On any other day, the double by Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls against the New York Yankees would not have gone unnoticed.
On Sunday, Walls caught the attention of many Americans when he appeared to pay tribute to former President Trump during the fifth inning of the game., He is the man who survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania just eight days earlier.
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Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls (No. 6) watches before a game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, on July 20, 2024. (Andrew Morzinski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Walls walked to second base, turned toward the dugout, pumped his fist and said, “Fight! Fight!”
He was 1-for-3 in the game, which Tampa Bay won 6-4. He didn’t post about the game on Instagram immediately after the game. His wife, Hallie, shared the highlight on her Instagram Story with the three first emojis.
Walls entered the game batting well below the Mendoza Line through 29 games. Before Sunday’s game against the Yankees, he was batting .154 with a .477 OPS and four RBIs. He had one double, and Sunday’s hit was his second.
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Tampa Bay Rays’ No. 6 Taylor Walls and No. 1 Richie Palacios celebrate after defeating the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on July 21, 2024 in New York City. (Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
He was in his fourth season with the Rays, after Tampa Bay selected the Georgia native in the third round of the 2017 MLB Draft.
Meanwhile, the St. Louis Cardinals players initially appeared to be doing the same thing when designated hitter Alec Burleson hit a home run against the Atlanta Braves.
But veteran Matt Carpenter St. Louis Post-Dispatch That was not the case.
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls reacts after turning a double play in the bottom of the second inning during a baseball game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, Sunday, July 21, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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“This is clearly not a political statement. It misses the point,” Carpenter said.
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