"God bless Blake Treinen"; "Disgusting": Fans split after Dodgers closer's Charlie Kirk tribute on his cap

Fans reacted as Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen paid tribute to political activist Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot on Wednesday in Utah, during Friday's game against the San Francisco Giants.

Blake Treinen, who was on the mound for the ninth inning of the game, wore a cap that had Kirk’s name alongside a cross. The Dodgers reliever's action divided fans on social media.

"Disgusting," one tweeted.

"God bless Blake Treinen. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country," another wrote.

"Crap. Don't tell me I have to start liking the Dodgers," one posted.

"Yet I doubt there’s the names of any of the school shooting victims. They don’t care about anyone," wrote another.

"I so dislike the Dodgers but I really love this & I am very happy he did it," one posted.

"I'll be booing him very soon," another chimed in.

The Dodgers closer is a devout Christian and talked about how his faith has played a significant role in his life and baseball.

"He’s my everything. I mean, I wouldn’t be here without my relationship with Jesus," Treinen told CBN Sports. "When I’m on the mound, that’s my form of worship. I draw a cross and point up so that people know who I play for."

Giants walk off Dodgers in series opener despite Balke Treinen's scoreless outing

Blake Treinen entered the game after fellow reliever Jack Dreyer pitched 1.1 innings without allowing a run and striking out three hitters to keep the score 1-1.

Treinen followed with a scoreless ninth inning, thanks to a double play from Andy Pages, to take the game into extra innings. While Dreyer and Treinen did their job, under-fire reliever Tanner Scott failed to see his team through.

Scott loaded the bases after allowing two walks and on a 1-0 pitch count, Giants catcher Patrick Bailey took him deep for a grand slam to walk off the Dodgers in the series opener at Oracle Park.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

Know More

Edited by Chaitanya Prakash