Sammy sosa biography baseball players

When the Chicago White Sox traded Sammy Sosa to their crosstown rival Cubs for George Bell in March of , their young prospect had never hit more than fifteen home runs in a season at any level.

But six years later, the young Dominican from the baseball goldmine of San Pedro de Macoris hit 66 home runs — the second-highest total in baseball history — as his pursuit of Mark McGwire in the race to break Roger Maris‘ record of 61 homers captivated the baseball world.

Even though McGwire outpaced Sosa with 70 round-trippers, Sosa’s leadership, effervescent personality and humility gave him an overwhelming victory in balloting for the NL MVP award in one of baseball’s most memorable seasons.

Sosa’s early years were spent in poverty.

Sammy sosa wife

As a youngster in the Dominican Republic, he and his friends used tree branches as bats and milk cartons to field ground balls. To earn money, the young Sosa sold orange juice and shined shoes. An early Rangers scouting report described him as “ma