My Thoughts About Sammy Sosa's "Apology"

Before 2024 came to a close, a former Chicago Cubs player had something important that he wanted to share with everyone. That someone happened to be Sammy Sosa. So what was the statement he wanted to divulge, you ask? Recently, he finally admitted to using performance enhancement drugs (PEDs). The now 56 year old has apologized for doing the unthinkable. Sosa said the following:

“There were times I did whatever I could to recover from injuries in an effort to keep my strength up to perform over 162 games,” he said. “I never broke any laws. But in hindsight, I made mistakes and I apologize.”

The Steroid Era, which lasted for a decade (1994-2004), had many players tied to using PEDs such as Mark McGuire, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodríguez, and Sosa himself. Sosa went before Congress in 2005, blatantly denying ever using performance enhancement drugs. However, a positive test in 2003 said otherwise.

Speaking of A-Rod, or A-Roid as many people would call him, I wrote a story on Vocal last year about my thoughts regarding the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot and the candidates. Alex appears on this ballot and I still believe that he shouldn't be on there due to his PED use. Plus, I still won't acknowledge him as a World Series champion. In that story, I refused to highlight his accomplishments, because I've since lost my respect for him and saw him for what he was: a fraud and a liar. I'll have the link to that story down below, as well as a link to the ballot.

https://shopping-feedback.today/unbalanced/the-release-of-the-2025-baseball-hall-of-fame-ballot%3C/a%3E

https://baseballhall.org/2025-bbwaa-hall-of-fame-ballot

The names of the finalists that will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in July will be announced on January 21.

Getting back to Sammy Sosa and his so-called "apology" and I put apology in quotes, because I didn't buy it one bit. The picture (seen above) at the beginning of this story is from a baseball page on Facebook, which is problematic. The person who wrote this post was being delusional and made excuses for Sammy Sosa. First of all, he didn't "save" baseball. He ruined it by selfishly trying to use steroids in order to set records, which are now tainted. He wasn't aware of the effect it had on Cubs fans, the organization, and Major League Baseball. To me, that's selfish and it's almost saying that the integrity of the game doesn't matter.

Last year, Major League Baseball made a historic move by recognizing Negro League stats as part of MLB statistics. I also wrote a story on this topic. While I did applaud them for some of the notable changes they made for a few players, the one person whose stats didn't change as far as having the most home runs of all time was the late, great Hank Aaron. Aaron, who passed away in 2021, had 755 career home runs. To me, Hank Aaron is the true Home Run King and not Barry Bonds. A steroid user like Bonds doesn't deserve that title and his home run record should be permanently erased. I believe that the Commissioner should reconsider making Hank Aaron the sole leader in career home runs.

As far as the Sammy Sosa situation, I know a lot of you will say something like "That was a long time ago" or "Get over it." I feel like people use those statements as defense mechanisms to avoid holding others accountable for their actions. There are people like me who cares about the integrity of the game. As I've stated in previous stories, cheating of any kind is unforgivable. I don't and will never give praise to steroid users, because they're not positive examples or role models for prospects, children, rookies, and the fans themselves. I don't care how good a player someone was. If you use PEDs for personal or professional gain, I automatically lose respect for you.

Sammy Sosa's "apology" didn't do anything for me. It was a bit defiant and lacked actual remorse. He may not have broken any laws, but he broke that trust with fans and the Cubs organization. Also, the "apology" didn't change my mind about him. He'll always be known as a cheater. I'm not going to give him or any player who used steroids a pass. My feelings about people like Mark McGuire and even Jose Canseco hasn't changed. The aforementioned steroid users had no respect for themselves or the game. All they cared about was being juiced up, just to chase records and fame. The idea of these men being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame would send the wrong message to kids and future and current prospects that cheating is acceptable. I love this game and actually care about the integrity of it. You noticed that I didn't mention Samny Sosa's career statistics. It's because just like Alex Rodríguez, I refuse to praise a cheater who betrayed the trust of fans, the league, and the organizations he was part of. I don't take too kindly to people who cheat. If I can shun and condemn the Houston Astros for cheating to win a World Series title that they didn't deserve to have, then I can shun and condemn these men mentioned in this story. It's no different, whatsoever.

What did you think of Sammy Sosa's "apology"? Did his latest admission to using PEDs change your mind about him? Let me know in the comments below.