News

Sammy Sosa Likely To Retire
Feb. 16, 2006

Outfielder Sammy Sosa is likely to retire after concluding that he no longer can achieve his desired level of performance, according to his longtime agent, Tom Reich.

Sosa, 37, rejected a one-year, non-guaranteed $500,000 contract from the Nationals on Wednesday. The "odds are" that he will not play again, Reich told FOXSports.com.
"It's not absolute," Reich said. "But his expectations of himself are very, very high. He does not want to disappoint himself, let alone everyone else."

Reich said that Sosa would return to the majors only if he believed he could perform close to the standards he established when he was one of the game's most feared sluggers.

"This isn't a play to see what else is out there," Reich added. "He thinks he's better off not playing."

Sosa batted .221 with 14 homers and 45 RBIs last season in an injury-marred campaign with the Orioles. His sudden decline occurred during the first season in which Major League Baseball began suspending players who tested positive for using performance-enhancing drugs.

Reich said MLB's harsher drug-testing program had no bearing on Sosa's decision.

"The speculation about all of that is part of the fabric of what exists in today's world of baseball," Reich said. "People are free to say or assume whatever they want. But that entire subject has nothing to do with this decision.

"People should not be presumed guilty of things that other people speculate about. That's something that's gotten lost in this country in recent years and in sports. Sammy's entitled to that and everyone else is, too, unless legal standards are met. Otherwise, we wouldn't be a nation of laws at all."

Sosa, addressing a House committee last March, said he had never used "illegal performance-enhancing drugs" and had not broken the laws of the United States or his native Dominican Republic.

The Nationals offered Sosa a deal that could have topped out at around $2 million, including $1.5 million in incentives. But his role would have been uncertain, and RFK Stadium, the Nationals' home park, favors pitchers.

The Nats' plan was for Sosa to play left field, with Alfonso Soriano in center and Jose Guillen in right. Sosa likely would have received an extended opportunity; Soriano is resisting a move to the outfield from second base and Guillen is recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder.

But Sosa opted to stop playing even though he is 12 homers shy of 600, a milestone achieved by only four other players – Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds and Willie Mays.

"A lot of people wanted to assume it's about the 600 home runs: ‘He had to get to 600 home runs. He needed to keep playing,"' Reich said. "It's not that. It's not that he has to stay in uniform just to be in uniform."

In the end, it was this: If Sosa could not be Sammy Sosa, he would not make a desperate attempt to extend his 17-year career.

I'm very, very proud of what he's accomplished and all the thrills that he has provided," Reich said. "I'm also impressed by the way he's handled this decision-making process.

"He's been a real man about it, a big man, about the way he has thought this thing through. He's approached this in a very mature way, not like a guy who just won't let it go."