Prodigal son would like to return home
Sammy Sosa can’t wait to reemerge at Wrigley Field, where he spent 13 years of his life putting on a show for the bleacher bums.
What would it be like when he finally does step out onto the field? Will fans go wild like they did when he sprinted along the right-field warning track before each home game?
In Sosa’s head, he envisions it like the prodigal son returning home in the Bible.
“It was my house for many years,” Sosa said. “It’s like the father got the son home. The son leaves for many, many years.
“All of a sudden, 10, 20, 30 years later, the son comes back to the house. That’s my hope and expectation. So one day, I will go back to my house.”
Now estranged from the city and the organization, Sosa laid out that vision in an interview for 5 Outs…, a documentary on the 2003 Cubs that will premiere Tuesday night on Comcast SportsNet.
After that memorable playoff run, it was an ugly ending for Sosa in 2004. He left Wrigley Field early on the final day of the season. A smashed boom box showed what his teammates thought of him.
But what really happened that day?
Sosa said Manager Dusty Baker gave him the green light to go home early and took issue with the way it was portrayed in the media.
“They don’t want that to be public,” Sosa said. “They wanted to keep me in the dark. But it’s impossible. You cannot keep the good man down.”
Ozzie Guillen — the former White Sox manager who played with Sosa on the South Side — can’t believe an icon hasn’t been welcomed back to Wrigley Field yet.
“I don’t care what people say about Sammy,” Guillen said. “Sammy Sosa saved baseball and the Cubs. Now, we’re just kicking him in the butt and saying ‘get out of here.’ And somebody else [Junior Lake] is wearing [jersey] No. 21. That’s disrespectful.
“I don’t think any player in the history of the game did more for the Cubs than Sammy Sosa did.”