Feb. 25--MESA, Ariz. -- Sammy Sosa's arrival at Cubs' camp back in the day was always a media event.
"Did you miss me?" was Sosa's annual catchphrase.
Sosa has been gone from the Cubs for a decade now, but now there are rumblings the cold war between the former slugger and the organization is thawing.
One day after president Theo Epstein said Sosa would be welcomed back if Sosa and the organization can reconcile, first baseman Anthony Rizzo lauded the idea.
"Of course," he said. "One of the best hitters who ever lived."
Rizzo ran into Sosa in December at a restaurant near Miami, where both have homes.
"I just went over and said hello," he said. "I introduced myself and tried to campaign for him to come back. I just said 'We'd love to have you.' Nothing crazy. He was really, really nice. It was really cool. He knew who I was, which was surprising. But he still follows us."
Could it be a reality?
"I don't know what happened with any of that stuff," he said. "But I also think Pete Rose can be in the Hall of Fame, so ... I don't know."
Rizzo was a nine-year-old when Sosa and Mark McGwire staged the Great Home Run Race of 1998. McGwire later admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs, and returned to the game as a hitting coach. Sosa has yet to admit to any illegal or unethical activities, and has been separated from the Cubs organization since being traded before the 2005 season.
"To me, he and Big Mac, Mark McGwire, kind of turned this whole baseball thing around with the home run chase and the excitement that was going on," he said. "It was awesome. As a little kid growing up... I was still very young then."
Starlin Castro said he never met Sosa and didn't know whether Sosa could return.
"We have Manny here," he said, referring to former Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez.
