Sammy Sosa

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

My son David's all time favorite baseball player, Sammy Sosa, is back! After a poor performance with the Orioles in 2005, Sammy was out of baseball in 2006. The Texas Rangers were the only team willing to give him a chance to make a comeback this year. They invited him to spring training and signed him to a $500,000 minor league contract.

Despite the opinion of many so-called baseball experts, Sammy did great in spring training and made the major league roster. In the spring he hit over .400 and tied for first with 5 home runs. David was excited that Sammy made it back to the majors, as was I. From what I read it really sounded like he had worked very hard over the winter and that his attitude and body were both in excellent shape.

Tonight I watched the Rangers defeat the Red Sox behind Sammy's first home run of 2007 and his 589th career shot. He tied the MLB record held by Ken Griffey, Jr. and Fred McGriff with a home run in his 43rd Major League park.

You go, Sammy!


Exerpt from AP article by Stephen Hawkins:

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Sammy Sosa pumped his right fist triumphantly as he rounded first base. He crossed the plate with the fans chanting his name.

While Sosa is no stranger to home run trots, this was his first since 2005.

"It feels great. I fought my way up and I'm here, and I'm doing it," Sosa said. "I feel very happy, very pleased."

The first homer in Sosa's comeback, and the 589th of his career, came in the Rangers' 8-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday night.

Sosa hit the first pitch he got from reliever J.C. Romero in the sixth inning into the left-center field seats for a two-run homer.

"I didn't think I had enough," Sosa said. "I guess I was wrong."

With the chants of "Sammy! Sammy!" getting louder after he rounded the bases, the former NL MVP and seven-time All-Star came out of the dugout for a curtain call, raising his helmet to the fans.

"The kids were real excited on the bench, we were too," said Rangers hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, who was Sosa's first minor league manager. "He's hard not to like. He brings a lot to the game. He's got something going. I told him it's going to get better as we go. ... He's got a lot of confidence. It's good to see that."

It was Sosa's first at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, the 43rd different stadium where he has homered. That tied Ken Griffey Jr. and Fred McGriff for the most stadiums with a homer.

The last homer for Sosa was Aug. 4, 2005, a two-run shot at the Los Angeles Angels during his only season with the Baltimore Orioles.

Sosa's 409-foot drive came in a four-run outburst that put the Rangers up 8-3 right after Kevin Millwood (1-1) escaped the top of the sixth with the tying run on third base.

"It's huge," Millwood said. "For him to get off to a pretty good start and go ahead and get his first one out of the way this year, I think it's going to give him confidence, the players around him confidence and it's going to make other teams sit back and know that he's not going to be an easy out."

Texas had gone ahead to stay with four runs in the third, when Sosa singled and scored the final run on a two-run single by Nelson Cruz off Julian Tavarez (0-1).

When Sosa was a rookie for the Rangers in 1989, they played in a different stadium and his only homer in 25 games was at Boston against Roger Clemens. Sosa was traded that season to the Chicago White Sox.

After sitting out last season, Sosa -- fifth on the career homer list and the only player with three 60-homer seasons -- signed a minor league contract with Texas. He made the team after hitting five homers in 17 games this spring.

"Right now, I'm just trying to get comfortable, get one or two hits a day," said Sosa, who is hitting .267 (4-for-15). "Everything is going to come and take care of itself."