Cooperstown Choices: Sammy Sosa

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.

Categorized | Cooperstown Choices 2013, I-70 Baseball Exclusives