ST. PETERSBURG -- There was no catwalk for Dodgers outfielder Trayce Thompson on Wednesday.
On Tuesday night, Thompson launched a towering two-run homer that landed onto the access way that hangs from the rafters in left-center field of Tropicana Field, and it stayed up there. But stadium officials wouldn't let him take the hike to retrieve the ball, only the sixth home run not to come down from the catwalk in stadium history.
"They said they don't let players do it anymore," Thompson said. "So I went to the stingray tank instead. It would be cool if someone got up there and got the ball. I got here at 1 o'clock, figuring I'd go up there."
Thompson believes he may have been the victim of a lack of recognition.
"Maybe if it had been [Clayton Kershaw] or Adrian [Gonzalez], they could have snuck up there," he speculated. "I didn't even try."
Thompson's visibility was significantly elevated Tuesday night, not only from the home run but also from the shoutout he received from brother Klay Thompson, who concluded his press conference after scoring 27 points in the Warriors' Game 2 win over Portland in the NBA Western Conference semifinals by bringing up Trayce's big homer.
"Did anybody see Trayce Thompson's home run tonight?" he asked the media. "Man, he hit that thing like 550 feet. That was unbelievable."
"It's funny he said that," said Trayce. "He's not the biggest talker, he's kind of introverted. For him to do that publicly, it's kind of funny. Being a good big brother."