Saturday, June 21, 2003
The Cubs standout returns to lineup tonight after a seven-game suspension.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Sammy Sosa is done talking about cork.
For the first time in a week, the Chicago Cubs' repentant home run hitter gets to play ball. He completed a seven-game suspension for using a corked bat and was expected back in the lineup tonight.
On the final day of his punishment, Sosa asked fans to forget. He doesn't want to talk about the corked bat anymore.
"It doesn't mean that everybody is going to like me, but some people really appreciate everything I've done for this game and support me 100 percent," Sosa said, during a five-minute news conference.
Warm reception
Then, he got another warm reception from several hundred Cincinnati Reds fans, who he thrilled by hitting one drive after another into the upper deck during batting practice.
Sosa hit career homer No. 500 at Great American Ball Park on April 4, and was cheered during batting practice before the first two games of the four-game series.
He's hoping most fans are just as ready to forgive.
"I have to deal with that for the rest of my life, no question," he said. "But I'm only human. I'm not the only guy in this world that made a mistake. "I'll say it again: Hopefully they'll forget and just let me continue to make people happy."
Cubs manager Dusty Baker knows it won't be that easy. Fans in some ballparks are going to provide reminders of the broken bat that tarnished a reputation.
"It's going to be tough, but it comes with the territory," Baker said. "Hopefully it helps him focus even more, and makes him want to beat them even worse and increases his concentration."
Sosa got a standing ovation when he hit homer No. 500 to right-center field at Great American, the ballpark's first historic hit. That homer and others came under question when his bat shattered in a game on June 3 and cork was found inside.
Used wrong bat
Sosa explained that he used a corked bat in batting practice to put on a show for fans, but mistakenly took it to the plate during a game. The rest of his bats were tested, and no cork was found.
His original eight-game suspension was shortened to seven, but his image took a beating.
"At the beginning, it was very tough for me to see all the things that they put [in the media] about me because of a simple mistake," Sosa said. "I mean, it was a mistake. I haven't killed anybody. They got me up there like I'm a criminal."
Other major leaguers wondered aloud about Sosa's judgment in using a corked bat. Reds pitcher Danny Graves was one of the more outspoken, saying he was disappointed, disgusted and disturbed.
"To me, it's a dead issue," Graves said Tuesday. "He served his time. There's no need to dwell on it. I said all I need to say about it right after it happened. Some people believe him, some people don't. I'm not going to say what I believe."
The Cubs went 3-4 without Sosa, who was starting to regain his stroke when he was suspended. He missed 17 games in May after having the nail removed from his right big toe, which was interfering with his swing.