Chicago Cubs want Sammy Sosa to make amends before retiring number

The Chicago Cubs honored a number of former Cubs greats as well as Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers who played their Hall of Fame NFL career with the Chicago Bears inside “The Friendly Confines” at Wrigley Field, but there was one noticeable absence this afternoon.

Sammy Sosa was the lone draw on many poor Cubs teams during his 13 seasons with the Cubs and hit 293 of his 609 career home runs at Wrigley, but the circumstances surrounding the end of his tenure that ended in 2004is why the Cubs said today Sosa needs to make amends before being welcomed back into the organization, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPN.

"“There are some things Sammy needs to look at and consider prior to having an engagement with the team,” Cubs spokesman Julian Green said."

Sosa was caught on surveillance cameras leaving the park while the season finale was still being played, was busted for using a corked bat and has had his legacy further tainted by rampant speculation his home run barrage was fueled by performance-enhancing drugs.

Sosa has openly campaigned for his number to be retired by the Cubs, a move that seems highly unlikely at this point, but if Sosa, who was the face of the franchise for more than a decade and a player who helped bring baseball back in 1998 when he hit 66 home runs and pack Wrigley Field with millions upon millions of fans, then why can’t he be a part of the festivities?

They say that time heals all wounds and in this case it’s been a decade since Sosa has been a Cub, how much longer until these wounds are healed?