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(11/1/03 8:27 am)
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Sammy Sosa
Sosa decides to stay with Cubs
Outfielder opts not to test free agent market
By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com
Sammy Sosa is two home runs shy of Ernie Banks' all-time Cubs mark. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO -- Sammy Sosa decided the grass at Wrigley Field was the right color green.
Sosa opted to stay with the Cubs rather than test the free agent market, announcing his decision Friday.
"I have said all along I wanted to remain a Cub forever," Sosa said in a statement issued by the Cubs. "We had such an exciting year in 2003, for both myself and for Cub fans everywhere. I am already looking forward to next season. I know with Dusty Baker as the manager and the direction our team is headed, it will be another exciting year."
Sammy Sosa / RF
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 225
Bats/Throws: R/R
More info:
Player page
Stats
Hit chart
Cubs site
Sosa, who turns 35 on Nov. 12, has two years remaining on the four-year, $72 million contract he signed in March 2001. By staying with the Cubs, he will receive $16 milion in 2004 and $17 million in 2005. There is a team option in 2006 for $18 million, or a $4.5 million buyout.
Sosa and his agent, Adam Katz, had lobbied for the option to walk away after this season. But Sosa decided to stay.
"Sammy is very bright, very pragmatic," Katz told the Chicago Tribune. "And he said he always has wanted to remain a Cub."
If he had chosen free agency, Sosa would have joined the free agent market along with right fielders Gary Sheffield and Vladimir Guerrero.
This year, Sosa became the first player in National League history to compile six straight 40-homer seasons and nine consecutive 100-RBI seasons. He is the third player in big-league history to have nine straight 35-homer, 100-RBI seasons, joining Jimmie Foxx and Rafael Palmeiro.
Sosa needs two more home runs to tie the Cubs record of 512 held by Ernie Banks. Sosa has hit 539 home runs, 510 as a Cub.
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