MESA, Ariz. — Jose Menendez saw Cubs legend Sammy Sosa in the Nike Performance Center on Tuesday and knew he had a golden opportunity.

Here was one of the Dominican Republic’s biggest stars — a slugger on the field and a showman who entertained in both languages. Menendez, the Cubs’ education coordinator, had a group of Latin American minor leaguers in English class in the building and knew he had to approach Sosa.

[WATCH: An exclusive, one-on-one interview with Sammy Sosa]

After all, Sosa starred on the field, yes, but his fluency in both English and Spanish allowed him to converse with media and let his vibrant personality really shine through. So, Menendez approached Sosa and asked him if he could take a few minutes to speak to the players.

Sosa accepted — and went above and beyond, speaking to the class for over 20 minutes on the importance of learning English to be able to tell their stories without the aid of an interpreter.

[MORE: How Sammy Sosa provided an instant impact at Cubs camp]

The slugger is at Cubs camp for the next few days as an alumni instructor and is primarily working with hitters. But he didn’t shy away from offering some advice to the next generation of players.

Photos courtesy of Jose Menendez