Sammy Sosa ready to admit his mistakes, but maybe not steroid use

Sammy Sosa has been at the center of criticism in years past over alleged steroid use. He also has butted heads with Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts, largely because of his ties to steroids. This has caused him to be painted as somewhat of a villain by the Cubs organization.

The 55-year-old former slugger was in Chicago over the weekend for an autograph session and was asked about the possibility of making amends with the organization. Sosa seemed ready to put the past behind him.

"I'm a mature man. I think it's a possibility that we could do that," said Sosa. "I'm open. I don't have any problem with that. Like I said, I had a lot of misunderstandings in the past. I'm a real man, I feel great. I recognize my mistake, so hey, why not?"

However, when approached with a question about his steroid use, Sosa declined to answer and dodged the question before walking away.

Sammy Sosa dodges steroid question, ends interview

Clearly, Sosa isn't interested in talking about the past or his potential steroid use.

If that is truly the case, then it appears as though he and Ricketts won't be having any discussions in the near future. Perhaps admitting it is the final hurdle he needs to clear before talking with Ricketts, at least in the Cubs' eyes.

Sosa and Mark McGwire helped revitalize baseball with their epic home run battle in 1998. McGwire won the home run battle, hitting 70 homers that year and barely edging out Sosa, who finished the season with 66 bombs.

What we do know about that time period is that many players were using steroids, so if Sosa was indeed using them, he was far from the only one. McGwire admitted his steroid use prior to the 2010 season, but was still brought back to the St. Louis Cardinals as a hitting coach.

Either way though, Sosa doesn't appear to be interested in discussing the past or whether or not he used steroids.

But given that it's been years since Sosa retired, it might be time for him and the Cubs to just set aside their differences and patch things up. This way, Sosa can be remembered as a legend in Chicago rather than a villain.

At the very least, Sosa is willing to admit he made mistakes and have discussions with the Cubs organization.

We'll see if the two sides can eventually move on and repair their relationship.