Baseball: Sosa hits magical 500 homer mark

Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs became the 18th Major League baseball player to hit 500 career homers, connecting for a solo shot against the Cincinnati Reds.

He raised his arms in celebration and gave his trademark home run hop as soon as the ball left the bat and headed for history.

Sosa could be the first of four players to reach the milestone this year. Texas' Rafael Palmeiro has 491 homers, Los Angeles' Fred McGriff has 478 and Cincinnati's Ken Griffey jnr has 469.

Hank Aaron heads the list with 755, followed by Babe Ruth on 714.