Sammy Sosa is a retired Dominican professional baseball right fielder, known for his contributions to the sport, which helped him earn a net worth of $70 million. His career spanned from 1989 to 2007, during which time he earned over $120 million in salary alone, in addition to the millions he earned from endorsements.

Early Life and Career

Sosa was born in 1968 in Consuelo, Dominican Republic, with his officially registered birthplace being San Pedro de Macorís. He is of partially Haitian descent and is known as Mikey to his family. He made his major league debut with the Texas Rangers in June of 1989, leading off as the starting left fielder. In July of that year, the Rangers traded Sosa to the Chicago White Sox. During his first season with the team, he batted .233 with 15 home runs, 70 RBIs, 10 triples, and 32 stolen bases.

Before the 1992 season, the White Sox traded Sosa to the Chicago Cubs for outfielder George Bell. He quickly became known as one of the best hitters in the game. In his first season with the Cubs, Sosa batted .260 with eight home runs and 25 RBIs. The next season, he batted .261 with 33 home runs and 93 RBIs. Sosa continued to improve his batting average in 1994, finishing with .300 and 25 home runs. In 1995, he was named to his first All-Star team.

Career Highlights

Sosa’s success continued in 1996, when he batted .273 with 40 home runs and 100 RBIs. However, the 1998 season was Sosa’s most famous, thanks to his competition with the Cardinals’ Mark McGwire. The two players garnered major national attention when they competed to see who could pass Roger Maris’ single-season home run record of 61 home runs. Although McGwire first broke the record in September, Sosa soon caught up, and the two were tied at 66 home runs each. By season’s end, Sosa remained at 66 while McGwire racked up 70.

In 1998, Sosa also led the league in RBIs and runs scored. His 416 total bases were the most recorded in a single season since 1948. In June, he hit 20 home runs and posted a .842 slugging percentage in one of the greatest offensive playing outbursts in MLB history. He was subsequently honored with the National League Most Valuable Player Award, was given a ticker-tape parade in New York City, and was invited to be a guest at Bill Clinton’s 1999 State of the Union Address. Sosa continued his success in 1999, hitting 63 home runs.

More records were broken during Sosa’s final years with the Chicago Cubs. In 2001, after hitting 64 home runs, he became the first player ever to hit 60 or more home runs in three different seasons. Also that year, he achieved personal bests for runs scored, RBIs, walks, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and batting average, with a .328. Sosa also surpassed his own 1998 high for total bases, recording 425. He once again led the league in home runs in 2002.

Life After Baseball

In January of 2005, the Cubs traded Sosa to the Baltimore Orioles. He finished the season batting .221 with 14 home runs, his worst performance in over a decade. His Orioles tenure ended in December, making him a free agent.