Sammy Sosa

Also, the Orioles are the Nationals inter-league rival, because of the close proximity. In India, foods can be found decorated with a thin layer of silver, known as Varak. If there is to be a deal, it would be somewhat ironic, because Sosa nearly went to the Nationals before joining the Orioles. The widespread use of silver went out of fashion with the invention of antibiotics. As of January 12, 2006 it has been confirmed Sosa's agent will be meeting with Nationals General Manager Jim Bowden. It is strongly advised to notify a doctor when taking silver as a form of self-medication. There has been talk of him playing in Japan, although Sosa denies considering it. Although mostly harmless, some people using these home-made solutions use far too much and develop argyria over a period of months or years, and several have been documented in the last few years in the medical literature, including one possible case of coma associated with a high intake of silver (see medical references).

Sosa'a agent Adam Katz says that several teams interested in Sosa have contacted him, though he hasn't identified which ones. Today, various kinds of silver compounds, or devices to make solutions or colloids containing silver, are sold as remedies for a wide variety of diseases. By MLB rules, he cannot re-sign with Baltimore until May 1st. One of these is a process generally known for heavy metals called the oligodynamic effect, which goes a long way explaining the effect on microbial lifeforms but does not explain certain antiviral functions. On December 7, 2005, the Orioles decided not to offer him arbitration, effectively ending his Baltimore Orioles tenure and making him a free agent. The exact process by which this is done is still not well understood, although several different theories exist. Sosa finished the season batting .221 with 14 home runs, his worst performance since 1992, and continuing his post-2001 trend of declines in batting average, homers, and RBI. in a test tube or a petri dish).

Towards the end of the 2005 season, Sosa had another mysterious injury and spent a great deal of time away from the team. It's germicidal effects kills many microbial organisms in vitro (i.e. Sosa eventually returned to the lineup and while the slumps did subside somewhat, he still had problems producing as a hitter. Silver-ions and silver compounds show a toxic effect on some bacteria, viruses, algae and fungi typical for heavy metals like lead or mercury, but without the high toxicity to humans that is normally associated with them. When Sosa's slump continued, Mazzilli resorted to benching Sosa. Argyria is rare and mild forms are sometimes mistaken for cyanosis. The slumps caused then Orioles manager Lee Mazzilli to drop Sosa as low as the 7th spot in the lineup. Although this condition does not harm a person's health, it is disfiguring and usually permanent.

After a great deal of preseason hype from Sosa and Orioles management, Sosa had a modest start to the season, which was followed by terrible slumps during mid-season. Silver and compounds containing silver (like colloidal silver) can be absorbed into the circulatory system and become deposited in various body tissues leading to a condition called argyria which results in a blue-grayish pigmentation of the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. By playing for the 2005 Orioles, with 500 home run hitter Rafael Palmeiro, Sosa and Palmeiro became the first 500 home run club members in history to play together on the same team after reaching their 500 home run marks. Silver compounds were used successfully to prevent infection in World War I before the advent of antibiotics, and Silver compounds are still widely used externally today to accelerate healing in burn victims. Under the deal, Sosa earned $17,875,000.00 for the 2005 season, with the Cubs paying $7 million of his salary. In the early 1900's people would put silver dollars in milk bottles to prolong the milk's freshness. In order to facilitate the deal, Sosa and his agent agreed to waive the clause that guaranteed his 2006 salary, and the players' union indicated it would not object to that agreement. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, wrote that silver had beneficial healing and anti-disease properties, and the Phoenicians used to store water, wine, and vinegar in silver bottles to prevent spoiling.

and two minor league prospects. Silver itself is not toxic but most of its salts are, and some may be carcinogenic. On January 28, 2005 it was announced that the Cubs had reached an agreement to trade Sosa to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for infielder/outfielder Jerry Hairston, Jr. Silver plays no known natural biological role in humans, and possible health effects of silver are a subject of dispute. However, the contract also stipulated that if Sosa was traded during the duration of the deal, the team option would be waived, making his 2006 salary guaranteed. Pd-107 versus Ag correlations observed in bodies, which have clearly been melted since the accretion of the solar system, must reflect the presence of live short-lived nuclides in the early solar system. Sosa had one year left on his contract with a team option for a second year; his salary would be $17 million in 2005, and was to rise to $18 million in 2006. The discoverers suggest that the coalescence and differentiation of iron-cored small planets may have occurred 10 million years after a nucleosynthetic event.

