Former MLB superstar Sammy Sosa is unrecognizable

Romain Maurice/Getty Images for InList

• Sammy Sosa is in Europe to celebrate his 49th birthday.
• Some photos posted on social media show a Sosa who is unrecognizable.
• Sosa looks a lot different now than when he was chasing home run records with Mark McGwire.

Do you recognize former Major League Baseball slugger Sammy Sosa in the photo above? You are forgiven if you do not as he looks little like he did when he was smashing home runs for the Chicago Cubs and other teams.

The photo above is from 2016, and shows a Sosa (in the middle with the thumbs-up sign) with decidedly lighter skin than what most sports fans might remember. A year later, things have seemingly hit a new extreme.

Here are some recent photos from Franklin Mirabal of Caliente 104.1 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, who was apparently part of the group traveling Europe with Sosa and his wife, celebrating his upcoming 49th birthday.

It is quite possible that Sosa's skin is being enhanced by the lighting in those photos. Mirabal also posted this photo from a few weeks ago.

Still, even that photo is a far cry from the baseball player who is still the only player to hit 60 home runs in a season three times, and is often credited with helping to save the sport of baseball with the home run chase of 1998 with Mark McGwire.

Beth A. Keiser/AP