Mohamed Magdy  

14 の

Sammy Sosa admits to 'mistakes,' set for reunion

Sammy Sosa and the Chicago Cubs reconciled Thursday afternoon, ending their 17-year estrangement after the former slugger apologized for making "mistakes" during his playing career.

Sosa, who has been linked to performance-enhancing drugs for decades, stopped short of directly admitting to PED use in a statement released Thursday.

But the former National League MVP said that at times throughout his playing career he "did whatever I could to recover from injuries in an effort to keep my strength up to perform over 162 games" and added, "I never broke any laws, but in hindsight, I made mistakes and I apologize."

Sosa, 56, hit 609 home runs -- the ninth most in Major League Baseball history -- during an 18-year career highlighted by his 13-year stint with the Cubs. He hit at least 60 homers in three seasons over a four-year stretch from 1998 to 2001, all of which came in the heart of baseball's steroid era.

Minutes after the apology was released, the Cubs invited Sosa to their winter fan convention for the first time since he retired in 2007.

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