No, New York Yankees slugger Juan Soto has not joined the Blue Man Group.
It’s easy to understand how some may be confused, however. After all, if you tuned in for Game 2 of the season-opening series between the New York Yankees and Houston Astros, you couldn’t help but to notice a little something different about Soto’s face. He looked a lot like Violet Beauregarde — the blueberry girl — from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
Blue man Juan Soto pic.twitter.com/dvZRMmGC81
— Randi (@randi9320) March 30, 2024
The odd visual glitch, caused by a blue FanDuel ad (overlayed upon a green screen), on Apple TV quickly went viral. Fans expressed their frustration not only with the broadcast but, of course, the umpire as well.
The @AppleTV coverage of the MLB is off to a raring start as I can only see a blue covering Soto’s face from the advertisement behind him and top top it off the umpire is calling strike a 2 feet off the plate. The joy. #Yankees
— Ryan Evans (@RyanEvans29) March 30, 2024
There were also numerous complaints about the announcers sounding very distant even with volumes turned up to max, which became problematic when ads were run.
Apple has not released a statement on the glitch or why it only appeared to turn Soto’s face blue. But needless to say, it’s a rough start to the season for the Apple TV broadcasts.
