n recent photos, steroid-tainted baseball slugger Sammy Sosa's skin appears much lighter, prompting the media to post dramatic before-and-after comparisons of the former Chicago Cub. What's behind the controversial outfielder's transformation?

He’s buying in to racial stereotypes: It appears that Sosa is intentionally lightening his complexion," says David A. Love at The Grio, which would suggest he accepts racist notions that dark skin is undesirable. Bad move: He risks looking like “a distorted cartoon character...try as you might, you cannot bleach out your history.”
“Sammy Sosa’s new skin reflects an ugly mentality”

It’s a side effect of a skin rejuvenation procedure: According to Sosa friend and former Cubs employee Rebecca Polihronis as quoted in the Chicago Tribune, Sosa is simply undergoing “a cleansing process to his skin” to repair sun damage and the photos exaggerate the effect. Sosa “is not trying to be Michael Jackson.”
"Sosa says skin rejuvenation process reason his skin appears lighter"

Is this the result of steroid use? There's at least some evidence that steroid use is "one of the lifestyle choices that increases a person’s likelihood" of suffering from the skin lightening disease vitiligo, points out Jerod Morris at Midwest Sports Fan blog. If that theory bears out, Sosa freakish appearance would stand as yet another argument for not using steroids.
"Could steroid use cause vitiligo?"