Around the Majors: Sosa's considering retirement

[baseball-encyclopedia]

1) According to ESPNdeportes.com, Sammy Sosa is considering retiring instead of accepting the Nationals offer.


YEAR AGE RCAA OBA SLG OPS OWP RC/G AVG HR RBI SB G TEAM
2003 34 25 .358 .553 .911 .631 6.80 .279 40 103 0 137 Cubs
2004 35 5 .332 .517 .849 .529 5.93 .253 35 80 0 126 Cubs
2005 36 -15 .295 .376 .671 .359 3.34 .221 14 45 1 102 Orioles
CAR 338 .345 .537 .882 .606 6.44 .274 588 1575 234 2240
LG AVG 0 .339 .422 .761 .500 5.04 .269 250 1093 171
POS AVG 152 .348 .459 .807 .549 5.67 .276 325 1273 215

2) The Reds signed free agent 1B Scott Hatteberg to a 1 year, $750,000 contract.


YEAR AGE RCAA OBA SLG OPS OWP RC/G AVG HR RBI SB G TEAM
2003 33 -2 .342 .383 .725 .489 4.57 .253 12 61 0 147 A's
2004 34 8 .367 .420 .787 .544 5.73 .284 15 82 0 152 A's
2005 35 -19 .334 .343 .677 .354 3.63 .256 7 59 0 134 A's
CAR -5 .356 .403 .758 .493 5.05 .268 83 422 1 1023
LG AVG 0 .337 .430 .767 .500 5.08 .269 108 454 58
POS AVG 1 .339 .435 .774 .499 5.11 .264 123 490 19

3) Free agent P Shingo Takatsu returned to Japan and signed with the Yakult Swallows.


YEAR AGE RSAA ERA G GS IP SO SO/9 BR/9 W L SV NW NL TEAM
2004 35 18 2.31 59 0 62.1 50 7.22 9.10 6 4 19 8 2 White Sox
2005 36 -3 5.20 40 0 36.1 38 9.41 14.86 2 2 8 2 2 White Sox/Mets
CAREER 15 3.38 99 0 98.2 88 8.03 11.22 8 6 27 10 4
LG AVG 0 4.53 98.2 70 6.37 12.97 6 6

4) According to the LA Times, the Angels have raised their offer to free agent P Jeff Weaver to 1 year plus 2 option years.

5) According to NY Newsday, the Orioles, Red Sox and Reds are interested in free agent RF Richard Hidalgo.

6) Today's birthdays--


SAL BANDO, AGE: 62
YEAR AGE RCAA OBA SLG OPS OWP RC/G AVG HR RBI SB G TEAM
1969 25 53 .400 .484 .885 .736 7.21 .281 31 113 1 162 A's
1970 26 28 .407 .430 .837 .655 6.18 .263 20 75 6 155 A's
1973 29 51 .375 .498 .873 .751 6.75 .287 29 98 4 162 A's
CAR 212 .352 .408 .760 .597 5.09 .254 242 1039 75 2019
LG AVG 0 .325 .380 .705 .500 4.23 .257 163 805 125
POS AVG -6 .324 .383 .706 .490 4.21 .254 178 838 92

BILL BRADLEY, 1878-1954
YEAR AGE RCAA OBA SLG OPS OWP RC/G AVG HR RBI SB G TEAM
1902 24 42 .375 .515 .890 .695 8.16 .340 11 77 11 137 Indians
1903 25 41 .348 .496 .844 .715 7.05 .313 6 68 21 136 Indians
1904 26 23 .334 .409 .743 .632 5.40 .300 6 83 23 154 Indians
CAR 63 .320 .376 .696 .545 4.76 .274 34 540 175 1387
LG AVG 0 .319 .343 .662 .500 4.48 .262 24 549 200
POS AVG -49 .308 .337 .645 .472 4.18 .258 21 542 188

FRITZ BUELOW, 1876-1933
YEAR AGE RCAA OBA SLG OPS OWP RC/G AVG HR RBI SB G TEAM
1901 25 -25 .269 .316 .585 .198 2.86 .225 2 29 2 70 Tigers
1904 28 -23 .204 .176 .380 .125 1.35 .141 0 10 4 84 Tigers/Indians
1905 29 -19 .201 .212 .413 .155 1.54 .174 1 18 7 74 Indians
CAR -106 .239 .252 .490 .207 2.21 .192 6 112 20 430
LG AVG 0 .320 .350 .670 .500 4.65 .265 7 160 54
POS AVG -57 .286 .301 .587 .358 3.33 .235 4 143 26

HAL CHASE, 1883-1947
YEAR AGE RCAA OBA SLG OPS OWP RC/G AVG HR RBI SB G TEAM
1916 33 37 .363 .459 .822 .718 6.33 .339 4 82 22 142 Reds
1918 35 10 .339 .417 .756 .633 5.26 .301 2 38 5 74 Reds
CAR 54 .317 .379 .696 .536 4.61 .288 37 804 330 1697
LG AVG 0 .320 .336 .656 .500 4.14 .259 26 612 248
POS AVG 13 .319 .347 .666 .513 4.21 .265 28 706 243

