rockin500
02-18-2003, 03:59 PM
MESA, Ariz. -- Sammy Sosa will be on time.
The right fielder called new Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker on Sunday to say he'll report with the rest of the regulars for the full-squad workout Wednesday.
Sosa has been tardy to Spring Training since 1998. That year, he hit 66 home runs, led the National League with 158 RBIs and won the MVP award. He's been late to camp ever since.
But with Baker at the helm, Sosa has apparently changed his superstitious ways.
"He's always serious," Baker said of Sosa. "He's trying. When a guy is trying, you've got to give him a chance. He's trying to be a better teammate -- not to say that he wasn't before. But he's trying to get the team off on the right foot."
The on-time arrival should help eliminate some of the criticism leveled at Sosa for being more concerned about himself than the team. Baker's presence might have influenced Sosa, too.
"I can't take credit for Sammy," Baker said Monday. "Some of it might be me, but most of it has to come from inside.
"I told him no matter what, I still want him to be Sammy. I still want him to be himself."
Baker has plenty of experience dealing with superstars, having managed Barry Bonds in San Francisco. The new Cubs skipper tried to downplay any similarities.
"They're all different," Baker said. "Just like Charles Barkley is different from Michael Jordan. The main thing with being a superstar is not how you get along with the manager. The big thing is how you get along with your teammates."
Just because Sosa has carried the Cubs offensively for the past five seasons doesn't mean he's the leader on the team.
"You can't make anybody a leader," Baker said. "Just because you're the best player, that means you have the best ability."
The Giants had several leaders, not just Bonds. But when the game was on the line, Bonds was the guy Baker wanted at the plate.
"But that's ability," he said.
Sosa led the National League with 49 home runs last season, his first sub-50 year since 1997. He enters the 2003 season one homer shy of 500 and closing in on the Cubs all-time record of 512, held by Ernie Banks. Sosa has hit 470 home runs with the Cubs.
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/chc/news/chc_news.jsp?ymd=20030217&content_id=201112&vkey=spt2003news&fext=.jsp
The right fielder called new Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker on Sunday to say he'll report with the rest of the regulars for the full-squad workout Wednesday.
Sosa has been tardy to Spring Training since 1998. That year, he hit 66 home runs, led the National League with 158 RBIs and won the MVP award. He's been late to camp ever since.
But with Baker at the helm, Sosa has apparently changed his superstitious ways.
"He's always serious," Baker said of Sosa. "He's trying. When a guy is trying, you've got to give him a chance. He's trying to be a better teammate -- not to say that he wasn't before. But he's trying to get the team off on the right foot."
The on-time arrival should help eliminate some of the criticism leveled at Sosa for being more concerned about himself than the team. Baker's presence might have influenced Sosa, too.
"I can't take credit for Sammy," Baker said Monday. "Some of it might be me, but most of it has to come from inside.
"I told him no matter what, I still want him to be Sammy. I still want him to be himself."
Baker has plenty of experience dealing with superstars, having managed Barry Bonds in San Francisco. The new Cubs skipper tried to downplay any similarities.
"They're all different," Baker said. "Just like Charles Barkley is different from Michael Jordan. The main thing with being a superstar is not how you get along with the manager. The big thing is how you get along with your teammates."
Just because Sosa has carried the Cubs offensively for the past five seasons doesn't mean he's the leader on the team.
"You can't make anybody a leader," Baker said. "Just because you're the best player, that means you have the best ability."
The Giants had several leaders, not just Bonds. But when the game was on the line, Bonds was the guy Baker wanted at the plate.
"But that's ability," he said.
Sosa led the National League with 49 home runs last season, his first sub-50 year since 1997. He enters the 2003 season one homer shy of 500 and closing in on the Cubs all-time record of 512, held by Ernie Banks. Sosa has hit 470 home runs with the Cubs.
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/chc/news/chc_news.jsp?ymd=20030217&content_id=201112&vkey=spt2003news&fext=.jsp