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SANTO DOMINGO -- Former Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa said Wednesday that he will soon announce his formal retirement from baseball and that he will not allow his legacy to be stained by steroid-use accusations.
"Everything I achieved, I did it thanks to my perseverance, which is why I never had any long, difficult moments [as a baseball player]. If you have a bad day in baseball, and start thinking about it, you will have 10 more," said Sosa.
"I will calmly wait for my induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Don't I have the numbers to be inducted?" said Sosa, who presently serves the Dominican government as special ambassador for investment opportunities.
Sosa had a total of 609 home runs in his career, including seasons of 66 homers in 1998; 63 in 1999; and 64 in 2001. He last played in 2007, when he was with the Rangers, a season he called his most fulfilling, with 21 home runs and 92 RBIs in only 114 games.
In an interview with ESPNdeportes.com, the Dominican slugger said he would not address allegations of steroid use.
"I always played with love and responsibility and I assure you that I will not answer nor listen to rumors. If anything ugly comes up in the future, we will confront it immediately, but with all our strength because I will not allow anybody to tarnish what I did in the field," Sosa said.
"It's all about timing and this is not the moment to discuss that topic [drug tests]. I'm here as an ambassador to my country, trying to find new business opportunities for my people. Perhaps we'll discuss some other time," Sosa said.
"The scandal on steroids and all those suspensions will not overshadow the game. Currently, there are many Latino players performing well [offensively]. There's [Albert] Pujols, Carlos Pena; Nelson Cruz has 15. Then what? There's someone else that already has 22 home runs [Adrian Gonzalez] ... we have hit and will continue to hit homers in the major leagues."
http://espn.go.com/chicago/story?id=4229022
Is Sosa going to become the Godfather of Latin baseball players?