‘Whoa!’: Sammy Sosa Steps Out Looking Dapper After Embracing His New Look, and Fans Say He Looks Like a Different Man
Sammy Sosa made a rare appearance at a baseball event, where fans took notice of his new look.
In 2009, the same year he announced his retirement from Major League Baseball, Sosa’s visage became unrecognizable.
He attended the Latin Grammy Awards that year with noticeably lighter skin, admitting to using a skin-altering cream.
Critics blasted the former Chicago Cubs slugger for using the controversial product, but he shrugged off the backlash and made clear he had no regrets.
It looks like the 57-year-old may have had a change of heart.
Sammy Sosa Addresses Jokes About His Skin Tone, ‘I Do Whatever I Want’
Recently, Sosa was photographed at The Pump Group sports agency’s VIP Summer Soiree in Beverly Hills.
He showed up at the Gravitas social club in a sports-casual look: a blue blazer over a black zip-up sweater. Flashing a peace sign in photos, he appeared with his hair slicked back.
His skin tone caught some by surprise amid years of skin-bleaching rumors.
Many noticed he had returned to his original tone, a few shades lighter than that deep brown hue.
Daily Mail fans expressed surprise after seeing recent photos of Sosa at the event. Reactions ranged from people saying, “he looks better,” to others simply writing, “wow.”
One person said, “He looks so much better and like his former self. Those fillers are awful.”
Another person claimed, “He look the same as he did when he played with the cubs 
good for him.” A third poster joked, “Whoa! Guess the cream works.”
It’s not clear whether the Dominican Republic native is still using the cream or has completely stopped.
Following the backlash over his Latin Grammy Awards appearance, he told Univision’s “Primer Impacto” which product caused the change.
“It’s a bleaching cream that I apply before going to bed and whitens my skin some,” he said. “It’s a cream that I have, that I use to soften [my skin], but has bleached me some.
He confirmed that he was not “racist” and that he was happy in his life.
Sammy Sosa says he would join the Dodgers if he were still playing! #Dodgers
pic.twitter.com/XzjgyAQV2L
— Darren M. Haynes (@DarrenMHaynes) August 21, 2026
“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,” he said. “I don’t think I look like Michael Jackson.”
Before his death in 2009, Michael Jackson’s skin also changed drastically over the course of his adult life. He too was accused of using bleaching creams.
In fact, Jackson admitted he used medical bleaching creams to even out his skin tone because of vitiligo.
Sosa has refused to offer any rationalizations for changing his appearance.
In a 2018 interview with Sports Illustrated, Sosa said, “Look at what I am today. This is my life, and I don’t take garbage from nobody. I do whatever I want.”
His son Sammy Sosa Jr., also told S.I. what his dad’s feelings about the public’s opinion were.
He said, “It doesn’t affect him, but I’m sure he feels a certain way. Like, ‘Man, I gave so many years and so much hard work for you guys.”
“Now you want to undermine all that because of some decisions I’m making some personal decisions that don’t affect you at all?’” Sosa continued.
He seems to have lived a low-profile lifestyle over the past few years.
In 2018, his skin tone looked almost ghostly in photos. He maintained that appearance in 2020 at the Sports Illustrated Super Bowl party.
The retired baseball player stayed out of the public eye for the next few years. In 2023, he fell off the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot after failing to secure enough votes for induction.
Hall of Fame voters have tarnished Sosa’s legacy despite his 609 career home runs over 18 seasons from 1989 to 2007. His association with MLB’s steroid era continues to taint his candidacy.
In 2024, he was seen at the Chicago Fire Department firehouse Engine 98/Ambulance 11. That was the first time he was spotted looking a little more tanned.
The former Chicago Cubs player looked even browner last year when he attended a game between the Chicago Cubs and Seattle Mariners.
Sosa returned to Wrigley Field for the first time in 21 years since playing his final game there in 2004.
