A photo of Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow went viral due in part because he shared a resemblance to a famous actor.
The Tampa Bay Rays had gotten off to a great start to the 2023 season, holding the best record in the entire American League entering Friday, June 9. The Rays’ game that day was a special one, as the team got to see starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow win his first game in two years.
While Rays fans were interested to see how Glasnow would pitch against the Texas Rangers, the internet was focused on something other than his performance.
During the start, a photo circulated on social media of Glasnow during his start against the Rangers. Some of those who saw were convinced that it was Irish actor and star of the upcoming Christopher Nolan film, “Oppenheimer,” Cillian Murphy.
Twitter debates whether Tyler Glasnow strikes a resemblance to actor Cillian Murphy
Resemblance? Photoshop? Deep fake?
Those on social media reacted to the photo about whether or not Glasnow looked like Murphy, who had played Scarecrow in “The Dark Knight” trilogy, and Tommy Shelby of the show “Peaky Blinders,” or if the image was altered. Let’s take a look at some of the reactions on social media.
Moving away from the viral photo, Glasnow was impressive in his start on Friday. In six innings, Glasnow struck out six batters, issued three walks, and allowed just one earned run on one hit in the 8-3 victory.
This was Glasnow’s first win since June 8, 2021, when he struck out 11 batters and allowed just one earned run on six hits in Tampa Bay’s 3-1 win over the Washington Nationals. Over a month later, Glasnow had to undergo Tommy John surgery, and he didn’t return until Sept. 28, 2022, in an appearance against the Cleveland Guardians.
Through his three starts so far in 2023, Glasnow has recorded a 2.87 ERA, a 1.085 WHIP, 20 strikeouts, and seven walks in 15.2 innings.
It was a great start for Glasnow to earn his first win in nearly two years. But the internet was debating whether that viral image, in particular, was Glasnow, Murphy, or a photoshopped/deep fake image.