I-70 Baseball Exclusives Cooperstown Choices 2013

Cooperstown Choices: Sammy Sosa

Bill Ivie

With the Hall Of Fame election announcement coming on January 9, 2013, it is time to review the ballot, go over the names, and decide who belongs in the Hall Of Fame.

There are twenty four men on the ballot for the first time this year and we will take a look at each one individually prior to official announcements. You can find all of the profiles in the I-70 Baseball Exclusives: Cooperstown Choices 2013 menu at the top of the page.

In this article, we take a look at Sammy Sosa

 

Sammy Sosa
An eighteen year veteran of major league baseball, Sosa saw time with four teams during his career.  During his career, he would be selected to seven All Star rosters as well as be awarded six Silver Sluggers and one Most Valuable Player Award.

Year Tm G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1989 TOT 58 183 27 47 8 0 4 13 7 11 47 .257 .303 .366 .669 89
1989 TEX 25 84 8 20 3 0 1 3 0 0 20 .238 .238 .310 .548 52
1989 CHW 33 99 19 27 5 0 3 10 7 11 27 .273 .351 .414 .765 118
1990 CHW 153 532 72 124 26 10 15 70 32 33 150 .233 .282 .404 .687 92
1991 CHW 116 316 39 64 10 1 10 33 13 14 98 .203 .240 .335 .576 59
1992 CHC 67 262 41 68 7 2 8 25 15 19 63 .260 .317 .393 .710 98
1993 CHC 159 598 92 156 25 5 33 93 36 38 135 .261 .309 .485 .794 112
1994 CHC 105 426 59 128 17 6 25 70 22 25 92 .300 .339 .545 .884 127
1995 CHC 144 564 89 151 17 3 36 119 34 58 134 .268 .340 .500 .840 122
1996 CHC 124 498 84 136 21 2 40 100 18 34 134 .273 .323 .564 .888 127
1997 CHC 162 642 90 161 31 4 36 119 22 45 174 .251 .300 .480 .779 99
1998 CHC 159 643 134 198 20 0 66 158 18 73 171 .308 .377 .647 1.024 160
1999 CHC 162 625 114 180 24 2 63 141 7 78 171 .288 .367 .635 1.002 151
2000 CHC 156 604 106 193 38 1 50 138 7 91 168 .320 .406 .634 1.040 161
2001 CHC 160 577 146 189 34 5 64 160 0 116 153 .328 .437 .737 1.174 203
2002 CHC 150 556 122 160 19 2 49 108 2 103 144 .288 .399 .594 .993 160
2003 CHC 137 517 99 144 22 0 40 103 0 62 143 .279 .358 .553 .911 133
2004 CHC 126 478 69 121 21 0 35 80 0 56 133 .253 .332 .517 .849 114
2005 BAL 102 380 39 84 15 1 14 45 1 39 84 .221 .295 .376 .671 78
2007 TEX 114 412 53 104 24 1 21 92 0 34 112 .252 .311 .468 .779 101
18 Yrs 2354 8813 1475 2408 379 45 609 1667 234 929 2306 .273 .344 .534 .878 128
162 Game Avg. 162 607 102 166 26 3 42 115 16 64 159 .273 .344 .534 .878 128
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
CHC (13 yrs) 1811 6990 1245 1985 296 32 545 1414 181 798 1815 .284 .358 .569 .928 139
CHW (3 yrs) 302 947 130 215 41 11 28 113 52 58 275 .227 .276 .382 .659 84
TEX (2 yrs) 139 496 61 124 27 1 22 95 0 34 132 .250 .299 .442 .741 94
BAL (1 yr) 102 380 39 84 15 1 14 45 1 39 84 .221 .295 .376 .671 78
NL (13 yrs) 1811 6990 1245 1985 296 32 545 1414 181 798 1815 .284 .358 .569 .928 139
AL (5 yrs) 543 1823 230 423 83 13 64 253 53 131 491 .232 .287 .397 .684 86
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/12/2012.

Why He Should Get In
His home run (609) and runs batted in (1,667) totals speak loudly enough about a Hall Of Fame career.  Add in 2,408 hits, 234 stolen bases and 929 walks and it is easy to see that Sammy was a well-rounded player that brought more than just a big bat to the teams he played for.

Why He Should Not Get In
More than just about any other player, Sammy will feel the strain of the steroid era.  A player that was perceived to be average for most of his career, Sosa’s numbers ballooned quickly without explanation around 1998 and stayed at that level until 2002.  The voters will most likely use Sosa as an example in their voting for some time to come.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball
Follow him on Twitter here.

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