Samuel Kelvin "Sammy" Peralta Sosa is a Dominican former professional baseball right fielder. Sosa played with four Major League Baseball teams over his career, most notably the Chicago Cubs. Sosa's Major League career began with the Texas Rangers in 1989. After three seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Sosa became a member of the Cubs in 1992 and became one of the league's best hitters.
Background
Samuel Montero was born in the city of San Pedro de Macoris on November 12, 1968. His father, Juan Bautista Montero, was an agricultural worker, and his mother, Lucrecia, cooked and delivered meals for other agricultural workers in town. Sosa was one of seven children. His parents worked very hard to make ends meet and to provide for all of them. His father died of a brain aneurysm when Sosa was seven years old. His death created a major disruption for the family, which although poor had until then been able to sustain a stable life.
After his father's death, the family moved into a spare two-room apartment located in a building that once had been a hospital. His mother worked as a housemaid for a wealthy family to support her children. Sosa and his older brother had to go and find odd jobs to help the family. He washed cars and sold fruit and agricultural produce to help, but like many other children of San Pedro, he worked primarily as a shoeshine boy.
Education
When Sosa was in eighth grade, he left school to work full-time as a shoeshine boy. Around that time, he became interested in baseball and started to play with local teams and friends in his neighborhood. Since he was not able to buy sports equipment, he used whatever household materials he could find, such as milk cartons and tree branches, to manufacture his "equipment." In the beginning, Sosa was not very good but worked hard to get better at the game. His older brother Luis, who had played baseball in a local league, watched him play and thought that he might have a natural ability for the game.
Luis visited Hector Pesquera, a baseball trainer who had a small baseball league in San Pedro, and asked him to take his brother under his wing. He paid the coach 67 cents per week to give Sosa extra lessons. Around the same time, Sosa met Bill Chase, an American businessman in the city who was very impressed by Sosa's work ethic as a shoeshine boy. Sosa followed him everywhere and asked to shine his shoes. When he saw that the boy was responsible and was taking baseball seriously, he brought Sammy a baseball glove during one of his trips to the United States. This kind act started a friendship that has lasted a lifetime.
Career
By the time Sammy was 16, he changed his last name to Sosa, the family surname of the man his mother had married. He practiced constantly to improve his batting and pitching skills. His game steadily improved and, like many other Dominican boys, he dreamed of being "discovered" by one of the American scouts who visited the island searching for talent. This finally happened in 1985 when Amado Dinzey, a scout for the Texas Rangers Organization, saw Sosa play. He called Omar Minaya, a coach for the Ranger's farm league system, and asked him to fly to the Dominican Republic to observe and interview Sosa. Because there were several other scouts already aware of Sosa's ability, Minaya arranged for Sosa to travel to Puerto Plata for a tryout because Minaya didn't want to jeopardize losing Sosa to other scouts. After playing ball with him for more than three hours, Minaya offered to sign Sosa and give him a $3,000 bonus, a standard sum for entry-level players at the time. Sammy asked him for $4,000 and they agreed on $3,500. When he received the money, he gave most of it to his mother and kept a small amount to buy himself a bicycle.
After his signing, and with little English, Sosa went to the United States in 1986, where the Texas Rangers Organization assigned him to several of their teams. From 1986 to 1988 Sammy played with several teams within the farm system and was consistently promoted from team to team. He played in Sarasota for the Gulf Coast Rookie League, in Gastonia, South Carolina, with the Atlantic League, and in Port Charlotte, Florida, with the South Atlantic League. Although he generally batted well, he was an impulsive, overambitious, and self-centered player who made too many errors. Coaches saw him as a player full of promise but as someone who was having a difficult time conforming to the order and structure of U.S. baseball. During the 1989 season Sosa was transferred to Tulsa, where he played with the Rangers' Double-A team. He had such a good record during the beginning of the season that they transferred him to their major league team, the Texas Rangers.
Sosa played his first professional major league game on June 16,1989. He played for 25 games, had 85 batting opportunities, and averaged .238. The owners, including future president George W. Bush, returned him to the minor leagues after deciding that he wasn't ready to be in the major leagues. Sosa was extremely disappointed at the transfer but had no choice other than to go back to the Triple-A league. BY the end of the season the Rangers Organization traded him to the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox decided not to incorporate him to their major league team, and sent him instead to their Triple-A team in Vancouver. The man-ager promised him that if he performed well, he would promote him to the majors the next vear. His performance in Vancouver during the first 13 games of the season was so outstanding that the White Sox sent him to the major leagues immediately.
In 1990 Sosa became a right fielder for the Chicago White Sox. Unfortunately, his performance was just average. His batting average at the end of the season was. 233. Sosa hit 15 home runs and 26 doubles, but also struck out 150 times and made 13 errors. He was unfocused and seemed to lack self-control. His supporters grew concerned that he was not learning the American playing style fast enough, and again he was seen as an immature player who lacked discipline. During the 1991 season Sosa retained his position in the lineup but his performance was so mediocre that he was returned him to Vancouver to play with the Triple-A team. He became depressed and continued to play poorly.
In spring 1992 the Sox traded Sosa to their neighbors, the Chicago Cubs. The trade proved to be advantageous for Sosa, as he was given the position of starting right fielder in the lineup. Although he had some health problems and injuries during his first season with the Cubs, his game improved. The Cubs coached him and he started to mature and acquired patience. They taught him to pace and time his hits. Sosa became more analytical and helped the Cubs substantial during the season. He had an excellent season in 1993 and was the first player in the Cubs historv to hit more than 30 home runs and steal more than 30 bases in a single season (Duncan 1998). In 1994 he also had an excellent season and by the end of the season the Cubs signed him up for S4 million for one year. He was equally successful in 1995 and was twice named the National League Player of the Week, won his first Silver Slugger Award, and attended the All-Star Game. During the 1997 seasons, he became the Cubs' star outfielder and continued breaking records and receiving awards.
However, Sosa’s claim to fame came during the 1998 baseball season. The en-tire nation turned its attention to a sports duel between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire of the St. Louis Cardinals. The two had performed so well during the season that both were close to breaking the record of 61 home rims in one season established bv Roger Maris in 1961. Although McGuire was eventually the first to break the record his triumph only lasted 116 hours because Sosa matched him. They ended the season with Sammy scoring 66 home runs and McGuire 70. In 1998 he was selected as National League's Most Valued Player; received the Roberto Clemente Award one of the most significant distinctions of the major leagues; and his performance during the season helped the Cubs reach the playoffs.
To date, he has earned more than $60 million. Nevertheless, he still savs that playing and helping his people are the most important things that the game allows him to do. He established the Sammy Sosa Foundation, which gives money to needy people in the Dominican Republic and to youth around the Chicago area. The foundation, headed by his long-time friend and American mentor Bill Chase, is responsible for undertaking major charitable projects in his native San Pedro de Macorf.
Achievements
Connections
Sosa is married to Sonia Rodríguez, a Dominican vedette, whom he has dated since 1986 and with whom he has four children: Keysha, Kenya, Sammy Jr., and Michael. The couple married by the Catholic Church on December 18, 2004, at Altos de Chavón, La Romana; they had already been married civilly for 12 years prior to the church wedding.