2008 Woodie Awards
Sosa says he won't disappoint
Paul J. Weber
Issue date: 1/24/07 Section: Sports
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Sammy Sosa is back in baseball - and back to fielding the same steroids questions that dogged him when he left the game more than a year ago.
Sosa and the Texas Rangers agreed to a minor league contract Tuesday, giving the former slugger his first crack at the major leagues since the 2005 season with Baltimore, when he hit .221 with 14 home runs in 102 games.
If he makes the Rangers' roster at the end of spring training - and Sosa said there's only a "one in a million" chance that he won't - he would get a $500,000, one-year deal. He could also earn up to $2.1 million more in performance bonuses.
"You guys won't be disappointed," Sosa said. "I wanted to come back in 2006, but I was beaten mentally. ... I'm fresh. I'm relaxed. I've got my game face again, and I feel great. My body's in shape. I'm ready to go."
The 38-year-old, fifth on the career list with 588 home runs, said Tuesday he spent the past year working out and knows he must rightfully earn his spot. He added that he still has as much as five "good years" of baseball left in him.
But the seven-time All-Star said his comeback isn't about disproving rumors that performance-enhancing drugs elevated him among the game's most feared power hitters.
Before his last season with the Orioles, Sosa was one of several players who testified before a congressional committee looking into steroid use in professional baseball. Like Mark McGwire, Sosa is suspected by some of having used steroids before they were banned by baseball after the 2002 season.
Sosa said Tuesday that there has always been speculation but "never any evidence."
"I am not going to go to every fan's home and knock on the door and say to them: `Believe in me,'" he said. "This is not my style."
Rangers general manager Jon Daniels insisted that Sosa still has to earn his spot with the Rangers. If he makes the team, Sosa would be primarily a designated hitter but still could see some time in the outfield.
Sosa and the Texas Rangers agreed to a minor league contract Tuesday, giving the former slugger his first crack at the major leagues since the 2005 season with Baltimore, when he hit .221 with 14 home runs in 102 games.
If he makes the Rangers' roster at the end of spring training - and Sosa said there's only a "one in a million" chance that he won't - he would get a $500,000, one-year deal. He could also earn up to $2.1 million more in performance bonuses.
"You guys won't be disappointed," Sosa said. "I wanted to come back in 2006, but I was beaten mentally. ... I'm fresh. I'm relaxed. I've got my game face again, and I feel great. My body's in shape. I'm ready to go."
The 38-year-old, fifth on the career list with 588 home runs, said Tuesday he spent the past year working out and knows he must rightfully earn his spot. He added that he still has as much as five "good years" of baseball left in him.
But the seven-time All-Star said his comeback isn't about disproving rumors that performance-enhancing drugs elevated him among the game's most feared power hitters.
Before his last season with the Orioles, Sosa was one of several players who testified before a congressional committee looking into steroid use in professional baseball. Like Mark McGwire, Sosa is suspected by some of having used steroids before they were banned by baseball after the 2002 season.
Sosa said Tuesday that there has always been speculation but "never any evidence."
"I am not going to go to every fan's home and knock on the door and say to them: `Believe in me,'" he said. "This is not my style."
Rangers general manager Jon Daniels insisted that Sosa still has to earn his spot with the Rangers. If he makes the team, Sosa would be primarily a designated hitter but still could see some time in the outfield.
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