*Updated Thread* Sosa Shows Up at Spring Training greeted warmly!

[chsspiritguard04]

So ESPN reports.

[shoelessjoelives]

Pop the cork on the champagne and break open a bat ..........let's celebrate :unsure:

[Five0pd310]

We can always hope for a Big Hurt type season. I'm not going to make fun of it or bash the deal until I see what exactly is in the works.

[Guest CNOrtega]

I applaud the Rangers front office for being willing to give him a second chance. If he is willing to work for his spot and be a clubhouse guy, then I think this is a fantastic signing.

[flanker]

There's a lot he can teach the younger guys about corking bats.

[CoachBird2]

Could this possible be a publicity stunt???

[TJC_fan]

It does sound odd, I'll admit. But what if he comes in and makes the team as an occasional starter, and "DH"/pinch hitter .... and gets 20 HR's and 65-70 rbi's. It would be a good signing. Not sure if he'd get enough "at bats", but if he was successful early in the season, then he might.

 

But I'm not staying up late at night, thinking about all the good things he's going to do for the Rangers. I'll let it happen first!!!!!!

[pack07]

If the rangers would have never got rid of him several years ago the could have been a world series contender when he was in his primeand before he was corked out.

[kniu]

Hopefully he will be a team player. He could an excellent teacher for a lot of the younger players. Hopefully he will respond to this second chance and be a positive contributor to the team.

At first I was not looking at it as a positive, but it could turn out to be a beneficial move. I will with hold judgement until the situation develops

[Bobama]

Makes about as much sense as Kenny Lofton...

[shoelessjoelives]

Originally posted by pack07

If the rangers would have never got rid of him several years ago the could have been a world series contender when he was in his primeand before he was corked out.

 

I must have missed something about Sammy. Was he a good pitcher at one time in his career ? Well, since he didn't pitch and pitch well he would not have been that much help.

[chsspiritguard04]

02/23/2007 1:41 PM ET

Sosa arrives at Rangers camp

Fans warmly greet slugger after season away from the game

Associated Press

 

 

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) -- Sammy Sosa returned to the field Friday after a year away from the game, greeted warmly by fans before his first Spring Training workout with the Texas Rangers.

The 38-year-old slugger, fifth on baseball's home-run list, got to the complex several hours before the Rangers' first full-squad workout. Sosa has a Minor League deal with his original team, hoping for a chance to get back to the Major Leagues.

 

On his way to the practice field, Sosa passed through a small group of fans, with one yelling, "Good luck, Sammy." He stopped and posed for a picture.

 

"I just expect Sammy to come in and be Sammy," first-year manager Ron Washington said. "We're going to do everything we can to try to get him going and maybe he can help us win some ballgames."

 

Wearing a short-sleeve shirt with yellow and light blue stripes when he first arrived around dawn, Sosa joked with reporters by looking at his watch as if to remind them he showed up early.

 

Sosa completed his physical and greeted teammates in the clubhouse. With a bat in hand, he smiled and said, "Back in business." The Rangers planned an afternoon news conference for the former NL MVP and seven-time All-Star who has 588 homers.

 

Rangers owner Tom Hicks, who was in camp for Sosa's first day, said he's anxious to see how things are going for Sosa after a few weeks in camp.

 

"He says all the right things," Hicks said. "He just has to go out and do it now. I think he will."

 

Sosa was 16 when Texas signed him from the Dominican Republic in 1985. He was still a lanky kid in 1989 when he made his Major League debut and hit his first home run, the only one he had in 25 games for the Rangers before being traded to the Chicago White Sox.

 

 

 

 

News and features:

 

• Tejeda progressing toward big things

• Rangers notes: Kinsler deal a priority

• Young, Teixeira eyeing wins, not extensions

• Botts faces obstacles in making Texas roster

• Rangers notes: Wilson to try the 'gyro'

• Rangers notes: Chen looking to regain form

Multimedia:

 

• Tom Grieve on 2007 hopes, McCarthy

• Broadcaster Victor Rojas

Spring Training info:

• MLB.com coverage | Schedule | Ballpark | Tickets

 

If Sosa makes the team, Washington expects him to be primarily a designated hitter and bat in the middle of the lineup behind three-time All-Star shortstop Michael Young and switch-hitting slugger Mark Teixeira.

 

Sosa will get a $500,000, one-year deal and could possibly earn up to $2.1 million more in performance bonuses if he makes the 40-man roster.

 

"We're excited to see what he can bring," Teixeira said.

 

In his career, Sosa has batted .274 with 1,575 RBIs with three 60-homer seasons. He hit .221 with 14 home runs and 45 RBIs in 102 games with Baltimore in 2005.

 

"Obviously, taking a year off, it's tough to predict what he's going to be able to do," Young said. "The great thing about him is that he has that burning desire to go out and succeed. He's a proud guy. He's not going to go out here and just play to be average."

 

Sosa's MVP season was in 1998, when he batted .308 with a career-high 66 homers and 158 RBIs for the Chicago Cubs. That year he was in the home run chase with Mark McGwire, who became the first Major Leaguer to hit 70 homers.

[Guest bleedsbluengold24]

Publicity stunt, IMO. I'll let him prove me wrong.