Sammy Sosa knows all about life after baseball, and planned on reaching out to Carlos Zambrano to remind him that once you retire, “it’s a whole different ballgame.”
Sosa, 42, who played 18 seasons in the Major Leagues, including 1992-2004 with the Cubs and was a teammate of Zambrano’s for his final three seasons with the club, said Wednesday he planned on calling the Cubs pitcher, who is currently on the disqualified list. Zambrano served up five home runs to the Braves last Friday in Atlanta, was ejected from the game after throwing inside to Chipper Jones, and then packed his gear in his locker and said he was retiring.
...“Players think that when they sign a contract, everything is easy,” Sosa said Wednesday. “When you retire and you try to do something besides baseball, it’s not easy. It’s tough. When you think everything is going to be the same and so easy as when you played baseball, it’s not that way anymore. I want to make sure [players] understand that. I want to speak to a lot of players. I want to tell them to save their money.
“I see a lot of players make all their money in baseball and when they retire it’s a mess,” he said. “They surround themselves with some bad people. There’s so many bad people outside waiting to get their money.
“That reaction [on Friday] cost [Zambrano] $3 million,” Sosa said. “Maybe he doesn’t need it now, but later on he will. That’s money he worked hard for all his life.”
Repoz
Posted: August 17, 2011 at 07:59 PM |
12 comment(s)
Login to Bookmark
Tags:
cubs,
history
Reader Comments and Retorts
Go to end of page
Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.
1. The Long Arm of Rudy Law Posted: August 17, 2011 at 08:32 PM (#3902638)Who is he zinging here?
Don't do this, Sammy. You guys saved baseball.
Translation: do not accept any checks from Sammy Sosa, strictly cash.
Hopefully I'm only kidding.
He also operates a baseball academy in San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic, and the Cubs have signed two players from there -- second baseman Jeffry Puente and outfielder Randher Valdez. Both are playing in the Dominican Summer League.
Nice.
Whether the youngster has the potential to hit 60 homers or win a National League Most Valuable Player award -- which his uncle did -- remains to be seen.
On MLB.com of all places, an article about Sosa that can just talk about his current life and past achievements without tainting it with steroids or even lumping him in with Bonds, McGwire.
Spanish or English?
You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.
<< Back to main