Ricketts: ‘Nothing's changed' on Sammy Sosa's status with Cubs

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It's Cubs Convention week, so naturally, we have a Sammy Sosa update.

It's a question that comes up every year at this time — will Slammin' Sammy ever be welcomed back to the organization either for the fan convention or at Wrigley Field during the season?

David Kaplan posed that query to Tom Ricketts Thursday morning on ESPN 1000 and the Cubs chairman said his stance has not changed on Sosa:

"At the moment, the answer is no, nothing's changed," Ricketts said. "Like I've said in the past, everyone loved Sammy as a player — one of the greatest players in the history of baseball. But he played through a pretty awkward era. We owe all the guys that played in that era a lot of understanding. 

"There were a lot of PEDs being used by a lot of players — I mean, there's a sealed, federal investigation that has over 100 players that tested positive. I don't want to judge those guys in a way that's too harsh. But on the other hand, I think they owe us a little bit of honesty. I think we need to think that through. I don't know where it goes from here, but there's nothing new on that front."

That falls in line with the same thing Ricketts has been saying for years at the Cubs — the need for Sosa to provide some "honesty" and the word "apologize" has been thrown out at various points in the past, as well.

At the 2018 Cubs Convention, Ricketts said, "I just think we need to put everything on the table and move forward."
 
Sosa turned 50 in November and 2018 also represented the 20-year anniversary of his historic home run race with Mark McGwire. But the embattled former Cubs slugger has not been involved with the team or accessible to fans since he left the organization on bad terms after the 2004 season. 

Kaplan spoke with Sosa for NBC Sports Chicago last April and the icon said he doesn't need a job with the Cubs and just wants to be welcomed back by the franchise.

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