Baseball Musings: Sosa to Retire

February 15, 2006

Sosa to Retire

Sammy Sosa is hanging up his spikes. His agent spoke for the former slugger:

"Sammy spent a lot of time ruminating on this," Katz said. "And it basically came down to this: He has such high expectations for himself, and last year was absolute misery for him, the way he under-performed. Sammy just didn't want to put himself through the possibility of going through something like that again. He still thinks he can do it. But there's some doubt there."
There also weren't enough dollars there to help him cushion the fall -- if there was going to be a fall. But Katz flatly rejected any suggestion that Sosa walked because the money wasn't worth his while.

"This was not a money issue," Katz said. "The Nationals were very respectful throughout this thing. Was the money fabulous? No. Was it part of the decision-making process? Absolutely. But it basically came down to the expectations Sammy sets for himself.

"I'm not going to sit here and say money wasn't a consideration in the decision-making process. But by no means was it the only thing involved. In the end, the money was a secondary, maybe even a tertiary, consideration."

That's pretty good spin by the agent, but I'm sure if someone offered Sammy $5 million, a reason could be found to put on the uniform.

So another player not only fails to challenge Aaron, but falls just short of 600 home runs. Remember this as you watch Barry Bonds this season. The fall can happen very quickly. It's not a given that Barry will even pass Babe, let alone catch Hammerin' Hank.

Posted by David Pinto at 10:22 PM | Players | TrackBack (0)

Comments

Forget Sammy - Brooks Kieschnick also announced his retirement today.

Posted by: david at February 16, 2006 12:11 AM

So the off-season steroids weren't cleaning out of the system fast enough, eh?

Posted by: Joseph J. Finn at February 16, 2006 01:38 AM

Boy, Slammin' Sammy went from being the toast of the town to a pariah almost as fast as Palmeiro.

That said, it wouldn't surprise me at all if sometime before the beginning of the 2007 season we see Sosa in a major league uniform again.

Posted by: Adam Villani at February 16, 2006 05:51 AM

I think within the next 5 years we'll see a serious re-evaluation of the notion that 500 home runs = automatic HOF. Not only is there the general increase in offense (and I firmly believe that steroid use is only one of several factors in that), but first we'll see McGwire and then Sosa and Palmeiro face the voters. I'd be surprised if McGwire or Sosa never get elected, but I doubt they'll get in on their first ballot. I think even a good number of voters who feel they should be in regardless will hold off for a year to at least make them wait. They may not have been caught red-handed, but there is that cloud of suspicion.

And before somebody mentions it, "innocent until proven guilty" applies to criminal cases in a court of law. We're allowed to think whatever we like about public figures.

Posted by: Adam Villani at February 16, 2006 05:59 AM

I've always thought Sosa was overrated, with the small of exception of about a 4 or 5 year window of greatness. That's not really enough to be a Hall of Famer. He's a borderline guy who could still get in though, on the strength of 1998 alone. But a corked bat and a blow up at a reporter when casually asked about steroids, could/should seriously hurt his chances.

Posted by: Devon at February 16, 2006 08:02 AM

I hate to say it, but I think this might be a steroid fade. Got off the juice for last year and was awful, and decided he can't do it clean so he is hanging up his spikes. I support this contention with the fact that the Nats deal had more potential to help him than hurt him. He already "tainted" his image with a terrible year last year. He could have rehabbed that some with the Nats this year and gone out on a higher note. Been a pinch hitter, fourth outfielder, veteran leader guy for a year on a "victory lap" (don't forget, the Nats kept Carlos Baerga on in this role last year so they are willing to waste a roster spot for "veteran leadership"). But obviously Sosa felt he couldn't have a halfway decent year, as he figured if he played for the Nats he'd be as bad or worse than last year. You could try and chalk it up to a McGwire-esque "too much pride not to play to my old standards," but that is not what the agent said. The agent said Sammy didn't want to suffer through another year of sucking. So, Sammy thinks he is more likely to further tarnish his image than to help salvage it.

That being said, it is true that you can go from hero to zero awfully fast when you are an older baseball player - even a clean one.

Posted by: Brent at February 16, 2006 01:04 PM

There have also been rumors that Sosa is a few years older than he has claimed. I have no idea if that's true, but it could be another explanation for his sudden drop-off.

Posted by: Jeff A at February 16, 2006 02:07 PM

I'd find the age thing tough to believe. That would mean his peak came even later than we thought. It was late enough as it was.

Posted by: David Pinto at February 16, 2006 02:36 PM

If it wasn't the juice, then it's Human Growth Hormone (HGH). It improves fading eyesight, reduces the aches and pains of live over 30, and helps the body recover faster.

My guess is HGH is far more prevalent than steroids. If Bonds hasn't used it, I'll eat my feet with a KFC spork.

Posted by: Josh at February 16, 2006 06:45 PM

Sammy wus a great player regardless of wut ppl say no one ever proved he took steriods ya u guys may think im crazy even though im only 12 i kno way more then u think i kno and ive been watchin sammy since i wus born and if ur a cub fan or were a cub fan in the late ninetes early thousands u will eventually admit u liked and ya maybe im just sayin this cuz hes my favorite player but im not and i want ppl to start respectin sammy so wut if he made some mistakes we all do and u cant argue with that and if u wont admit that then u should look in the miror and get a life.

Posted by: Brandon Suarez at June 8, 2006 12:36 AM

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