TORONTO (AP) 鈥� Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls said Tuesday that his Donald Trump-inspired celebration of a hit Sunday was not intended as an endorsement of the Republican presidential candidate and added he was unlikely to do it again.
Walls pumped his fist and shouted 鈥淔ight! Fight! Fight!鈥� after hitting a double against the New York Yankees on Sunday, mimicking Trump鈥檚 reaction after during a campaign event in Pennsylvania on July 13.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 pretty inspirational when any person, in the blink of an eye, their life could be taken from them,鈥� Walls said before the Rays faced the Toronto Blue Jays. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 really know what鈥檚 going on in the heat of the moment.
鈥淭o immediately , to me, speaks pretty loudly,鈥� Walls added. 鈥淎nyone in that situation or that type of event, when it happens, it鈥檚 strong. It kind of represents character to me, and something that similarly I feel like I鈥檝e faced those challenges in baseball, but on a much suppressed level.鈥�
The fifth-inning double off right-hander Marcus Stroman was Walls鈥� first hit since the shooting. He has five hits in 33 at-bats this month, including four singles.
Still, Walls said he isn鈥檛 likely to make the gesture again.
鈥淭hat was kind of more of a joke that we have with guys in the locker room,鈥� he said. 鈥淛oke 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鈥檛 really see that going much further than that. I don鈥檛 foresee myself doing it again.鈥�
Walls declined to say who he intended to vote for in November, referencing President Joe Biden鈥檚 recent .
The four-year veteran from Georgia said the values he was brought up with are important to him and typically inform his political choices.
鈥淵ou can read between the lines of how I carry myself, how I was raised, how me and my family coordinate, how we鈥檙e going to go about things and do things,鈥� Walls said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 kind of what I base my vote on and my view on.鈥�
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AP MLB:
Ian Harrison, The Associated Press
