Sammy Sosa

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The man does not do still. He will not -- cannot -- stop moving. Not for anyone. He has tried before, but it is much too difficult. Even when he is relaxed, he is laughing, fidgeting, speaking rapidly and making wild gestures with his hands. He has been this way all his life. Sammy Sosa has always looked more anxious than stoic in the batter's box, an odd distinction for a man who has hit more home runs than all but six men in the history of major-league baseball.

The Baseball Writers' Association of America released its Hall of Fame ballot today, and now the next six weeks will be filled with debate on whether some of the biggest names -- and most controversial characters -- will get into Cooperstown's hallowed halls. Players on the ballot for the first time include a few stars that were embroiled in the sport's steroid controversy: namely Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and former Orioles outfielder Sammy Sosa. Mike Piazza, Craig Biggio and Curt Schilling also are first-timers, joining popular holdovers such as Jeff Bagwell, Jack Morris and Tim Raines on the ballot.

Pittsburgh -- Sammy Sosa has been on history's doorstep before. In 1998, as a beloved right fielder for the Chicago Cubs, Sosa and St. Louis Cardinals behemoth Mark McGwire set the baseball world aflutter with the single-season home run chase. Then, in 2001, Sosa became the first major league player to hit 60 or more home runs in three separate seasons. There has been infamy, too. As in 2003, when he was suspended seven games for using a corked bat. Or in 2005, his first and only season with the Orioles, when he told a congressional committee that his lack of command of English prevented him from answering pointed questions about performance-enhancing drugs.

Jim Thome hadn't hit a homer in his first 11 games with the Orioles. He finally did it in the fourth inning Friday night in Cleveland. The Orioles were already up by six runs, so it was a pretty meaningless bomb. But when you are 41, have played 22 years and have been as daunting of a slugger as Thome has over his career, no homer is meaningless anymore. Thome's 418-foot shot - off the 39-year-old Derek Lowe - was the 610th of his career. That put him in sole possession of seventh all-time on the home run list, breaking a tie with former Oriole Sammy Sosa.

Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa, who last year dueled the St. Louis Cardinals' Mark McGwire in a summer-long race to break the single-season home run record, will soon be pitching for Sparks-based athletic apparel maker Fila USA.The company announced a two-year deal yesterday with Sosa -- who lost the contest but was named the National League's Most Valuable Player -- in which he will market his own cross-training shoe. Outfielder Sosa hit 66 homers, breaking Roger Maris' record of 61, but came in second to McGwire's 70.Fila is working on a prototype of the "Sosa Trainer" and plans to have it in stores by spring.

The baseball season hasn't started yet, but Sammy Sosa has already delivered a solid hit this spring - to the first-quarter profit of Chicago Cubs owner Tribune Co. As sports-page readers know by now, the Cubs were so eager to send Sosa packing that they agreed over the winter to pay about $16 million just to get out of the last year of their contract with the outfielder, who was traded to the Orioles. Now, as it turns out, corporate-accounting rules require Tribune to publicly spell out in its first-quarter financial results the cost of pushing Sosa out the dugout door.

Among the many photos that adorn Sam Perlozzo's home is a snapshot taken five years ago, on the night that Cal Ripken collected his 3,000th career hit in Minnesota. Ripken is standing beside Perlozzo, then the Orioles' third base coach. His signature is scrawled across the bottom. And each time a replay is shown of Eddie Murray rounding third base after hitting his 500th home run, also in an Orioles uniform, he's reaching to shake hands with Perlozzo. "It's pretty neat stuff," Perlozzo said.

SAN PEDRO DE MACORIS, Dominican Republic - In the poorest barrios here, in the places where goats and stray dogs sift through piles of garbage on the side of the road without being disturbed, the houses are often held together with little more than rusty nails and prayer. Electricity and running water are not unheard of, but more often than not, they are the stuff of dreams. Children without shoes race across the uneven dirt roads, and laundry on the fence gets dried by the wind and the sun. It is here where Sammy Sosa is still loved.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The white Range Rover pulled into an open parking space nearest the Orioles' spring training clubhouse at 9:38 a.m. yesterday, a nice ride but nothing like the limousine he usually demands. Sammy Sosa was smiling again, at the TV cameras that recorded his every movement and at the young fans who cried out his name. Manager Lee Mazzilli put an arm around the outfielder's shoulder as they entered the dugout about 30 minutes later. When he climbed the steps to the field, Sosa's eyes widened as photographers closed in and the tiny crowd broke into a loud ovation.

