USA Today reported that the Dominican player had a darker skin tone in his MLB days in 2007. Two years later, in 2009, a photo shows his skin is noticeably lighter. A story from The Chicago Tribune at the time attributed the change to a "rejuvenation process for his skin," according to former Cubs employee Rebecca Polihronis.
“I’m not trying to be Michael Jackson,” Sosa told Polihronis, in reference to the late musician’s change in skin color.
In addition to lighter skin, images of Sosa have shown him with blue eye contacts, as opposed to the brown he naturally had.
A new interview with ESPN Deportes shows that Sosa may not be wearing the contacts, but his skin has become even lighter.
Some reacted to the change on Twitter.
Despite speculation that Sosa, who once looked African-American in skin color, wants to look white, he has said that he is not trying to change his skin color.
"It's a bleaching cream that I apply before going to bed and whitens my skin some," Sosa said in a 2009 interview. "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."
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