Congratulations to Sammy Sosa for becoming only the fifth person in major league history to hit 600 home runs. In the fifth inning, Sammy took a Jason Marquis pitch out, helping lead his Rnagers to a 7-3 victory over Sammy's old team, the Chicago Cubs. Sosa joins Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and some other guy as the only players to have hit 600 or more homers.
And no matter how you slice it, this is a pretty significant achievement for old Corky. Once one of the faces that captivated baseball's attention, Sosa's accomplishment last night eclipses some, if not all, of the less savory episodes surrounding Sosa--leaving the Cubs' clubhouse early, leading to a pummeling of Sosa's boombox by a teammate; slumping at the plate and moping as he was dropped in the lineup by Dusty Baker, who never met a player he didn't defend; cratering in a brief stint in Baltimore where he continued his cancerous clubhouse ways.
But in a season where the Dodgers are in desperate need of a power bat, let's consider this:
- Sosa has 12 HR this season. That's three more than Dodgers' team leader Jeff Kent (9), or a 33% premium.
- Sosa now has 52 RBI. That's nine more than Dodgers' team leader Russell Martin (43).
- Sammy was picked up by the Rangers for a one-year deal for $500,000. We could have picked up 98 Sosas for one Schmidt.
Apologies for the C+C Music Factory Reference, but this is clearly a thing that makes you go hmmmmmm.
Congrats, Sammy.
photo illustration by espn.com
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