SCOTT DOHMANN, AGE: 28
YEAR AGE RSAA ERA G GS IP SO SO/9 BR/9 W L SV NW NL TEAM
2004 26 5 4.11 41 0 46 49 9.59 11.74 0 3 0 2 1 Rockies
2005 27 -4 6.10 32 0 31 35 10.16 15.10 2 1 0 1 2 Rockies
CAREER 1 4.91 73 0 77 84 9.82 13.09 2 4 0 3 3
LG AVG 0 4.28 77 57 6.67 12.81 4 4

EDDIE FOSTER, 1887-1937
YEAR AGE RCAA OBA SLG OPS OWP RC/G AVG HR RBI SB G TEAM
1913 26 -13 .309 .306 .615 .384 3.51 .247 1 41 22 106 Senators
1919 32 -15 .314 .310 .623 .385 3.56 .264 0 26 20 120 Senators
1923 36 -13 .241 .200 .441 .109 1.75 .180 0 4 0 27 Browns
CAR -64 .329 .326 .655 .461 3.99 .264 6 446 195 1500
LG AVG 0 .339 .357 .696 .500 4.43 .269 31 600 190
POS AVG -71 .328 .339 .667 .457 4.02 .261 24 545 193

DONNIE MOORE, 1954-89
YEAR AGE RSAA ERA G GS IP SO SO/9 BR/9 W L SV NW NL TEAM
1985 31 25 1.92 65 0 103 72 6.29 9.79 8 8 31 13 3 Angels
CAREER 29 3.67 416 4 655 416 5.72 12.26 43 40 89 50 33
LG AVG 0 3.85 655 392 5.39 12.29 37 37

FRANK WILLIAMS, AGE: 48
YEAR AGE RSAA ERA G GS IP SO SO/9 BR/9 W L SV NW NL TEAM
1986 28 13 1.20 36 0 52.1 33 5.68 10.32 3 1 1 4 0 Giants
1987 29 23 2.30 85 0 105.2 60 5.11 12.09 4 0 2 3 1 Reds
CAREER 38 3.00 333 1 471.2 314 5.99 12.69 24 14 8 21 17
LG AVG 0 3.75 471.2 300 5.73 12.13 26 26

TODD WILLIAMS, AGE: 35
YEAR AGE RSAA ERA G GS IP SO SO/9 BR/9 W L SV NW NL TEAM
2001 30 0 4.70 15 0 15.1 13 7.63 19.37 1 0 0 0 1 Yankees
2004 33 7 2.87 29 0 31.1 13 3.73 11.49 2 0 0 1 1 Orioles
2005 34 7 3.30 72 0 76.1 38 4.48 11.91 5 5 1 6 4 Orioles
CAREER 7 3.90 151 0 161.1 83 4.63 13.39 10 8 1 8 10
LG AVG 0 4.43 161.1 114 6.34 12.84 9 9

[wilkerson_rulz-06]

Sosa's not going to retire, he only needs 12 homers to reach that oh so important plateau.
I still hope he doesn't sign with us.

[trosmok]

Can't say I'd blame you a bit, wilkerson_rulz, I toyed with the idea of the Cubs signing him to a one or two month deal, so he can reach that double ought milestone wearing northside blue. When I came to my senses, I thought better, and hope the Brewers, Cards or the low power Astros pick him up, just so my Cubs can beat him up. One thing is nearly certain, he won't strike out 403 more times in his career, leaving the lifetime mark for futility intact for Mr. Swinganamiss Reggie Jackson, for a long, long time.

[BristolBoy]

Dude only hit 14 in Baltimore last year, and he's on the decline. I fail to see how he's going to hit 12 anywhere, let alone in RFK.

[KCGHOST]

When it's over it's over. Time to hang'em up and pray the HoF voters get anymore sophisticated than they are.

[Ontarioguy]

What I find really amazing was how fast his decline has been. He's gone from being a force to an average player in one year.

[Lipsander]

I'm a huge Cubs fan. I've watched Sammy most of his whole career. After the steroids issue, he lost a big deal of weight. I really think Sammy's decline came due to this equation: Sammy - Steroids = Average Player

[Tigerfan1974]

Do the right thing Sammy, call it a career and hope for the Hall like Raffy will.


Should Sosa make the hall???

I say yes, despite the cork and 'roids. Raffy, maybe not so much, even though 3000 hits and 500 plus dingers.

[DodgerBlue8188]

He had a big drop from 35 homeruns to 14 but maybe he just had an off year? If you remember the Orioles started off strong and just went to the gutter. There could have been a lot of things going wrong in the clubhouse that could have effected his peformance. I'm not sure what the break down on his homeruns were. But it might reflect the poor second half the team had.

