Cubs announce Sammy Sosa, Derrek Lee as 2025 Hall of Fame class
The Cubs Hall of Fame has two new members — a pair of players who hold a lot of significance for modern fans.
Sammy Sosa and Derrek Lee will be inducted into the Cubs Hall of Fame later this year, chairman Tom Ricketts announced Friday during Opening Ceremonies of the 2025 Cubs Convention.
Sosa is often cited as a main reason a generation of people became Cubs fans, as he delivered a thrilling, record-setting home run chase in 1998 with Mark McGwire.
[Looking back at Sosa’s best moments]
Sosa appeared in more than 1,800 games in a Cubs uniform, hitting 545 homers and posting a .928 OPS.
Among all Cubs players, he ranks 1st in homers, 2nd in OPS and slugging percentage and 3rd in RBI.
Sosa initially came to the Cubs in a deal with the White Sox that sent George Bell to the South Side just before the 1992 regular season began.
Sosa had a solid start to his career with the Cubs, compiling a pair of 30-30 seasons (30 homers, 30 stolen bases), an All-Star appearance in 1996 and garnering MVP votes in 3 years.
He exploded to superstardom in 1998, winning the National League MVP while crushing 66 homers with a league-leading 158 RBI and 134 runs scored to go along with a .308/.377/.647 slash line (1.024 OPS).
Sosa reached the 60-homer plateau 2 more times in his career – in 1999 and 2001.
From 1998-2002, he averaged 58 homers and 141 RBI per season as he captured the attention of the Cubs fanbase with his patented hop after hitting home runs or sprint out to greet the crowd in the right field bleachers each game.
The star slugger has not been around Wrigley Field or Cubs Convention in the last 20 years, since he left Chicago following the 2004 season. He and the Cubs reunited in December when he apologized in a statement.
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Lee spent 7 seasons with the Cubs from 2004-10. He was originally acquired from the Marlins for first base prospect Hee-Seop Choi in November 2003, shortly after the Marlins beat the Cubs in that fateful National League Championship Series.
Lee racked up 22.6 WAR, 2 All-Star nods, a Silver Slugger Award and a pair of Gold Gloves with the Cubs, while also earning NL MVP votes in 3 different seasons.
In 2005, Lee put up a career year but ultimately finished 3rd in NL MVP voting behind St. Louis’ Albert Pujols and Atlanta’s Andruw Jones. Lee led the league in batting average (.335), slugging (.662), OPS (1.080), hits (199) and doubles (50) that season while also smacking 46 homers and driving in 107 runs.
Lee was known as a leader and a stabilizing presence in the clubhouse during his time with the Cubs. He was a big part of the 2007-08 teams that won the division and made the playoffs in back-to-back years – which was unheard of at the time for the Cubs.
Sosa and Lee will join a group of Cubs legends in the franchise Hall of Fame at Wrigley Field later this year, earning plaques alongside Kerry Wood and Aramis Ramírez (2024 inductees) and many others.