Tampa Bay Rays slugger Junior Caminero hit his second walk-off home run in five days on Tuesday night, a two-run shot around the right field foul pole that beat the Oakland Athletics 2-1. What stood out even more than the blast itself was how long it took Caminero to circle the bases afterward.
Video of the moment shows Caminero taking a notably slow trot around the diamond, with teammates high-fiving him along the way to home plate rather than waiting for him to score first, a moment that quickly spread across social media.
The 23-year-old’s homer was his 41st of the season, and he’s now hitting .279 with 96 RBI and an OPS approaching .900. His performance has put him firmly in the AL MVP conversation, a race that had largely been considered Houston’s Yordan Alvarez’s to lose for most of the year.
The win gave Tampa Bay its 91st victory of the season. The Rays have already clinched a playoff spot and are closing in on winning the AL East.
Is there actually a rule against it?
Many fans grew up believing it was against the rules for teammates to touch a batter before he touches home plate following a home run. That’s not the case in Major League Baseball — there is no such rule on the books.
The rule does exist at the college level, however. According to college baseball’s rulebook, Rule 5, Section 2 states that after a home run, no offensive team member other than the base coaches shall touch the batter-runner before home plate has been touched.
Reaction to Caminero’s leisurely trot was mixed online. Plenty of fans said they loved the celebration, while others suggested he might get thrown at in his next at-bat as payback.
