Wed May 28 14:02:22 2008

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Report: Sosa to retire after WBC in 2009

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Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (Sports Network) - Sammy Sosa will reportedly retire from baseball after the World Baseball Classic in March of 2009, according to the Dominican Republic newspaper Hoy.

Sosa, currently a free agent, is planning to play for his native Dominican Republic next March before hanging up the cleats for good.

"That is in my plans," Sosa told the newspaper. "It would be nice that people see me with the uniform of the Dominican Republic."

A field of 16 teams will compete in the WBC next year. Sosa did not play in the inaugural WBC in 2006.

One of just five players in big league history with at least 600 homers, along with Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714) and Willie Mays (660), Sosa hit 21 home runs and drove in 92 runs in 114 games with the Texas Rangers last season.

In parts of 18 major league seasons -- with Texas, the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs and Baltimore -- Sosa has amassed a .273 batting average with 609 home runs and 1,667 RBI.

The National League MVP in 1998 with the Chicago Cubs, Sosa is the only player in major league history to hit 60 or more homers in three different seasons.