Sammy Sosa, the former Chicago Cubs slugger, appeared on ESPN before the Major League Baseball All-Star game Tuesday and his look elicited quite the reaction. Sosa, who is from the Dominican Republic and of Haitian descent, looked much paler than his playing days, highlighted by wearing a pink hat and pink collared shirt.

Sosa, a seven-time all-star, has talked about the appearance of his skin looking lighter before.

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“It's a cream that I have, that I use to soften [my skin], but has bleached me some. I'm not a racist, I live my life happily,” said Sosa in a 2009 Univision interview. “What happened was that I had been using the cream for a long time and that, combined with the bright TV lights, made my face look whiter than it really is. I don't think I look like Michael Jackson.”

He was questioned in response to a photograph taken at the time at the Grammy Latino Awards. A friend of his, Rebecca Polihronis, said that the skin lightening was due to a skin rejuvenation treatment according to ESPN in 2009.

Sosa’s latest appearance sparked a flood of memes and quite the Twitter reaction.

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In addition to the Cubs, Sosa played for the Texas Rangers, where he started, the Chicago White Sox and the Baltimore Orioles.

Sosa finished with a career .273 batting average, 609 home runs and 2,408 hits.

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