Chicago Cubs should bring back the captain title for Anthony Rizzo

Chicago Cubs: Sammy Sosa was everything we wanted

As I mentioned, longtime Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa was the last man to hold the honor of captain for the Chicago Cubs. Sosa, once considered a sure-thing Hall of Famer, blasted 545 home runs for the club before departing in an infamous manner.

More from Cubbies Crib

• Cubs should keep close eye on non-tender candidate Cody Bellinger
• Cubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North Side
• Make no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hitters
• Cubs are giving pitcher Javier Assad a deserved shot
• Cubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups

But before the blood turned bad, the Cubs’ all-time home run leader filled the bleachers on a near-daily basis. He remains the only player in baseball history to have three-straight 60-homer campaigns. In his 66-homer season of 1998, he drove in 158 runs and slashed .308/.377/.647 en route to the National League MVP.

In his 13 years on the North Side, Sosa-led Cubs teams made the postseason just two times – in 1998 and 2003. His personal performance was a mixed bag, but he came up big in the 2003 NLCS against the then-Florida Marlins, hitting two homers to go with a 1.031 OPS.

Of course, we all forget about his historic accomplishments now. Well, maybe not forget, but turn a blind eye to Slammin’ Sammy. In his years since leaving the organization, wounds have only festered and Sosa has done little to smooth things over.

But, once upon a time, he represented the very best of the Chicago Cubs. Launching balls onto Waveland Ave. and sending the Bleacher Bums into a crazed frenzy, Sammy Sosa was the face of the franchise.