Storytime: Sammy Sosa's 600th home run

July 23, 5:53 PMTexas Rangers ExaminerRicky Treon

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Sammy Sosa hit his 600th home run as a Ranger

NOTE: This is one in an occasional series called Storytime where I recall personal memories from The Ballpark in Arlington (I refuse to call it anything else).

It was the first time I've ever watched a milestone home run and cursed out loud.

A couple of days before then-Ranger Sammy Sosa hit his 600th home run at The Ballpark, I got the good news from the pro baseball editor at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that I would be covering their next home stand - against Sosa's former team, the Chicago Cubs.

Even better: I would be on "Sammy Watch," meaning I would be writing a few stories about Sammy Sosa's 600th home run, which was imminent as he sat at 599.

I was beside myself with the thought of covering such an historic event.

I will admit that I was going for Marc McGwire in the now infamous 1998 Home Run Chase. But I was, and probably still am a Sammy Sosa fan. The quarking of his bat and the assumption that he took time off to get clean before returning with the Oriels and then the Rangers were casting a slight shadow over him at the time, and the big question was whether Sosa would be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when the time came.

The fact that we were discussing that question only made the thought of covering his 600th bomb even more incredible.

Then, on that June day, I got a call from that same editor saying he needed me somewhere else that day and I didn't have to go to that game because he'd already made other arrangements.

Don't have to go? More like don't get to go. OK, Sammy, just don't hit one out today. For me.

So, yeah, he obviously didn't listen to me.

I sat on the couch of the guy I was illegally subletting from drinking a cold beer trying to make sure it wouldn't happen, and I'm sure my neighbors didn't appreciate the things coming out of my mouth as the ball sailed into the seats.

The home stand wasn't a total bust, though. I got to watch the 600-club sign unfurl in left-center field the next day, and later watched Sosa hit No. 601.

But there's no doubt that I was irked about missing the milestone home run. I still wonder why I was kept from being there that day.

Sometimes the stars are just working against you, I guess.