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Chicago Cubs: Sammy Sosa and the sneeze
In May of 2004, the Cubs were riding high atop the division. Sammy Sosa was slashing a solid .291/.385/.590 through the first 35 games of the season. Everything was going right for Chicago in the early part of the season. And then one sneeze put it into a nosedive.
Midway through May, Sosa ended up missing a game due to not one but two sneezes, bringing on back spasms. Unfortunately, it was not as simple as a back spasm as it turned out to be a sprained ligament in his lower back.
Over the two weeks Sosa missed after landing on the injured list, the Cubs fell out of first place by 3.5 games. They finished 89-73, a successful season by all accounts, yet lost the division by a whopping 16 games. Sosa slammed 35 home runs that season and was relatively successful. One thing is sure: you can bet ‘Slammin’ Sammy took extra precautions when it came to sneezing.