600 - Good Company

Last night Sammy Sosa hit his six hundred Home Run. Only four other Major League Baseball players have done so. He’s in good company; Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays.

The fact that he got his 600th Home Run against the team (my team) that he had hit 575 home runs for, is truly ironic.

I’ve always liked Sammy as a player. When the cross town Chicago White Sox gave, and I reiterate the word “gave” him to the Cubs, I was elated. Getting a rising star for someone who once was a good player but who was now a waning “has been” was something unusual for the Cubs front office to do.

Slammin’ Sammy has been accused of using steroids early in his career. And none of us can forget the “corked bat” incident! But I still like him as a player! The Sosa “hop” and the touch of his fingers to his lips and then to his heart when he returned to the dugout, is a classic Baseball moment that will not be forgotten.

Sammy is good for Baseball! I am a lifelong Baseball Fan. He is no longer a Cub, but I still enjoy watching him play the game! To a true fan, the game matters more that the standings or which team a player is playing for.

I want my team (the Cubs) to win and finish in first place and then go to the World Series. But as an old coach once told me; “It’s really not about winning or losing, it’s about enjoyment of playing the game.”

I have learned to enjoy the game!

And as one of my favorite childhood players once said "They throw the ball, I hit it. They hit the ball, I catch it." "Willie Mays"

That about sums up the game of Baseball.

The Beach Bum