Given this fact and his late-2004 actions, the Cubs were generally regarded as eager to trade him; however, the structure of his then-current contract made this difficult. Radiogenic Ag-107 was first discovered in the Santa Clara meteorite in 1978. By then, most observers considered Sosa to be declining as a player, as he was the only player in Major League Baseball whose batting average, home runs, and RBI all declined in each year since 2001 (which some point out were the same years that MLB started to crack down on substance abuse) [5] [6]. Iron meteorites are the only objects with a high enough Pd/Ag ratio to yield measurable variations in Ag-107 abundance. That action was viewed as symbolic of the end of Sosa's era with the Cubs. The palladium isotope Pd-107 decays by beta emission to Ag-107 with a half-life of 6.5 million years. Though unconfirmed, reliable sources have stated that catcher Michael Barrett, following up on a suggestion by pitcher Kerry Wood, destroyed the boombox with a bat. The primary decay products before Ag-107 are palladium (element 46) isotopes and the primary products after are cadmium (element 48) isotopes.

He would superstitiously play pop music deemed undesirable by most of his teammates or salsa music at a very high volume, often refusing to turn it down (even on one occasion when then-teammate Joe Girardi was suffering from a migraine). The primary decay mode before the most abundant stable isotope, Ag-107, is electron capture and the primary mode after is beta decay. For several seasons, Sosa was notorious for monopolizing the music in the locker room (it's normally the custom in the majors for the team's starting pitcher that day to select the music that is played in the locker room). Isotopes of silver range in atomic weight from 93.943 u (Ag-94) to 123.929 u (Ag-124). After his teammates learned of the departure that day, they decided to vent their frustration on Sosa's trademark boombox that he kept in his locker. This element also has numerous meta states with the most stable being Ag-128m (t_* 418 years), Ag-110m (t_* 249.79 days) and Ag-107m (t_* 8.28 days). Several days later, the Cubs fined him one game's pay (approximately $87,000). All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lifes that are less than an hour and the majority of these have half lifes that are less than 3 minutes.

However, a surveillance video proved that Sosa had left the stadium 15 minutes after the game started. Twenty-eight radioisotopes have been characterised with the most stable being Ag-105 with a half-life of 41.29 days, Ag-111 with a half-life of 7.45 days, and Ag-112 with a half-life of 3.13 hours. He then left Wrigley without permission during the game, claiming to reporters afterwards that he left in the seventh inning. Naturally occurring silver is composed of the two stable isotopes Ag-107 and Ag-109 with Ag-107 being the more abundant (51.839% natural abundance). Sosa had already been told that he would not be in the starting lineup for that game, and arrived at Wrigley Field only an hour before game time; this was a violation of team rules. In December 2001 the silver price was $4.15 per ounce, and in February 2006 it had risen to $9.50 per ounce [1]. Going into the last game, the Cubs had lost seven of eight games to fall out of contention for a playoff berth. In 1980 the silver price rose to an all-time high of $49.45 per troy ounce.

Sosa's actions in the last game of the 2004 season raised many eyebrows, and eventually led to his departure from Chicago. Over the last 100 years the price of silver and the gold/silver ratio has fluctuated greatly due to competing industrial and store of value demands. He finished with 35 homers, far below his numbers of his best years. In turn, copper is about 1/70th as valuable as silver. Later, he fell into one of the worst slumps of his career, only snapping out of it in the last week of the season. However, now silver is relatively cheap compared to other precious metals, with a mass of silver worth only about 1/60th the same mass of gold. He was diagnosed with back spasms and placed on the disabled list. Because the majority of the world's silver deposits are concentrated in the Americas, silver was far more valuable before the Age of Discovery; on average, about 1/6th or 1/7th the price of gold.

