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= SAMMY SOSA = 

  Sammy Sosa was born in the Dominican Republic in 1968. Sammy was the fifth child out of seven. The beginning of his life was not easy. When he was seven, his father died. Sammy had to sell orange juice and shine shoes in order to help his mother.

 When he was growing up, he couldn't buy a baseball or a glove or bat. His family didn't have enough money. He did what many children did. He made his own. His bat was a branch from a tree. He made a glove from old milk cartons. He wrapped a sock in tape to make a baseball. He would do anything to play baseball.

 When he was fourteen, Sosa began to play baseball with a real bat. When he was sixteen, he signed a contract with the Texas Rangers. He would play in the minor leagues. He was paid a bonus of thirty-five hundred dollars. He sent most of it back to his mother to help with the family. Then he treated himself to a present with the rest. He bought himself a used bike.

 In 1989, Sosa started playing for major league baseball. He did not have an easy start. His batting average was low. He was sent back to the minor league many times. At the end of the year, he was traded to another team. Looking back now, the Rangers know they made a mistake when they did that.

 He had a hard time with the Chicago White Sox, too. He had a hard time hitting the ball. He had many strikeouts. The White Sox traded him to the Chicago Cubs in 1992.

 Many people would have given up, but Sammy Sosa would not. He worked hard to improve his swing. He wanted to be a success. He wanted to help his family. He knew baseball was the only way he could make enough money to do that.

 All his hard work paid off. Sosa started to turn his career around. In 1993, he hit thirty-three home runs. This was just the start. For the next six years, he would hit over thirty-five home runs every year. In 1997, he signed a forty-five million dollar contract. This time he bought himself a really nice present: a sixty-foot yacht.

 The year most people will not forget is 1998. That year, Sosa battled another player to hit the most home runs. This may not sound like a big deal, but they were both going for a record. In 1961, Roger Maris had hit sixty-one home runs. No one had ever been able to beat that record. In 1998, both Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa had a chance to do it.

 Mark McGwire hit sixty-two first, but Sammy wasn't far behind. A cheering crowd of over forty thousand people gave him a six-minute standing ovation. Sosa waved and blew kisses to the crowd. He couldn't believe that he had broken the record.

 Sosa finished that year with sixty-six home runs. This was the most by any Latin American player in history. (Mark McGwire hit seventy that year.) His home country was very proud of him. Everyone knew Sammy Sosa's name. After the year ended, Sosa was named Most Valuable Player of the Year. This was a great way to end a great year.

 In 1999, Sosa tried to do what he had done in 1998. That year, he became the first player to hit sixty or more homeruns in two different seasons. The next year, he became only the third player to hit over fifty homeruns in three different seasons.

 Sosa's career has had trouble, too. In one game, Sosa's bat broke. Inside there was cork. This is against baseball rules. He was suspended for seven games. All Sosa's bats were checked and none of the rest of them had cork in them. Sosa said he used a practice bat by mistake.

 Sosa has been compared to Roberto Clemente. He was another famous Latin American baseball player. Like Clemente, Sosa also works hard to help others. He has sent food and supplies to the Dominican Republic after a hurricane. He also has a charity that helps children with their education and health. He has worked hard to help his family and other people. His spirit and refusal to give up have helped Sammy Sosa have a great career in baseball.

media type="custom" key="5219699" **Assignment: 1. Find at least five words that you are unfamiliar with. 2. Double click on the word to hear a pronunciation and read the definition. 3. Click on the discussion tab and use one of your words in a sentence. **