MLB Sparks Outrage After Racist Tweet About Two Japanese Players

The Major League Baseball has come under fire after tweeting a picture of two Japanese players while referring to a meme about alikeness.

The tweet, which was immediately deleted, showed baseball stars Shohei Ohtani and Ichiro Suzuki shaking hands at Angel Stadium.

Ohtani, 24, is a pitcher and designated hitter for the Los Angeles Angels. He previously played for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball.

#ShoheiOhtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitches in the third inning of the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on May 30, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. The Tigers defeated the Angels 6-1. #大谷翔平 #エンゼルス #shotime #mlb
A post shared by Shohei Ohtani 大谷翔平 (@shohei.ohtani) on May 31, 2018 at 4:56am PDT

Suzuki, 44, is a retired outfielder who played for the Seattle Mariners.

#ichiro #ichirosuzuki #mariners #seattle #seattlemariners #mlb#baseball #letsgomariners#marinersvsangels#baseballfan#angelsgame #baseballgame#gomariners#fortheloveofthegame#americaspasttime
A post shared by Eric Yarbrough..Anaheim Ca (@photoninja321) on Jul 17, 2018 at 12:52am PDT

Somehow, whoever handled MLB’s Twitter on Friday night had to make an exhausted joke that only led to a wave of backlash moments later.

“Spider-Man” (1967) Episode 36: “Double Identity.” Image: Screenshot via YouTube / kidscartoonmania

The meme refers to a cartoon “Spider-Man” episode from 1967, which shows two people in Spider-Man costumes facing each other.

The image has since been used to denote alikeness, and in MLB’s case, to joke how Asians look the same.

|￣￣￣￣￣￣ |
| HIRE |
| MORE |
| PEOPLE |
| OF I
I COLOR I
| ＿＿＿＿＿__|
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(•ㅅ•) ||
/ 　づ pic.twitter.com/Q0vKlsYOcr
— Sung Min Kim (@sung_minkim) July 28, 2018

MLB writer Sung Min Kim saved a screenshot of the tweet and received comments condemning its clear problem.