Sammy Sosa was born November 12, 1968. His full name is Samuel Peralta Sosa. He was born in San Pedra De Marcoris, Dominican Republic. He stands at 6'0" tall and weighs 220 pounds. Sammy was born in a small pink house. Another family now owns it. Down the road is where his grandmother still lives. She is now 87 years old.
Sammy Sosa was the fifth born of seven children. His mother, Lucrecia, had to raise his family by herself since his father, Inez, died when Sammy was seven. Now Sammy is married and has a son named Michael.
The kids in Sammy's family had to do many jobs to get money and food. He shined shoes, sold oranges, and washed cars. He would do anything to help his family. The house they lived in was a small, two-roomed apartment in a very poor neighborhood. Many times Sammy would have to sleep on the floor because there was no room on the bed for him.
When they were not doing chores they were playing baseball. They played in the streets. They did not have money to buy equipment. Sammy cut a milk carton in half for a glove. The kids would wrap tape around a rolled up sock for a baseball and use a stick for a bat.
Sammy is now a legend and idol of many people in the Dominican Republic. When he arrived there a few years ago, Sosa's foundation raised $700,000 for his country and helped several other Latin American countries with food and money through their moments of crisis. He also has a direct line with many high-ranking government officials like former President Bill Clinton and wife, New York State Senator Hillary Clinton.
Sosa used to be very skinny. When the Texas Rangers discovered him in the early 80s it was one of the descriptive terms listed on Sosa's scouting report. To date Sammy has played the longest with the Chicago Cubs totaling more years with them than all of his other teams combined. He also has played the best with them. Almost immediately after the Cubs acquired him he started blasting home runs. The Rangers manager said his biggest mistake he ever made was trading Sammy Sosa.
Perhaps one of Sosa's best seasons to date was in 1998 when he recorded records in Major League Baseball history. He hit, by far, the most home runs of any Latin American ever. He led the league with 158 RBIs. He his 66 home runs and batted a .308 average. After that season he was named the National League's MVP even though Mark McGwire had hit four more home runs than Sosa. This launched Sosa to instant superstardom all over the world. He had come a long way from a big struggle in his life.
In 1999, after incredible spring training, Sosa was determined to duplicate his exciting and momentous 1998 season. In 1999, he started slamming home runs again. This time Sammy was not chasing McGwire; it was the other way around throughout the whole year.
On September 18, 1999, Sammy Sosa made history again by becoming the only player to hit 60 home runs in two different seasons. Sammy thinks his 1999 season is more special than his 1998 season. He is extremely proud of his new record. His historic home run came on a 2-2 pitch in the sixth inning. The hit just went over the center field wall.
During the 2000 season, Sammy Sosa definitely proved his spot as one of the top sluggers in baseball history. He has now joined the ranks of the all time greatest players. Sosa hit 50 homers for the third straight season. This fear has only been accomplished by Babe Ruth and Mark McGwire. The 50 home runs Sosa hit in 2000 was also good enough to lead the MLB winning Sosa his first home run crown.
Overall Sammy Sosa's stats are amazing. He is the only player to ever have three seasons that hit more than 60 home runs. In 1993 he had the most stolen bases at 36. In 1990 he had 10 third bases, 38 second bases in 2000, and batted a .328 with 160 RBIs in 2001.
Sammy Sosa's hero as a kid was Roberto Clemente who was the first Latino to enter the Hall of Fame. Sosa wears 21 on his jersey in honor of him. Sosa will one day join Clemente, Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal, Toney Perez, and other great Latino baseball players in the Hall of Fame.