Donald Trump’s rally in Florida on Wednesday took a surreal turn when he gave a shoutout to New York Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes Jr.
The former president, who is campaigning to return to the White House ahead of next year’s elections, addressed a crowd of supporters in Hialeah.
Even with his rivals taking part in a Republican debate down the road in Miami, Trump took time out from attacking his fellow presidential hopefuls.
‘A great pitcher for the New York Yankees,’ Trump said in clips that flooded social media on Wednesday night.
‘They call him the Hialeah kid. Nestor Cortes, where is Nestor? He’s a great pitcher, he’s got that fastball.’
Donald Trump’s rally in Florida took a surreal turn when he mentioned Nestor Cortes Jr
The pitcher grew up in Hialeah after his father won the ‘visa lottery’ and came over from Cuba
Cortes grew up in Hialeah after his father won the ‘visa lottery’ and brought the family over from Cuba when the future pitcher was just seven months old.
Trump’s comments fueled speculation that the Yankees player was among the crowd in Hialeah but that was not immediately clear.
Trump’s comments nevertheless sparked some hilarious responses from baffled baseball fans.
‘Donald Trump gave Nestor Cortes a shoutout at his rally tonight The matrix is glitching,’ one wrote on social media. ‘There is no way we don’t live in a simulation,’ said another.
‘He’s a great pitcher, he’s got that fastball,’ Trump said of Cortes during Wednesday’s rally
One user wrote: A Donald Trump x Nestor Cortes Jr. crossover is somehow not the most shocking Yankees development of the past two days. Offseason’s off to a hell of a start.’
Trump’s shoutout came shortly after more bizarre baseball news had broken.
Earlier on Wednesday, it was reported that more than 30 of the 300-odd officials at Major League Baseball’s annual General Managers Meetings had come down with an apparent stomach bug in Arizona.
The cause of the outbreak is currently unknown, with suggestions it could have be a foodborne illness from Tuesday’s lunch buffet or a virus.
Nearly every team in the league has been affected, according to Sports Illustrated, while the league office has seen eight people fall sick.
