Once, Sosa owned this sport. Once, he was more popular in the city of Chicago than deep-dish pizza. Once, he seemed to be a symbol of all that was good about baseball.

His page in the encyclopedia will show he had more 60-homer seasons (three) than anybody who ever swung a bat. In the eight seasons, from 1996 through 2003, he averaged 51 homers. And nobody else in the sport was within 40 of him in that astonishing slice of baseball time.

But it's been one messy tumble down the mountainside over these last three years. Cork exploded out of his bat. Clouds hovered over his accomplishments. He got subpoenaed by Congress, and suddenly forgot how to speak English.  

MiamiSpartan:
Never liked him.

Chill-Trick:
\"suddenly forgot English\"

LOL, before that happened, I was listening to the afternoon sports show in Boston, and one of the co-hosts at the time said that he was in the locker room interviewing someone, and nearby was Sosa talking with a teammate..speaking better English than you or I.  Then a reporter walks up to him to interview him and he pulls out the \"Si, Si...me no understand\" shit.  What an ass****.

I hope he does retire.