Slammin’ Sammy Hits 600

Sammy Sosa of the Texas Rangers just hit his 600th career home run en route to a Rangers victory over his old team, the Chicago Cubs. Sammy becomes the fifth player in Major League history to reach the milestone, joining Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, and Hank Aaron.

The rangers won the game 7-3, but they were already up 4-1 when Sosa hit his dinger to right field. Said Sosa after the game, “Getting my 600th against the Chicago Cubs, and my first team [was] the Texas Rangers. It’s like everything clicked. My emotions, I don’t know what they are.”

554 of Sosa’s home runs can as a member of the Chicago Cubs, so it worked out, in a way, that many Cubs fans were following the game last night, and some even got Texas Rangers tickets at StubHub.com to be there for the achievement. Still, the moment was probably bitter sweet for many fans in Chicago, who would have rather seen the event happen while Sammy was still with the Cubs. Said Cubs manager Lou Piniella, “It was a good moment. He should be proud of it. I wish he would have done it in a losing effort but it’s a tremendous feat and he should enjoy the moment.”