Ali Adair

Dear Sammy Sosa,

Say it ain’t so. How could you leave us after so many years of loyalty that we gave you? You were the heart and soul of the Cubbies. We followed you and cheered for you season after season. First Moises Alou leaves us and now you.

Doesn’t the number 13 mean anything to you? That’s how many years you were with us. That’s longer than some marriages. So what if you don’t like Dusty Baker? Suck it up! The fans love you, the ballpark loves you and now you have just gone and deserted us when we need you the most.

The Chicago Cubs were going to be good this year too. I know we say that every year, but this year was definitely going to be our year. Mark Prior is finally healthy and with a pitching staff with him, Kerry Wood and Greg Maddox we were set.

Let’s not even start talking about Nomar Garciapara. That was the problem wasn’t it? You were jealous of his fame right? You can learn to share the spotlight. Baltimore has bigger bats in their line-up than you have ever been around. You hit 546 homeruns as a Cubbie; doesn’t that mean something?

We watched you through the good times. There was the season you hit 66 homers and had 158 RBI. The homerun race with Mark Maguire just wouldn’t have been the same if you hadn’t been there. Then there was the season you belted a homer out of Wrigley Field to tie the game 8-8 in game one of the playoff series with the Marlins. Sure you guys lost that game in the extra innings, BUT IT WAS THE PLAYOFFS (finally). You should have seen my dorm room that night, 10 girls all crammed into a tiny room loyally watching. We were yelling so loud that people came from down the hall to see what we were yelling about. And now you are going to leave.

We watched you through the bad times too. We were there during your first few seasons when you were about half the size you are now, before you hit tons of homeruns. We watched as you swung your bat, made contact, broke the bat and the whole world knew it was corked. But it wasn’t your bat, right? We still supported you and loved you even though you were wrong. Good luck finding that in Baltimore.

Sure, Sammy, we are going to miss you. We are going to miss your spirit and your hustle. I remember the first time I saw a Cubs game at Wrigley and the first time I saw you in real life. You were so strong and all muscle. I was taken aback by how huge you really are. You had presence on the field that was fun to watch. When you would sprint from that dugout to right field in between every inning, it was truly inspiring.

And now you’re gone. Mostly, we will miss what you gave Cubs fans like me, something to hold on to. Hope. Hope for a better season, to just “wait until next year.” You may become a Baltimore Oriole now, but to us, you will always be a Cub. Thanks for the memories.