Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls said his celebration inspired by Donald Trump after getting a hit Sunday was not intended to be a presidential endorsement.
After hitting a double against the New York Yankees, Walls looked toward his dugout and pumped his fist and shouted, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Walls was mimicking Trump’s gesture after being hit in the ear by a bullet during an assassination attempt July 13 during a Pennsylvania rally.
Walls said he’s unlikely to do the celebration again after a hit.
However, Walls discussed how inspiring Trump’s reaction was after the assassination attempt while speaking before the Rays’ game against the Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday.
“I think it’s pretty inspirational when any person, in the blink of an eye, their life could be taken from them,” Walls said. “They don’t really know what’s going on in the heat of the moment.
“To immediately stand up and show strength, to me, speaks pretty loudly. Anyone in that situation or that type of event, when it happens, it’s strong. It kind of represents character to me and something that similarly I feel like I’ve faced those challenges in baseball, but on a much suppressed level.”
As for why Walls won’t be making the gesture again after a hit, he said it was “kind of more of a joke that we have with guys in the locker room.”
“Joke may not be the right word,” he clarified. “It was kind of just something that we had together that we thought was kind of funny, that we thought would be all right. I don’t really see that going much further than that. I don’t foresee myself doing it again.”
Walls didn’t say who he was voting for in this year’s presidential election but did reference Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race while speaking about it.
“You can read between the lines of how I carry myself, how I was raised, how me and my family coordinate, how we’re going to go about things and do things,” Walls explained. “That’s kind of what I base my vote on and my view on.”
Walls, who grew up in Georgia, played his college baseball at Florida State University before becoming a third-round pick by the Rays in the 2017 MLB Draft.
Walls is known for his stellar defensive skills rather than his bat. He was slashing .160/.286/.210 entering play on Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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