Sammy Sosa still doesn't understand what he did wrong decades later

Former Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa will not be enshrined in Cooperstown, despite having 609 home runs to his name. The 1998 Home Run chase will live on in baseball lore, but much of it was done illegally (allegedly), as both Sosa and Mark McGwire were using performance-enhancing drugs at the time.

The duo saved baseball as we know it, but in the decades since have cast a shadow on their superhero status. As a result, the voters who decide just how they'll be honored in their post-playing careers have opted against placing their names alongside the game's greats.

McGwire, for his part, has admitted to taking PEDs. Sosa has not, and often shies away from the question when asked about it directly. Unlike McGwire, he hasn't been welcomed back to his home park, which is a shame felt by both the player and Cubs fans who loved watching him play, whether it be by the book or not.

“Well like I said, I’m a mature man,” Sosa said when asked about a Cubs reunion. “I think that’s a possibility that we can do that. I’m open. I don’t have a problem with that. I had a lot of misunderstandings in the past but now I’m a real man. I feel great. I recognize my mistake. So, why not?”

Sammy Sosa still doesn't get it

Sosa will not make the Hall of Fame. His only chance, for now, is to be honored by various sub-committees which aim to correct mistakes made by the BBWAA. It's a second chance for some, but Sosa is unlikely to be among those forgiven. For his part, the former MVP still doesn't seem to have a firm grasp on what he (allegedly) did wrong.

"Pase lo que pase, mis hazañas y jonrones nunca podrán borrarse de la pizarra. Nada ni nadie podrá borrar esos numeritos," Sosa said in Spanish. Loosely, this translates to 'no matter what happens, my exploits and home runs can never be erased from the slate. Nothing and no one can erase those numbers.'

Sosa's numbers are immense, yes. They remain in the record books and will never be erased, as far as I know. Yet, much like those who skirted around the rulebook in the past, they will come with an asterisk. Sosa will have to learn to live with that blemish eventually.