[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 147 (Thursday, October 15, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2206]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SAMMY SOSA: THE HERO OF WASHINGTON HEIGHTS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 15, 1998

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Sammy Sosa, the 
baseball player who--but for Mark McGwire--in any other year would have 
replaced the legendary Roger Maris as the single-season home run 
hitting champion. Sosa trailed McGwire in this year's dramatic and 
unprecedented home run derby. But in Washington Heights, Sosa is bigger 
than baseball and in the hearts of the people, he is number one.
  The Dominican-born Sosa is the toast of Washington Heights, a 
vibrant, colorful neighborhood on the west side of my Congressional 
District, dominated by immigrants from the Dominican Republic. 
Dominicans are proud of their country and their community, and take 
special pride in those heroes who remember their roots. Sosa has done 
just that in his generosity toward the poor in his homeland--before and 
since Hurricane Georges--and in his expressed desire to participate in 
a neighborhood parade through the streets of Washington Heights.
  Sosa grew up in poverty with his widowed mother and six siblings in a 
seaside town in the Dominican Republic. Today, at 29, after nine years 
in the big leagues, he is being paid $42.5 million under a four-year 
contract. But throughout, he has maintained his humility, his 
exuberance for life, and his concern for his people. When Hurricane 
Georges devastated his country, taking as many as 200 lives, Sosa's 
foundation cranked up its operation to ship down desperately needed 
relief supplies. In his hometown, San Pedro de Macoris, Sosa's 
generosity had already earned him the title, Sammy Claus.
  His countrymen in Washington Heights will join with all New Yorkers 
this weekend to let Sosa know just how much they appreciate him, on and 
off the field. He will be honored by John Cardinal O'Connor, head of 
the Catholic Archdiocese of New York; and there will be a parade, if 
not in Washington Heights, then Broadway will do.

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