Hispanic Heritage Month is here!

From Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, the United States takes the time to honor the contributions made by many Latinos in this country. Sport has always served as a critical connection for Latin Americans to the United States, especially baseball.

The most exciting play in baseball is the home run. Numerous Latin American baseball players throughout Major League Baseball history have proven to be elite home run hitters.

Here are the top 10 Latin American-born home run hitters of all time.

1. Sammy Sosa: 609 (Dominican Republic)

"Slamming Sammy" has the eighth most home runs in MLB history, and the most by any Latin American-born player ever. He never did lead the Chicago Cubs to a World Series, but Sosa was an excellent power hitter. Three times in Sosa's career, he hit 60 home runs or more in a season. He is the only player in MLB history to achieve that feat.

9. Juan Gonzalez: 434 (Puerto Rico)

Juan Gonzalez was one of the most underrated power hitters of the 1990s. In 1992 and 1993 he hit a combined 89 home runs, and he would later win the MVP award in 1996 and 1998 with the Texas Rangers. Like so many other great Latino players before him, Gonzalez played in the Caribbean Series when he was young.

10. Alfonso Soriano: 412 (Dominican Republic)

Alfonso Soriano helped the New York Yankees reach the World Series four times and won two championships in his career. Soriano hit a career best 46 homers in 2006 with the Washington Nationals, and he was an excellent base runner. Soriano also had more than 1,100 RBI.

Follow Damon Salvadore on Twitter @DamonSalvadore1