Sammy Sosa Picture: Here Is The Reason The Baseball Legend’s Skin Is Turning White

Sammy Sosa posted a picture this weekend that has fans asking what is happening that is causing him to have bright white skin?

The former MLB player posted a picture showing his ever-lightening complexion, leading fans to share the picture on social media and speculate on what might be happening to make the baseball legend’s skin look so white.

Sosa gained fame for his home run prowess and his place alongside Mark McGwire in the record-smashing summer of 1998. Over his career, Sosa became a legend for Chicago Cubs fans and a player whose popularity lasted well beyond his playing years, even amidst the dark cloud of performance-enhancing drug allegations.

But in the years since he has retired, Sammy Sosa has gained fame for another strange occurrence, which is his rapidly whitening skin. Pictures posted in recent years have shown Sosa’s once dark skin turning ever whiter, and one posted this week shows the lightest complexion yet.

As Hollywood Life noted, Sosa posted a picture during a visit to London, where he looked “literally unrecognizable as his former self.”

“He looked nothing like he did back in his playing days with his naturally dark Dominican complexion,” the report noted, adding, “He was snapped on a street in London recently, leaning against a lamp-post and doing the dab and he is SO light that it has fans completely freaking out.”

But the reason for Sammy Sosa’s lightening complexion is no secret, and the former MLB player is actually quite open regarding the matter. As Newsweek noted, Sosa has been open about his skin-bleaching regimen, which was first noticed in 2009. At the time, Sosa noted that he had been using a skin cream before going to bed each night that softened his skin while also leaving it lighter.

Sammy Sosa's transition from baseball superstar to "creepy white uncle who dabs at family outings" is nearly complete. pic.twitter.com/mVlByee8HE

— Caleb Hoover (@LiLHuvziVert) November 7, 2017

At the time, Sosa said that the bright lights from photographs made it look lighter than it really was.

“What happened was that I had been using the cream for a long time and that, combined with the bright TV lights, made my face look whiter than it really is. I don’t think I look like Michael Jackson,” Sosa said at the time (via ESPN).

While the lightening skin may draw some attention on the internet, Sammy Sosa could also see some new opportunities along with the increased spotlight. As Hollywood Life noted earlier this summer, after Sosa’s skin drew attention at the MLB All-Star Weekend, the new interest caught the attention of Dancing With The Stars producers, who have reportedly been trying to get him to appear on the show.

[Featured Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for IWC]