Earlier this week, former Cubs OF Sammy Sosa told a Chicago radio station that he was, ” looking forward to one day, you work in Wrigley Field and see my statue, see my flag.” Though it’s not entirely clear which statue Sammy would displace to make room for his own —- Ernie Banks’ or Harry Caray’s — the Sun Times’ Paul Morrissey didn’t take kindly to the suggestion, likening Sosa to a bank robber he dubs, ” ‘’The Kiss-Blowing, Heart-Tapping Bandit’’ (because he enjoys gesturing in front of the security cameras as he steals bags of cash)” (“ten years after the robber’s final heist, the bank invites him back, has a parade and raises a banner to honor him permanently”).
Why the Cubs would want to be reminded of their association with him is beyond my ability to comprehend. They haven’t made any promises to Sosa, which I’d like to think means they don’t want him within 100 towering home-run balls of Wrigley. If so, I don’t blame them. At the Cubs Convention in January, team chairman Tom Ricketts said the situation was ‘‘complicated’’ and ‘‘awkward’’ and ‘‘maybe it’s an issue we pick up this year.’’
Or maybe not.
It’s true the Cardinals hired drug cheat Mark McGwire as their hitting coach in 2009. That’s because then-manager Tony La Russa had/has no shame. And it’s true Cardinals fans gave McGwire a standing ovation, but that was an embarrassment to anyone who considers himself a clear-thinking human being.