MLB Star Sammy Sosa’s 9/11 Home Run Tribute Honoring America Resurfaces

Friday marks the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the country, and one of the most memorable moments in sports history has resurfaced online. Former Chicago Cubs star Sammy Sosa did something very special for fans on Sept. 27, 2001, which was the team’s first home game since the attacks. When the game started, Sosa ran on the field holding an American flag, which got the fans fired up. And during the game, Sosa hit a home run and ran the bases with a smaller American Flag.

“A lot of people don’t know how he got the flag,” former Cubs first base coach and Hall of Famer Billy Williams told the Daily Herald last year. “After 9/11, we came back to play, and of course we had it planned because he was hitting home runs so frequently. The wind was blowing in that night I didn’t think the ball was going on.” Williams then said he had the flag in his sock. And when Sosa hit the home run, “I was looking at the ball out in right field and Sammy was getting close. The wind was blowing in and Sammy was getting close. I was looking at the ball again. I had to reach down quick and give it to him. By that time, the people had (followed) the ball. They didn’t see me give Sammy the flag. It was really neat.” Willams then added Sosa signed the flag for him.

Sosa had a big season in 2001, hitting 64 home runs while driving in 160 runs. He was the MVP winner in 1998 after hitting 66 homers with 158 runs driven. From a statistical standpoint, Sosa should be in the Hall of Fame. However, the New York Times reported in 2009 that Sosa tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003, which was around the same time as baseball’s steroid scandal. However, Sosa feels he should be in the Hall of Fame.

“I see players, they don’t have the kind of numbers that I have,” Sosa said on the Mully & Haugh Show on 670 The Score earlier this year, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times. “They have much better votes of the writers treat those people much better than me. That’s a question I ask myself, like, why I don’t get more recognition when it comes to the voting.”