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Sammy Sosa thrills Cubs fans once again in long-awaited return to Wrigley Field

Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs

The Friendly Confines are friendly once again to Sammy Sosa.

The Cubs welcomed Sosa, the most accomplished hitter in franchise history, back to Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon, the famed slugger’s first time inside the ballpark since the final day of the 2004 season.

“He saw the wind blowing out today and planned his trip around a good day to be here,” manager Craig Counsell said before the game, “asked to be in the lineup because the wind’s blowing out.”

The bitterness of the end of Sosa’s time in a Cubs uniform — he left his final game early and his boombox got smashed — carried over from one ownership group to another.