FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – It might be a while before baseball fans get used to Sammy Sosa wearing the white, orange and black of the Baltimore Orioles.

Sosa, however, already is quite comfortable with what he sees.

“I’ve been looking in the mirror a lot. I see myself in a new uniform, and it makes me happy,” he says. “I wasn’t comfortable anymore in Chicago. Now I’m free.”

He didn’t seem very comfortable in yet another uniform this winter. He wore a suit to his appearance before Congress, where he was one of several current and former players questioned about steroid use in the major leagues.

Sosa and the Orioles appear to be a good fit. In the wake of his messy split with the Cubs, the slugger has found happiness amid teammates delighted to have him in their clubhouse.

“In his mind he thinks we can win, so that’s the perfect guy to have here,” says shortstop Miguel Tejada.

During his 13-year stint with the Cubs, Sosa often punctuated his home run trot by twice tapping his heart, under the big red “C” on his jersey. The fans at Wrigley Field chanted his name, begged for his autograph and greeted him in right field before every inning.

He was the modern-day version of Ernie Banks, the original “Mr. Cub.”

But things turned sour last season. Sosa spent a month on the disabled list with a back injury and hit only 35 homers, ending a run of six straight seasons with at least 40 home runs. He also feuded with Cubs manager Dusty Baker over his spot in the lineup, alienated some of his teammates and capped it all by leaving the ballpark during the final game of the season.

So the Cubs virtually gave him away in a trade with the Orioles, and now Sosa finds himself adjusting to a new clubhouse for the first time since 1992.

“The way that I’m feeling here is just incredible,” he says. “All the respect that I’m getting from all my teammates and my manager, I really like that. It made me like born again. I feel very, very happy about this. It was a good move for me.”

It also was a good move for the Orioles, who gave up backup second baseman Jerry Hairston Jr. and two minor leaguers for a slugger with 574 career homers.

There’s no telling how Sosa will fare during the season, but he’s had an excellent spring and is eager to prove that he’s nowhere past his prime at age 36.

“Last year I am hitting 35 home runs and a lot of people said I’m finished,” he says. “That’s why I am saying the best of Sammy Sosa is coming now. Because I am in a new house and I know I have to show the whole world that I got a challenge, and I got to take that.”

Sosa will do it with a smile.

“He told me he’s having fun, he’s really happy here,” Tejada says. “It’s true. You can see the way he plays, the way he walks.”

With 26 more homers, Sosa will reach the 600 mark. He was accused of aiming for the fences too often while with the Cubs, and some blamed his roundhouse swing for his .253 batting average last year.

Orioles hitting coach Terry Crowley figured he had plenty of work to do with Sosa, whose 478 official at-bats last season included 133 strikeouts.

“I always thought Sammy had a vicious, hard swing. So when he was coming over, my initial thought was, How can I help this guy?”‘ Crowley says. “I found out that he’s fundamentally solid. I think he’s going to have a great bounce-back year.”

If he does, Sosa wouldn’t think of saying “I told you so” to the Cubs and their fans. He appreciates the warmth he received from them over the years, and realizes that he always will be associated with the Cubs – no matter what it says on the front of his current uniform.

“My legacy is there, no question,” he says. “Don’t get me wrong, they’re not going to forget me in Chicago. Nobody can replace me. But now I’m looking forward to being a Baltimore Oriole. I think there’s a good chance to finish my career here, and I’m looking for that.”

Sosa will become a free agent after this season, but the Orioles hope this marks the beginning of a long-term relationship.

“Sammy is a guy you have to pay attention to because with one swing he can change the tenor of a game,” says Orioles executive vice president Jim Beattie. “And obviously, he sells tickets.”

Come opening day, when Sosa assumes his position in right field at Camden Yards for the first time, he won’t jog to his station. He will sprint there, just as he did in Chicago.

“Of course! That’s me,” he says. “I don’t have to show the whole world who I am anymore, because they know my name. But I have to go out there and fight to win the fans.”

It shouldn’t be difficult. Orioles fans embraced Tejada last year, and thousands already have purchased Baltimore jerseys with the word “SOSA” and the number “21” on the back.

“The people in Baltimore know baseball, and they know Sammy Sosa can hit,” Tejada says. “I tell him, No matter what you do, you’re never going to get booed there.”‘

AP-ES-03-31-05 1545EST