Looking Back at Sammy Sosa's Home Run Derby History

Unfortunately for Sosa, his hot bat wouldn’t carry over into his first Derby. Appearing in just the first round, he was only able to manage two home runs. Chicago White Sox legend and Hall of Famer Frank Thomas eventually won the competition, hitting 15 total home runs and beating Cleveland Indians slugger Albert Belle in the final round.

1999: Fenway Park/Boston, MA

After smashing 66 home runs in 1998, the second-most home runs in a single season at the time, it was a guarantee that Sosa would be invited to take part in the Derby in 1999. Although he had established himself into a mainstream superstar thanks to the Home Run Race of 1998, his 1999 season was off to another historic start.

In his first 85 games of the '99 season, Sosa hit 32 home runs with 74 RBI, 14 doubles, and a .286/.353/.619 slash line for a .972 OPS.

Unfortunately, Sosa wasn’t able to make it out of the first round of the Derby that season, as he only hit one home run.

Seattle Mariners’ legend Ken Griffey Jr. would go on to win the Derby that year, beating former Cub Jeromy Burnitz in the final round, and take home his record holding third Derby title of his career.

2000: Turner Field/Atlanta, GA

Taking home back-to-back Silver Slugger Awards in 1998 and 1999, 2000 was kicking off as another power surge for Sosa.

In 86 games, he had 23 home runs, 20 doubles, 74 RBI, and a .305/.388/.574 slash line for a .962 OPS.

The 2000 Home Run Derby was Sosa’s coming out party in the mid-summer classic as he made Turner Field look like a little league field.

Sosa hit a total of 26 home runs throughout the contest, including 6 in the first round, 11 in the second, and 9 in the final round. He hit five home runs in the final round that averaged 475 feet and hit one home run that tallied 508 feet! His total for the night set a record for total home runs in a Derby.

As a surprise to no one, Sosa took home the Derby crown that year, defeating Griffey Jr. in the final round after he won the previous two Derby contests.

2001: Safeco Field/Seattle, WA

In 2001, once again, Sosa entered the All-Star break as one of the hottest hitters in baseball. In 84 games, he had already smashed 29 home runs, 22 doubles, 83 RBI, 67 walks, and posted a .312/.435/.691 slash line with a 1.126 OPS.

Hitting only 3 home runs in the first round, Sosa was still able to slip his way into the next round.

Changing pitchers in the second round, Sammy rebounded from his light first round and hit 8 home runs, beating Oakland Athletics slugger Jason Giambi.

Unfortunately, Sosa fell to Arizona Diamondbacks legend Luis Gonzalez in the final round, who also defeated San Francisco Giants’ legend Barry Bonds.

No hard feelings for Sosa, however. He would go on to have arguably the greatest season of his career in 2001. He finished that season with 64 home runs, 34 doubles, 160 RBI, 146 runs, 116 walks, a 10.3 WAR, and posted a .328/.437/.737 slash line with a 1.174 OPS. He finished second in the NL MVP voting that year, falling behind Bonds, who broke the single season home run record with 73.

2002: Miller Park/Milwaukee, WI

On paper, the 2002 Home Run Derby roster was arguably one of the greatest lineups in Derby history. With guys like Alex Rodriguez, Giambi, Bonds, and Sosa, this year’s Derby was set to be full of monster bombs.

Sosa, as usual, came into the All-Star break on fire. In 83 games, he was batting .307 with 28 home runs, 14 doubles, 60 walks, and a 1.059 OPS. His power surge would continue.

Let me just put it this way, anytime Sosa had his hat on backwards for a Derby, a moonshot show was sure to follow. This year’s Derby for Sosa was no different.

In the first round of the Derby, Sosa turned Miller Park into his own personal driving range. Smashing 12 home runs to kick things off, the then 33-year-old was hitting missiles that disappeared out of the stadium. Hitting five home runs over 500 feet, and eight over 480 feet, his 12 home runs averaged a whopping 477 feet. His longest home run of the round was 524 feet.

Easily making his way into the second round of the Derby, things would continue for Sosa. Easily defeating the Brewers’ hometown guy in Richie Sexson, Sosa smacked five home runs with several outs to spare. Two of his homers would fly over 500 feet once again.

The final round was set for two “prize fighters” as Chris Berman called both Sosa and Giambi. Giambi put on an entertaining performance as well, hitting 17 home runs combined in the first two rounds to make it to the finals. He would eventually go on to beat Sosa pretty easily, slamming 7 home runs to just Sosa’s one.

Although Sosa did not win this year, this Derby is one may fans go back to rewatch, mainly thanks to his 15 home runs that were hit 480 feet or further.

2004: Minute Maid Park/Houston, TX

The 2004 Home Run Derby was Sosa’s sixth and final time he competed in the event. It would also be his final season with the Cubs, unfortunately.

Entering the All-Start break, Sosa was on a slower pace than usual thanks to missing nearly 30 games between the middle of May and June that season. In 56 games, he posted a .279/.372/.567 slash line with 16 home runs, 12 doubles, 39 RBI, and a .939 OPS.

Hitting only five home runs in the first round, Sosa was unable to make it to the second round of the tournament. Baltimore Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada went on to win the Derby, hitting 27 total home runs and breaking Sosa’s previous record of 26.

For his career in the Derby, Sosa smashed a total of 65 home runs, with his longest being the 524-foot mammoth shot he hit in Milwaukee at Miller Park. On a side note, even then in 2002, the broadcasters were joking about Sosa knocking holes in the roof of their stadium. Ah, if they could only see it now…

Sosa posted god-mode-like first half numbers 4 of the 6 times he headed into the All-Star break. From 1999 to 2002 in the first half of the season he averaged 28 home runs, 72 RBI, a .302 batting average, and a 1.029 OPS.

This year’s Home Run Derby will take place on Monday in Arlington, Texas. Although Sosa won’t be participating this year, his presence will be felt. When that first ball is hit well over 500 feet, a part of me will think about that pre-teen kid growing up in small town Kentucky, watching his favorite player make big league parks look like tee-ball fields, and helping him mold into the Cubs fan he is today.