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The Baltimore Orioles had a solid day at the plate as they batted out their opponents, the Tampa Bay Rays, in an emphatic 22-6 win. The Orioles fell behind 6-0 by the top of the second inning before snatching the lead in the second half of the game to pile up 22 runs on the board.
Bottom order of the Orioles' batting lineup had a field day with Gary Sanchez and Coby Mayo driving in four runs each, while Cedric Mullins got 3 RBIs. The rest of the batting chipped in with four different batters also getting 2 RBIs. On 21 hits, the Os got 22 runs, their second highest in franchise history.
However, they were celebrated by the MLB in a rather unusual way. The MLB on Fox X account jumped on the bandwagon of connecting professional sports to pop icon Taylor Swift, showcasing an edit of the scoreline, featuring the artist.
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This was a reference to her famous hit single, '22'.
Fans were quickly opposed to the idea and quickly made their feelings known in the comments. Here are a few reactions:
"Why is taylor swift the face of every professional sports franchise?," a fan commented.
"Why is Taylor Swift on this...??," a fan made their feelings known.
"Why is Taylor Swift showing up in baseball now?? Sigh," another fan commented.
"Never. EVER. use this background again," a fan simply demanded.
"I don’t know about you…but I’m feeling….sick to my stomach that this is the only thing Fox sports could come up with," another fan said.
"What does Taylor Swift have to do with this situation? The overuse of her image isn't helping her," a fan questioned.
The Orioles once got back at the Yankees using a clever Taylor Swift lyric
During a game between the Orioles and divisional rivals, the New York Yankees in 2023, the latter had gone on to take a 5-1 lead. The Yankees used a line from Swift's hit single 'Shake It Off' referencing the pop star's upcoming Eras Tour concert at Yankee Stadium.
However, after the Yankees lost the lead through a lackluster seventh inning, the Orioles immediately hit back at them, having secured a 9-6 win.
Using a quirky caption, their X account continued the referencing.
Funny banter aside, there is a longstanding debate online about the overusage of pop stars and celebrities in professional sports in trying to increase their global reach. This has heightened since Taylor Swift's relationship with NFL star Travis Kelce.
