The West Ham United squad swung into Tropicana Field for Major League Baseball’s Florida derby game between Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins on Tuesday.
Head Coach Julen Lopetegui, his backroom staff and the entire first-team squad watched on as the Rays and Marlins did battle in St Petersburg, across Tampa Bay from their training base and team hotel in Tampa.
Hammers striker Danny Ings said: “It was great to go to the ballgame. It’s always nice to go and watch a local team on a pre-season tour. Embracing the local culture is something everyone likes to do when we’re away for these kind of trips and we’ve been lucky enough to do that on the Sunshine State Tour.”
Earlier in the day, Club Ambassador and 2005 promotion-winning captain Nigel Reo-Coker attended batting practice and exchanged jerseys with Rays duo José Caballero and Richie Palacios.
“I don’t have a favourite, favourite team, so I’m a free agent right, so it’s got to be West Ham! I have a lot of family from the Netherlands, so I love watching soccer and cheering them when they play in World Cups and stuff like that,” said Palacios, whose mother hails from the Caribbean island of Curaçao, which is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. “I played for the Netherlands myself at the World Baseball Classic last year, too.
“My favourite player is Cristiano Ronaldo, but my brother has been to London and I want to go there during the season and watch a West Ham game now!
“I know the Cardinals played in London Stadium last year because I almost went there, as I got traded there a couple of weeks after they’d been to London, so I got to hear all about it.”
Both players are looking forward to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted jointly by the United States, Canada and Mexico, so who are they rooting for?
“I have got to root for my country, as I’m Panamanian and we’ve got a chance of getting there!” said Caballero. “They beat the USA in the Copa América, so the other guys heard all about that!”
“I grew up in the USA, so I’ll obviously root for them,” said Palacios, “but I’ll also root for the Netherlands, so whoever goes furthest I’ll get behind them!”
Reo-Coker also addressed the crowd during the third inning stretch, taking part in a short Q&A to preview the Hammers' upcoming Stateside Cup fixture against Crystal Palace at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Saturday evening.
Tickets for Saturday’s Stateside Cup derby with the Eagles are still available to purchase HERE.