[Mattingly]

If he retires, what, pray tell, should I do? ... :D

http://www.stevensgarnier.co.uk/images/agencies/garnier/Popping%20Champagne%20cork.jpg



^^ *hopes nobody notices it was me who posted that* ^^

[Tigerfan1974]

If he retires, what, pray tell, should I do? ... :D

http://www.stevensgarnier.co.uk/images/agencies/garnier/Popping%20Champagne%20cork.jpg



^^ *hopes nobody notices it was me who posted that* ^^

ROFLMAO!!!

[Zito75]

Too funny. When you take away all the cheating, I guess he is just an average player. Good riddance, Sammy. :grouchy

[Evangelion]

Do the right thing Sammy, call it a career and hope for the Hall like Raffy will.
Raffy been caught taking steriods, Sosa hasn't. Big difference. There's just a speculation Sosa and many other players took steriods, but in the end, it's just speculation, not fact like Raffy's case.

Two words for Sammy.

Coors Field.

[The Big C]

I would sooner retire than play in RFK were I Sammy. The way he is going he might not crack double digits there, this coming from a guy who was and still is a huge Sosa fan.

[DownUnderDodger]

Maybe if someone offered him a corked bat as part of the contract :crazy :crazy

[Lipsander]

Sammy wore out his welcome with me. I realize that he's an average player without his steroids. I watch every Cub game that I can. Once the steroid issue came mainstream, Sammy started to lose weight significantly.

[Evangelion]

Sosa wore out his welcome everywhere he's been lately. I'm a bit shocked the Nationals would even consider giving him a contract at this point of his career. Without the long ball, Sosa is a medicore level player who can barely hit 250. these days. Speculation is just speculation, there's no proof that Sosa or any other player we might suspect on steriods have took steriods, even if their already guilty in your eyes even with proof.

Only players that took steriods are those that admitted it and those that caught. Those are the only players you can say, with fact to back-up you, that took steriods at this point. Sosa hasn't admitted, so you just can't say ''He took steriods, because I speculated he did.'' regardless of what you have to back it up.

Sosa was never a good hitter period. Only reason his OBP. might be high is people like to walk the power hitter, this also applies to Big Mac. I can speculate he took steriods, but without proof, not going to complain about and think they're guilty with any facts to back it up my speculation.

Trust me, I'm not a support or defender of Sosa in any means. Just stating my opinion about people that say a player a steriod user based off speculation.

[trosmok]

Two words for Sammy.

Coors Field.

Now that's funny.:clapping

If big Frank Thomas plays for the A's for half a million + incentives, there is no reason on earth Samala couldn't swallow a little of that overblown pride and do the same. I don't believe he ever took any steroids, and since it's not been proven he did, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. What if he just had a couple of off years, and rebounds to a 40 HR, .282 BA, 100 RBI season somewhere? Are all the Sosa haters going to still suspect he's using peds but masking them very, very well? Gimme a break.:crazy

[Evangelion]

Thomas can actually hit the ball and hit for power, just injuries have slow him down. Sammy on the other hand can't hit for average. Nobody fears Sosa any longer, so he won't get many, if any, free passes by walking. What are we left with? A player striking out a lot while trying to drive the long ball and when he does make contact, he doesn't have enough power to drive it out.

Sosa swings for the fences most of the time and strikes out a lotand barely walks any longer. Making him a player who would be lucky to even have a batting average around 250. range and a player lucky to have OBP above the 300.. I have never thought Sosa was much of a hitter, just like Big Mac.

[Barnstormer]

Just did a straight-line prediction for Sammy in ´06 based on his 2001-2005 performance (actually his decline has been pretty steady - losing on average 20 BA points, 30 OBP points and 60 SLG points per season). His line next year turns out to be .199/.259 /.316 with 6 homers. Yikes.

[Lipsander]

I only said I think Sammy was on steroids, maybe so , maybe not. The only reason I did say this is because at the gym where I work out, a few guys have been rumored to take them. When they go off from it, you can tell, they drop quite a few pounds.

[The Big C]

Sosa was never a good hitter period.

I think that is a little bit of a stretch. Maybe he was never an above average contact hitter, but he was a great power hitter in his peak.

[rockin500]

Sosa was never a good hitter period. Only reason his OBP. might be high is people like to walk the power hitter, this also applies to Big Mac. I can speculate he took steriods, but without proof, not going to complain about and think they're guilty with any facts to back it up my speculation.



i wouldnt say he was never a good hitter. from 1998-2003 his average was above .279 every year. not a great contact hitter, but he had a lot of power and he hit for average in those years. Dont forget his 2001 season which was one of the best in the last 30 years (except it got swallowed up by Barry Bonds)

it was in 2003 where he started heading south and then in 2004 where he jumped on the rocketsled to Baseball Hell.