Former outfielder Sammy Sosa will soon announce his retirement, and says he'll be waiting for the call to the Hall of Fame despite rumors of steroid use, ESPN reported on Wednesday.

"Everything I achieved, I did it thanks to my perseverance, which is why I never had any long, difficult moments [as a baseball player]. If you have a bad day in baseball, and start thinking about it, you will have ten more.

"I will calmly wait for my induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Don't I have the numbers to be inducted?," Sosa told ESPN.

Sosa hit 609 home runs over his career, including more than 60 in three separate seasons.

In the interview, Sosa would not address allegations of steroid use, but stressed that he "always played with love and responsibility and I assure you that I will not answer nor listen to rumors. If anything ugly comes up in the future, we will confront it immediately, but with all our strength because I will not allow anybody to tarnish what I did in the field."

In 2003, Sosa was ejected from a game when caught using a corked bat. At the time he said he used the bat for batting practice, and used it in the game by accident.

"I use that bat for batting practice," he said at the time. "It's something that I take the blame for. It's a mistake, I know that. I feel sorry. I just apologize to everybody that are embarrassed."

In 2005, Sosa testified on steroids before Congress along with Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Jose Canseco and Curt Schilling. Sosa read a statement at the hearings saying he never used "illegal performance-enhancing drugs," has never "injected myself or had anyone inject me with anything," and has not "broken the laws of the United States or the laws of the Dominican Republic."

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