5 fan favorites who aren’t in the Cubs Hall of Fame but need to be

Sammy Sosa’s strained relationship with the Chicago Cubs hurts our souls

For a certain generation of fans, when they think of Cubs baseball, they think of Slammin’ Sammy Sosa. The seven-time All-Star, six-time Silver Slugger and 1998 NL MVP was paramount on helping bring baseball back after the 1994 players’ strike. The summer of 1998 was all about Sosa and Mark McGwire chasing the ghost of Roger Maris with one otherworldly moonshot at a time.

Sosa mashed 66 dingers that year and became the undisputed face of Cubs baseball through the 2004 MLB season. He was there to carry a little American flag in from right field in a full sprint shortly after 9/11. He was also there when Steve Bartman got in the way of Moises Alou. While so many things have contributed to Sosa’s strained relationship with the Cubs, this has to end, right?

Steroid allegations will keep Sosa out of Cooperstown, but he should be right at home in the Cubs team hall of fame. Millennials and Gen-Xers still rock Sosa jerseys to Cubs games nearly 20 years since he last played for them. I know because I work with one of those guys, and I know how much Slammin’ Sammy meant to his childhood. If you have a Cubs hall of fame, Sosa has to be in it.

Maybe over time the Cubs will do the right thing to make sure all five of these guys are enshrined?