Samuel Peralta Sosa was born on November 12th 1968 in San Pedro De Macoris, Dominican Republic (a spanish speaking country in the Caribbean), he is also the 5th of 7 children growing up in a poverty stricken home. Sammy's father Juan Montero who plowed fields for a living passed away when sammy was 7 yrs old & by the time of his fathers death he had begun shining shoes, washing cars, & selling oranges to help his mother, Mireya Sosa buy food & pay for other necessities. Sammy's mother delivered food to workers in textile factories for a living. Later he and his brother worked as Janitors in a shoe factory.

At first sammy wasn't even interested in the game of baseball, his first love was boxing (which his mother did not agree with). It was his brother Jose that later convinced him to try playing baseball at the age of 14. Because his family was so poor he couldn't afford a Glove or bat so he used an empty milk carton and a stick, he then began to practice. Little did Sammy Sosa know this would all soon pay off. It was July 1985 when a baseball scout named Omar Minaya found out about Sammy when he was working out in a camp in Santo Domingo run by the Toronto Blue Jays.

At the age of 16 Sammy was signed with the Texas Rangers and he gave almost his entire 3,500 bonus to his mother who is still living in the Dominican Republic. On July 29th 1990 he was traded to the Chicago White Sox (American League). Later Sammy met his wife wife Sonia in a San Pedro De Macoris disco (she was 16 at the time) And she was a dancer on a Dominican TV Variety show. Later they had four children named Keysha, Kenia , Sammy Jr and Michael .

Later Sammy Sosa settled with the Chicago Cubs in 1992. At one time he was called one of the most over paid players in the game of Baseball. Sammy was once impatient at the plate and would swing at anything that came his way. There wasn't a pitch that he wouldn't swing at a few of his former temates have said, but in the later years he became more patient at the plate and his outfielding had also improved.

After that memorable and historical 1998 season, Sammy Sosa was named National League's Most Valuable Player (MVP) on 11/20/98 in a one-sided vote. Seven of the 32 members of the Baseball Writers Association committee did not even include McGwire among the top three on their 10-player ballot. Sosa received 30 first-place votes out of 32 possible votes. A great way to cap off his incredible season.

Despite his great accomplishments during the 1998 season, Sammy Sosa was suddenly faced with a severe crisis in his country. Hurricane George ravaged the island and left over 100,000 homeless, without food and shelter. Sammy Sosa played a major role in providing relief aid to the victims of the natural disaster. Via the Red Cross, he sent 30,000 pounds of rice, 30,000 pounds of beans, and barrels of pure water to the Dominican Republic, and helped in the rebuilding of homes. 

In June of that year, Sosa launched The Sammy Sosa Charitable Foundation (SSCF) to further the education and health standards of children in the United States & the Dominican Republic area.

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.  

In 1999, after a great spring training, Sammy Sosa was determined to duplicate his exciting and momentous 1998 season.  He starting slamming home runs again, but this time Mark McGwire was the one chasing Sosa who maintained a lead in the home run race throughout the year.

On September 18th, 1999, Sammy Sosa made history again by becoming the only player to hit 60 home runs in two different Major League seasons. Sosa's historic homer came on a 2-2 pitch in the sixth, a drive that just went over the wall in center field and produced an ovation that lasted several minutes. Included in the crowd were his wife, his mother and his son, Michael.

Before 1998, Babe Ruth came closest to accomplishing the feat, hitting 59 homers in 1921 and 60 in 1927.

During the 2000 season, Sammy Sosa once again proved that he is one of the top sluggers in baseball and is joining the ranks of the all-time greatest players.

Sosa hit 50 homers for the third straight season.  A feat that has only been accomplished by Babe Ruth and "Big Mac" Mark McGwire. (Both have done it four times). The 50 home runs Sammy Sosa hit in 2000 was also good enough to lead the Major Leagues - the first time Sosa has won a home run crown.

On April 6, 2003, Sammy Sosa reached another milestone when he became the 18th player to hit 500 career homers. The momentous home run came on a 1-2 pitch off Reds' reliever Scott Sullivan in the seventh inning. The line drive home run into the right field seats touched off a standing ovation from the crowd and his family members as he rounded the bases. Sosa then came out for a curtain call as the 29,048 fans kept on cheering.

Soon thereafter, Sammy’s entire career as a home run hitter came into question, when umpires found cork in his shattered bat during a game.  Sammy was immediately ejected and served a seven-game suspension.

Seventy-six of Sammy's other bats were scanned for foreign substances and were all clear. Also, all five of his bats at the National Baseball Hall of Fame showed no signs of cork or anything else that would violate baseball rules.

Sammy Sosa is married to his wife, Sonia and has four kids, Keysha, Kenia, Sammy Jr. and Michael.