MLB Quickly Deletes Tweet After Getting Slammed for Racist Joke
Anyone with access to the internet is likely aware of the Spider-Man pointing meme which has become popular in recent years.
It depicts two identical Spider-Man characters pointing at each other and pokes fun at the idea that two things are the same even if they don’t realize it.
A funny example (except to those living in Georgia) is of the Atlanta Falcons and Georgia Bulldogs pointing at each other after both blew big leads in recent championship games.
Is there something in the Georgia Water? pic.twitter.com/3UEAlmvnRp
— Triiig 👑 (@Triiiga_Trey) January 9, 2018
But a not-so-funny and — in the eyes of some — racist example emerged from MLB’s twitter account Friday night. The Angels were taking on the Mariners and someone thought it would be clever to use two Japanese players and reference the Spider-Man meme.
https://twitter.com/El__Tipo/status/1023019284585488384
That’s Shohei Ohtani on the left and Ichiro Suzuki on the right in the meme which lived on Twitter for all of 15 minutes before being deleted.
Ichiro is 20 years older, played in the outfield and was a leadoff hitter for his entire career. Ohtani has never played an inning in the field, is a part-time pitcher and bats in the middle of his team’s lineup.
Followers of @MLB on Twitter didn’t find the post to be funny but they quickly made their own jokes about the situation.
— Jer (@InTheMindOfJer) July 28, 2018
Hader hacked the MLB acct wow
— Sean (@seanl9498) July 28, 2018
Ohtani has resumed his role as a designated hitter after missing almost a month due to an elbow injury. He has nine home runs on the season and only Mike Trout has a higher slugging percentage on the Angels.
However, since being activated from the DL on June 30, Ohtani has yet to take the mound as the team continues to let his elbow calm down from a PRP injection. Manager Mike Scioscia said Ohtani will pitch again this season once he completes his throwing progression on his off days.
Ichiro played just 15 games this season in his return to Seattle before he and the team mutually agreed that he would move to a front office role for the rest of the season.
Ichiro’s official title is “Special Assistant to the Chairman” but it is widely believed that he will suit up again at the beginning of next season when the Mariners open their season with a two-game series in Japan.
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