Sammy Sosa

Samuel Sosa Peralta, better known as Sammy Sosa (born November 12, 1968 in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic), is a professional Major League baseball player for the Baltimore Orioles. He formerly has played for the Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Cubs. As of July 27, 2005, Sosa had 587 career home runs, placing him fifth on the major leagues' all-time home run list.

The Baltimore Oriole Year

On January 28, 2005 it was announced that the Cubs had reached an agreement to trade Sosa to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for infielder/outfielder Jerry Hairston, Jr. and two minor league prospects. In order to facilitate the deal, Sosa and his agent agreed to waive the clause that guaranteed his 2006 salary, and the players' union indicated it would not object to that agreement. Under the deal, Sosa earned $17,875,000.00 for the 2005 season, with the Cubs paying $7 million of his salary. By playing for the 2005 Orioles, with 500 home run hitter Rafael Palmeiro, Sosa and Palmeiro became the first 500 Home Run Club members in history to play together on the same team after reaching their 500 home run marks.

Related Topics:
January 28 - 2005 - Baltimore Orioles - Jerry Hairston, Jr. - Agent - Players' union - Rafael Palmeiro - 500 Home Run Club

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After a great deal of preseason hype from Sosa and Orioles management, Sosa had a mild start to the season, which was followed by terrible slumps during mid-season. The slumps caused then Orioles manager Lee Mazzilli to drop Sosa as low as the 7th spot in the lineup. When Sosa's slump continued, Mazzilli resorted to benching Sosa. Sosa eventually returned to the lineup and while the slumps did subside somewhat, he still had problems producing as a hitter. Towards the end of the 2005 season, Sosa had another mysterious injury and spent a great deal of time away from the team. Sosa finished the season batting a mere .221 with a dismal 14 home runs, his worst numbers since 1992. He is not expected to be resigned by the Orioles.

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See also

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• MLB players who have hit 30 or more home runs before the All-Star break
• List of players who have hit 3 home runs in consecutive innings
• Players from Dominican Republic in MLB
• Baninter scandal