While sitting next to his locker chatting with reporters before a game in San Diego's PETCO Park, he sneezed violently, causing severe back pain. According to the Secretary of Economics of Mexico, it produced 80,120,000 troy ounces (2492 metric tons) in 2000, about 15% of the annual production of the world. In May 2004, Sosa suffered a strange injury. Mexico is the largest silver producer. Their subsequent 9-6 loss in Game 7 ensured another season of unfulfilled promise. Commercial grade fine silver is at least 99.9% pure silver and purities greater than 99.999% are available. The Cubs were just five outs away from reaching the World Series for the first time since 1945, before a Game 6 collapse left them on the verge of elimination. This metal is also produced during the electrolytic refining of copper.

After the suspension, Sosa returned to form and hit 40 home runs in his shortened season, including titanic blasts in games 1 and 2 of the NLCS against the Florida Marlins. The principal sources of silver are copper, copper-nickel, gold, lead and lead-zinc ores obtained from Canada, Cobalt, Ontario , Mexico, Peru, Australia and the United States. However, the suspension was reduced to seven games after appeal on June 11 [4]. Silver is found in native form, combined with sulfur, arsenic, antimony, or chlorine and in various ores such as argentite (Ag₂S) and horn silver (AgCl). On June 6, Sosa was suspended for eight games on account of the corked bat [3]. The largest silver ore deposits in the United States were discovered at the Comstock Lode in Virginia City, Nevada, in 1859. Sosa stated that he had accidentally used the corked bat, which he claimed was his batting-practice bat. Notable "silver rushes" were in Colorado, Nevada, Cobalt, Ontario , California and the Kootenay region of British Columbia, notably in the Boundary and "Silvery Slocan".

Major League Baseball confiscated and tested 76 of Sosa's other bats after his ejection; all were found to be clean, with no cork [2]. Silver mining was a driving force in the settlement of western North America, with major booms for silver and associated minerals (lead, mostly) in the galena ore silver is most commonly found in. On June 3, 2003, Sosa was ejected from a Chicago Cubs-Tampa Bay Devil Rays game in the first inning when umpires discovered he had been using a corked bat [1]. The Rio de la Plata was named after silver (in Spanish, plata), and in turn lent the meaning of its name to Argentina. In May, he spent his first time on the disabled list since 1996 after having a toenail removed. The rise and fall of its value affected the world market. The year was not all good news for Sosa, however. Silver, which was extremely valuable in China, became a global commodity, contributing to the rise of the Spanish Empire.

That would change in 2003, when the Cubs and new manager Dusty Baker won the National League Central Division title. The conquistador Pizarro was said to have resorted to having his horses shod with silver horseshoes due to the metal's abundance, in contrast to the relative lack of iron in Peru. While Sosa's accomplishments during his career with the Cubs had been vast, as a team they saw little success, only once making the playoffs during Sosa's tenure-a wildcard playoff berth in 1998. Europeans found a huge amount of silver in the New World in Zacatecas and Potosí, which triggered a period of inflation in Europe. He owns numerous team records for the Cubs, and holds the major-league record for the most home runs hit in a month (20, in June 1998). Occasionally, the word "silver" is used rather than argent; sometimes this is done across-the-board, sometimes to avoid repetition of the word "argent" in blazon. Known as a free-swinger in his early years, and as an easy strikeout candidate, Sosa became an effective hitter for average. In heraldry, the argent, in addition to being shown as silver (this has been shown at times with real silver in official representations), can also been shown as white.

Sosa once again led the league in home runs with 49 in 2002. The metal mercury was thought of as a kind of silver, though the two elements are chemically unrelated; its Latin and English names, hydrargyrum ("watery silver") and quicksilver, respectively, reflect this history. He also surpassed his 1998 numbers in total bases, compiling 425. One of the alchemical symbols for silver is a crescent moon with the open part on the left (see picture, right). He led the majors in runs and RBIs, was 2nd in home runs, 2nd in slugging percentage, 3rd in walks, 4th in on base percentage, 12th in batting average, and 15th in hits. Associated with the moon, as well as with the sea and various lunar goddesses, the metal was referred to by alchemists by the name luna. In the same season he set personal records in runs scored (146), RBIs (160), walks (116), on base percentage (.437), slugging percentage (.737), and batting average (.328). In Ancient Egypt and Medieval Europe, it was often more valuable than gold.