A year ago, one of baseball's most prolific home run hitters decided he'd rather quit playing than lower himself to accepting a minor league contract. Later this month, Sammy Sosa will report to spring training with the Texas Rangers because he would rather accept a minor league contract than quit playing. Sosa, 38, reportedly will earn $500,000 if he makes the Opening Day roster, plus an additional $2 million if he meets all his incentives. He's 12 home runs shy of 600 for his career, which seemed as out of reach during his one season with the Orioles in 2005 as the balls he once launched into upper decks throughout the majors.

Sammy Sosa said he's using a "bleaching cream" to soften his skin and is not trying to change his pigmentation. "I'm not a racist," the former Orioles outfielder told ESPN Deportes. Sosa, in his first public remarks since the famous photos became public, said he's not trying to look like Michael Jackson . "What happened was that I had been using the cream for a long time and that, combined with the bright TV lights, made my face look whiter than it really is. I don't think I look like Michael Jackson," he said to ESPN Deportes.

When The New York Times broke the news yesterday that Sammy Sosa tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003, that he was one of the 103 names on a list that was supposed to be kept secret but continues to leak out, it probably struck you as just about the least surprising development in sports this year. I'm not sure anyone at this point still believed Sosa's mid-career home run explosion was anything but the product of copious amounts of chemicals swallowed or injected, just like nearly every elite slugger's of his era. I go back and forth about whether I really care about any of this.

If you were not paying close attention, you probably missed much of the countdown to Manny Ramirez's imminent entry into the once-exclusive 500 Home Run Club. The Boston Red Sox arrived in town for a four-game series at Camden Yards with their big-swinging left fielder sitting at 499, which used to be considered the threshold of every power hitter's dream, but - sadly - 500 just ain't what it used to be. It was a pretty big deal when Willie Mays and Hank Aaron did it in the 1960s. It was still a big deal when Reggie Jackson did it in the 1980s.

It looks like Brian Roberts, according to reports from my Sun colleagues in Florida yesterday, is going to be an Oriole when the season begins. He has been told by Andy MacPhail that it's unlikely the team will be able to swing a deal in the next few days, and he'll still be wearing orange and black for the next few weeks, at least. It has become almost comical to watch Roberts get yanked around like this over the past four months. Every day, it seems, we've been subjected to another report out of Baltimore or Chicago (but mostly Chicago)

As Orioles president Andy MacPhail begins his first winter meetings with the club today in Nashville, Tenn., those who have endured 10 consecutive losing seasons have a little request: Do something. Take charge. Show the fans which direction this club is headed. Let them know someone finally has a plan and it is being executed. Solid advice. But it's easier written than done. Because MacPhail is in the unenviable position of demonstrating aggressiveness while at the same time not rushing into a decision that could further disable this limping franchise.

Pittsburgh -- Sammy Sosa has been on history's doorstep before. In 1998, as a beloved right fielder for the Chicago Cubs, Sosa and St. Louis Cardinals behemoth Mark McGwire set the baseball world aflutter with the single-season home run chase. Then, in 2001, Sosa became the first major league player to hit 60 or more home runs in three separate seasons. There has been infamy, too. As in 2003, when he was suspended seven games for using a corked bat. Or in 2005, his first and only season with the Orioles, when he told a congressional committee that his lack of command of English prevented him from answering pointed questions about performance-enhancing drugs.

Good morning -- Sammy Sosa -- At least this time you don't have to worry about being traded by George W. Bush.

Poll results Last week we asked which former Oriole from the past five years would you like to see back with the team? More than 2,400 people responded, and New York Mets pitcher John Maine, traded two offseasons ago with Jorge Julio for Kris Benson, won in a landslide with nearly 65 percent of the vote. Former slugger Sammy Sosa, now with the Texas Rangers, received just 3 percent. The results: John Maine, 64.2 percent (1,566 votes) Gary Matthews Jr., 12 (292 votes) Eric Byrnes, 11.5 (281 votes)

Good morning -- Mark Buehrle -- If Sammy Sosa had stayed retired, your day might have been perfect.