Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB. Once that is done, we will examine how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives. As such, it is important to us that the Chicago Cubs will induct Sammy Sosa and Derrek Lee to their franchise Hall of Fame this year.
The induction of Sosa is the culmination of two decades of acrimony between Sosa and the Cubs. Sosa, who was a beloved figure in Chicago in the 90s as he was going deep at an astronomical level saw the tide turn against him when it was believed that he took PEDs. The last days of his run at Wrigley saw him leave early in the 2004 Season Finale. The Cubs had stated that Sosa would not be welcomed back to the organization unless an apology occurred, which happened, albeit cryptically last December.
“There were times I did whatever I could to recovery from injuries in an effort to keep my strength up to perform over 162 games. I never broke any laws. But in hindsight, I made mistakes and I apologize.”
Sosa joined the Cubs in 1992 in what turned out to be one of the most lopsided trades in team history. By the mid-90s, Sosa had at least 35 Home Runs from 1995 to 2004, winning two Home Run Titles (2000 & 2002), two RBI Titles (1997 & 2001) and won the 1998 MVP. Sosa also won six Silver Sluggers, and as a Cub would compile 545 Home Runs, 1414 RBIs and a .928 OPS.
Derrek Lee played for the Cubs from 2004 to 2010 amassing 179 Home Runs, 1,046 Hits with two All-Star Games. His best season was in 2005, where he led the National League in Hits (199) and Doubles (50) and was third in MVP voting. He also won two Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers as a Cub.
We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the impending members of the Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame.
Comments powered by CComment