Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls told the Associated Press that his Donald Trump-inspired celebration was not intended to be an endorsement of the Republican presidential candidate, and that he is unlikely to do it again.
This past Sunday, Walls doubled against the New York Yankees, then raised his fist and said "Fight! Fight!" after getting to second base. Trump made the same gesture after an attempted assassination during a campaign event in Pennsylvania on July 13. The double was Walls' first hit since the shooting.
"I think it's pretty inspirational when any person, in the blink of an eye, their life could be taken from them," Walls told the Associated Press. "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."
Walls added: "That was kind of more of a joke that we have with guys in the locker room. Joke may not be the right word. 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, 28, missed the start of the season with hip surgery. He returned on June 7 and is hitting .155/.284/.202 in 31 games, and has always done his best work on the defensive side of the ball. Walls took over as Tampa's primary shortstop once Wander Franco was placed on administrative leave amid sexual abuse allegations in the Dominican Republic. Franco was formerly charged with sexual abuse, among other charges, on July 10.