In 2001, he hit 64 home runs, becoming the first (and, thus far, only) player ever with three 60 home run seasons (though, oddly, he did not lead the league in any of those three seasons; in 2001, he finished behind Barry Bonds). Its value as a precious metal was long considered second only to gold. Sosa, already a home run legend, finally claimed his first home run championship by hitting 50 in the 2000 season. Silver has been used for thousands of years for ornaments and utensils, for trade, and as the basis for many monetary systems. The following season Sosa hit 63 home runs, again trailing Mark McGwire who hit 65. It is mentioned in the book of Genesis, and slag heaps found in Asia Minor and on the islands of the Aegean Sea indicate that silver was being separated from lead as early as the 4th millennium BC. Sosa's accomplishments were celebrated with a ticker-tape parade in his honor in New York City, and he was asked to be a guest at US President Bill Clinton's 1999 State of the Union Address. Silver (from Anglo-Saxon seolfor, compare Old High German silabar; Ag is from the Latin argentum) has been known since ancient times.

He and McGwire shared Sports Illustrated magazine's 1998 "Sportsmen of the Year" award. Some other uses for silver are as follows:. Louis writers, who voted for McGwire. Its salts, especially silver nitrate and silver halides, are also widely used in photography (which is the largest single end use of silver). Sosa found some consolation in winning the National League Most Valuable Player Award for leading the Cubs into the playoffs in 1998, earning every first-place vote except for the two cast by St. The principal use of silver is as a precious metal. His 416 total bases were the most in a single season in 50 years, since Stan Musial's 429 in 1948. The most common oxidation state of silver is +1; a few +2 compounds are known as well.

Sosa ended the season with 66, behind McGwire's 70. This metal is stable in pure air and water, but does tarnish when it is exposed to ozone, hydrogen sulfide, or air with sulfur in it. It was in this season that both Sosa and Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris' long-standing single season home run record of 61. Silver halides are photosensitive and are remarkable for the effect of light upon them. After years as a respected power hitter, Sammy Sosa emerged during the 1998 season as one of baseball's greats. Pure silver also has the highest thermal conductivity, whitest colour, the highest optical reflectivity (although it is a poor reflector of ultraviolet light), and the lowest contact resistance of any metal. Many experts felt that this was a mistake, since Sosa in their views did not possess the talent to merit such a contract. It has the highest electrical conductivity of all metals, even higher than copper, but its greater cost and tarnishability has prevented it from being widely used in place of copper for electrical purposes.

During his subpar 1997 season, Sosa agreed to a contract extension with the Cubs that made him one of baseball's highest-paid players. Silver is a very ductile and malleable (slightly harder than gold) univalent coinage metal with a brilliant white metallic luster that can take a high degree of polish. A late-season surge rose his batting average to a mildly disappointing .251, but the Cubs were well on their way to a last place finish by then. . Sosa had trouble rebounding from his broken wrist during the 1997 season. This metal is used in coins, jewelry, tableware, and photography. In 1996, Sosa was leading the National League in home runs with 40 when he was hit by a pitch, breaking his wrist and effectively ending his season. A soft white lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal and occurs in minerals and in free form.

Sosa once again reached the 30-30 plateau in 1995, and made his first All-Star team. Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the traditional abbreviation for the Latin argentum). By the time the strike had been settled, Sosa had had a change of heart and decided to stay with the Cubs. Los Alamos National Laboratory – Silver. During the strike, Sosa supposedly agreed to a free agent contract with the Boston Red Sox, but Major League Baseball decided not to allow any contract negotiations between players and teams during the strike. Now, Acticoat Burn Dressings (activated silver dressings) have largely replaced those earlier treatments. Sosa followed with another solid campaign in the strike-shortened season of 1994. Silver nitrate (liquid) and silver sulfadiazine cream (SSD Cream) were the "standard of care" for the antibacterial/antibiotic treatment of serious burns until the late 1990's.

