Samuel Sosa Peralta was born in Consuelo to Lucrecia (Mireya) and Juan Bautista Montero on November 12, 1968. Sammy was the fifth of Lucrecia and Juans six children. The family called hin Mikey after his grand mother gave him the nickname. Sadly Sammy would not get to spend much time with his father. On August 30, 1975 Sammys father passed away due to a brain hemorrhage, leaving him, his mother, three brothers and two sisters to fend for themselves. As a result Sammy was forced to start working with his brothers and sisters. He worked, shining shoes and washing cars, while his mother cooked and sold lottery tickets. Things got worse and worse for Sammy and his family, so three years later they moved to Santo Domingo. There they lived in rough barrio, where they all slept in the same room. While in Santo Domingo, Sammy and his brothers and sisters had days when they had no food. Due to danger and crime the family relocated to Caciques. By this time Sammys mother had married a man name Carlos Maria Peralta. For the next few years they moved around a couple of times until they landed in San Pedro de Macoris in 1981. There, Sammy and his brothers continued there shoe shining. Then one day while shining shoes, they met an American named William(Bill) Chase. Bill owned a shoe factory in San Pedro. Bill took a liking to the boys and gave them jobs in his factory. Sammy and Bill grew closer and closer even though neither one spoke the others language. Bill and his wife fell in love with Sammy and his little brother Jose, and soon Bills wife was buying them the things they needed most. Bill also gave Sammy his first real baseball glove, a blue one. This is the reason Sammy wears a blue baseball glove today.

Around this time Sammy started playing baseball, because his mother said he couldnt be a boxer. Sammy began playing for Hector Peguero. By the time he was 15 the Philadelphia Phillies wanted to sign him to a minor league contract with a signing bonus of $2,500. However he never received the money and he was too young to play in the minors. Sammy tried out for many Major League teams but no one would give him a chance, including the Yankees, the Dodgers, and the Blue Jays. Fortunately Omar Minaya stole him from the bus stop and the Blue Jays. Omar was a scout for the Texas Rangers. Omar liked Sammys potential and signed him to a contract with a signing bonus of $3,500. With some of the money Sammy bought a van and his family used it as a taxi. In 1986 Sammy left the Dominican Republic and headed to America with the other Rangers players. Sammy eventually landed in Florida, where he sent most of his $700 a month salary to his family. In 1986 the Rangers sent Sammy to play for their Rookie team in the Rookie League in Sarasota, Florida. In 1987 the Rangers sent him ti lower-level A in Gastonia in North Carolina. During this time he also almost ate cat food, he thought it was tuna! He also played in the Caribbean World Series and for the Dominican Winter League on a team called Escogidio.

In 1989 Sammy was invited to his first Major League Spring Training. Sammy started the 1989 season playing double-A ball in Tulsa. Sammy got called up in June and made his Major League debut June 16, 1989. Shortly after being called up Sammy hit his first home run off of Roger Clemens on June 21, 1989. Things soon changed and Sammy was traded to the Chicago White Sox for Harold Baines. Before the 1990 season with the White Sox, Sammy had gotten married to an American girl. Sammy had a good season in 1990. That year he was the only A..L. player to have double figures in HRs, 2Bs, 3Bs, and SBs. Before the 1990 season was over, Sammy would divorce his new bride. They were married for only seven months. In 1991 he hoped to have a good season, but his season would be filled with nothing but problems and heartache. During that year his stepfather would die and his ex-wife would accuse him of striking her with a rum bottle, months after they had divorced. However 1991 wouldnt be all that bad. Later that year he met a 17-year-old woman named Sonia at a night club in October . They fell in love and were married two months after they met. Today they have four beautiful kids: Keysha, Kenia, Sammy Jr., and Michael. In 1992 Sammy was traded to the Chicago Cubs for George Bell. Sammy had a good season early on, until he broke his hand on a pitch from Dennis Martinez on June12. He went on to have an alright season even though he only played in 62 games.

Sammy had pretty good seasons from 1993-1997. In 1993 he had his first 30-30 season. In 1994 because of his big gold "30-30" medallion people began to call him a selfish player. Things were going bad for the Cubs, but things were worse for baseball. On August 12 the players went on strike. The strike cut Sammys breakthrough season well short. In 1995 Sammy again started the season off pretty well. At the break he was named to his first All-Star team. Also in 1995, Sammy won his first Sliver Slugger Award and recorded another 30-30 season. IN 1996 Sammy again got off to a good start. He was poised to have a great season, when with six weeks left in the season, another stray pitch broke his hand again ending his season. He ended the season with 40 homers and 100 RBI. The 1997 season got off to a horrible start, the Cubs started 0-14. Sammy also got off to a slow start. Also in 1997, Sammy signed a $42 million contract with a $4 million signing bonus. Many people complained that Sammy didnt deserve the contract because he wasnt a good enough player. Another thing that happened in 1997 was that Jeff Pentland came into Sammys life. Jeff was the Cubs new hitting coach, and the man who would change Sammys swing around. By the time the 1998 season rolled around Jeff had Sammy using his new swing well. In 1998 Sammys tap-step swing helped him hit 66 home runs and put him in the national spotlight, where he would stay. He hit 63 homers in 1999, 50 in 2000, and 64 in 2001. He is now seen as one of the games brightest, most approachable stars, and one of its most feared hitters.