was a terrible base runner, and never once took one for the team. Barry Bonds may be the bigger jackass of the two, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a more selfish player than Sosa.
Fred McGriff wasn’t too proud to sign a minor league contract. Neither was Andres “The Big Cat” Galarraga or Ricky Henderson. Hell, Ricky and Jose Canseco played for the Newark Bears in order to work their way back into the big leagues, they loved the game so much. What Sosa is showing us is that it was never about the game; it was only about him. What Sosa needs to realize is that the clubs aren’t trying to humiliate him; they are offering him exactly what he’s worth. He would also be wise to remember that he’s made well over $120 million during the course of his major league career, and everyone knows it, so the money should not even matter at this point. He should take the deal because he loves to play baseball so much that he’d do it for free.
But to do that, he would have to admit that the game is more important than he is. And we all know that’s never going to happen.