Sosa finished with 33 home runs and 36 stolen bases, the first Cub to join the exclusive 30-30 club. Colloidal silver is a possible antibacterial / antibiotic treatment that requires further clinical testing to support actual efficacy. In 1993 Sosa finally started to show the talent that scouts and fans alike had seen glimpses of for years. Silver oxide is used as a positive electrode (cathode) in watch batteries. Sosa spent the 1992 season in centerfield for the Cubs, but spent more than half the season on the disabled list with a broken wrist from being hit by a pitch and a sore shoulder. The use of silver fashioned into bullets for firearms is a popular application. Larry Himes, who had been the general manager of the White Sox when they acquired Sosa, was now the general manager of the Cubs, and having traded for him a second time, defended his view that Sosa would turn out to be an outstanding player. In legend, silver is traditionally seen as harmful to supernatural creatures like werewolves and vampires.

Many at the time thought the Cubs had been swindled by the White Sox in the trade, including a vocal George Bell, who said he was insulted at being traded for a player as unproven as Sosa. Silver iodide has been used in attempts to seed clouds to produce rain. This time he was sent packing across town to the Cubs along with reliever Ken Patterson in exchange for slugger George Bell. Silver chloride is also a widely used electrode for pH testing and potentiometric measurement. Prior to the start of the 1992 season, Sosa was again traded. Silver chloride can be made transparent and is used as a cement for glass. After a promising 1990 season in which he hit 15 home runs and collected 70 RBI as a full-time player, in 1991 his production fell and Sosa was relegated to the minor leagues for a time. Silver fulminate is a powerful explosive.

Bush, then the Rangers' managing general partner, later joked was the biggest mistake he ever made). Silver sulfide, also known as Silver Whiskers, is formed when silver electrical contacts are used in an atmosphere rich in hydrogen sulfide. President George W. Used to make solder and brazing alloys, electrical contacts, and high capacity silver-zinc and silver-cadmium batteries. He made his major league debut on June 16, 1989 with the Rangers, who traded him to the Chicago White Sox along with Wilson Alvarez in exchange for Harold Baines and Fred Manrique later that same season (a move that U.S. Silver's catalytic properties make it ideal for use as a catalyst in oxidation reactions; for example, the production of formaldehyde from methanol and air by means of silver screens or crystallites containing a minimum 99.95 weight-percent silver. After turning 16, he signed with the Texas Rangers in 1985. The malleability, non-toxicity and beauty of silver make it useful in dental alloys for fittings and fillings.

The Philadelphia Phillies attempted to sign him at age 15, but this deal was not allowed by Major League Baseball because of a rule making the minimum age for contracts between major league teams and players 16. The metal is chosen for its beauty in the manufacture of jewelry and silverware, which are traditionally made from the silver alloy known as Sterling silver, which is 92.5% silver. Sosa sometimes used a folded milk carton as a glove, since he could not afford a real one. The words for "silver" and "money" are the same in at least 14 languages. He started playing baseball at 14, a fairly old age for baseball, after he decided to quit boxing at his mother's behest. Later, silver was refined and coined in its pure form. As a child, he shined shoes to help support his mother and six siblings. Silver has been coined to produce money since 700 BC by the Lydians, in the form of electrum.

Sosa's family was very poor and he grew up in an abandoned hospital. Common mirrors are backed with aluminium. . Mirrors which need silver's superior reflectivity for visible light are made with silver as the reflecting material in a process called silvering. He ended the 2005 season with 588 career home runs, placing him fifth on the major leagues' all-time home run list. Silver is also used in high voltage contacts because it is the only metal that will not arc across contacts, hence it is extremely safe. He has formerly played for the Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles. For example, printed circuits are made using silver paints, and computer keyboards use silver electrical contacts.

Samuel Sosa Peralta (born November 12, 1968 in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic) is a right fielder in Major League Baseball in free agency. Electrical and electronic products, which need silver's superior conductivity, even when tarnished.