ST. PETERSBURG — The viral “Tarps Off” fan movement landed at Tropicana Field during the Tampa Bay Rays’ 16-6 blowout of the Baltimore Orioles, as a growing mob of bare-chested, shirt-waving fans in the left-field corner commanded the attention of the entire ballpark — players and coaches included.
What began as a small cluster of shirtless fans in the late innings quickly snowballed, with young men sprinting from all corners of the stadium to join the spectacle. The movement originated at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, where the Stephen F. Austin club baseball team turned a section into a shirtless celebration that helped spark a Cardinals walk-off win. St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol invited the group back — and eventually into the Cardinals’ clubhouse — to keep the energy going.
Third baseman Junior Caminero said through interpreter Kevin Vera that the scene was hard to ignore. “I was focused on the game, but obviously I peeked a little bit,” Caminero said. “They put on a show, and we laughed with them.”
Second baseman Richie Palacios spotted the movement as it grew. “I think I noticed it just when everyone was screaming. Looked over there and saw just like all those guys’ shirts off, then I was seeing a lot of kids running toward that area,” Palacios said. “I was like, ‘All right, this is going to be a big thing.’”
Shortstop Taylor Walls was the most enthusiastic supporter in the Rays’ dugout. “I loved it. I wish I could have joined them, to be honest,” Walls said Tuesday afternoon. “It looked sick. That looked fun. I know if I was a fan in the stands, I’d be right there in the middle of it. That’s heat, man. That’s awesome. Hopefully they’re back tonight or back sometime soon.”
The fans staged a roll call — shouting out players’ names one by one in the style of the “Bleacher Creatures” at Yankee Stadium. Walls spun his cap over his head in response, mirroring the fans’ shirt-twirling. “I didn’t know they were going to do the roll call thing, and then when they did that, I’m like, ‘Well, that’s only right to give them a little wave,’” Walls said. “I wanted to take my jersey off right there and just wave it at them, but I couldn’t do that.” Caminero fired up the crowd the following night with a massive fist pump at third base after hearing his name called.
The roll call eventually reached manager Kevin Cash, who stood still behind the dugout railing as hitting coach Chad Mottola lifted Cash’s cap and doffed it toward the left-field corner. “I loved it, man. I loved it. I was dying laughing on the field when they went with Kevin Cash, too, and Motor took his hat,” Palacios said. “That was good comedy. Really good comedy.”
Palacios took to social media to invite participants back, and the group grew even larger the following night, expanding from a couple of rows in one section to occupy the better part of two sections. “It’s fun. Winning is fun,” Palacios said. “When you have crazy fans like that, that’s also fun as well, so we had a good time.” The Rays continue their homestand against Baltimore at Tropicana Field this week.