SOCK HOP

Ya gotta do the hop

You move to the beat, ya don’t stop

Now everybody here do the hop

--A Tribe Called Quest, “The Hop”

*

The best thing about Sammy Sosa’s high-frequency home run pace is that means a high frequency of hops.

I love the hop. You know, that little sideways leap out of the batter’s box Sosa does whenever he crushes a ball and he knows it’s gone. It’s my favorite personal expression in baseball--and let’s face it, baseball needs all the flavor it can get.

The hop is perfect. It’s not some long, drawn-out pose that shows up the pitcher. In fact, it’s the opposite. It’s quick and so exuberant that it’s impossible to misinterpret it as a put-down.

Sosa did draw some flak in spring training when he added a bow to the fans when he crossed home plate after home runs. Todd Stottlemyre mouthed off about it after Sosa took him deep twice in the same game, and Sammy took it out of his repertoire. He said he didn’t mean any harm in it, it’s simply a custom he borrowed from Japanese players after he took part in a tour of Japan during the winter.

The hop, it turns out, wasn’t a Sosa original either.

“The first guy that I picked that up from was Andres Galarraga,” Sosa said. “I took it from there.”

And perfected it. Anything Sosa takes on, he makes better. He spiced up the Great Home Run Race last year, making it so fun that even Mark McGwire had to smile. And without Sosa there to push McGwire to the limit even after Roger Maris’ 61 was history, do you really think the magic number would be set at 70 right now?

This year, Sosa added validity to his resume. Sosa never hit more than 40 home runs in a season before he cracked 66 last year. McGwire, on the other hand was working on his third consecutive season with 50 or more homers. He knew his 1998 season would be regarded as one of the all-time flukes in sports if he didn’t come back strong.

“After the seasons we had last year, Mark and I, there were a lot of rumors that said it couldn’t happen again,” Sosa said. “I have to say, ‘Thank you, God’ for giving me the opportunity to come back again and have a great year.”

Maybe that’s why Sosa stays so likable. He’s always quick to credit God first, and hard work second. Because of his proliferation of home runs, he finds himself asking questions about whether it’s getting easier.

“Nothing in this world is easy,” Sosa said. “Baseball is a hard sport.”

Sosa is operating in a completely different realm than his Chicago Cubs teammates.

While they are having a disappointing season--even by Cub standards--Sosa is having one for the ages.

While they were getting dressed in the clubhouse before their game against the Dodgers on Friday night, he wasn’t even at the stadium. A loud burst of salsa music from the box above his locker signaled his arrival.

While they were stretching on the field, he was facing waves of reporters in the dugout. Television cameras first, then the print reporters.

He paused between groups, then quickly smiled.

“Hi,” he said, like a kid showing up for school.

Sosa knows the so-called hard part of success really isn’t so hard. Answer a few repetitive questions, smile and move on to the next city. Sign endorsement deals.

He got a chance to learn from the master, right there in Chicago, and he’s doing his best to fill the void left by Michael Jordan.

“Nobody can replace Michael Jordan,” Sosa said. “He was one of the greatest and still is. But I’d like to be right next to him.”

He grinned. Then he was off to shake hands with Dodger coach Manny Mota. There’s no need to report that, other than it’s a good excuse to write Sammy Sosa-Manny Mota. (It’s even more fun to say it out loud.)

Not as fun as watching him homer and do the hop, though.

The hop might have actually cost him a home run earlier in the season, when he skipped and leaped for a ball that wound up hitting the wall. Sosa had a triple. That’s why I hope he doesn’t get stuck at 69 home runs. You’d hate to think the hop caused him to miss out on his chance for history.

You’d hate to think he might ever stop hopping.

J.A. Adande can be reached at his e-mail address: j.a.adande@latimes.com