ARLINGTON, Texas – Twins reliever Ryan Pressly, who grew up a few miles north of Arlington, was with friends after the game Thursday night when they drove past downtown Dallas. "All the exits were blocked off, it was just solid police cars everywhere," Pressly said. "It almost looked like a war zone. Just a ghost town except for police cars."
Like the rest of the country, the Twins were shocked and saddened by the violence just a few miles away, where five police officers were murdered by a sniper at an anti-violence protest. Most of them found out about the situation as they came off the field, and it made for a somber clubhouse.
"It was a little awkward doing the postgame last night, when you first find out something as disturbing as that was," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "Your stomach drops — and then you talk about a baseball game."
Molitor said he watched coverage of the shootings late into the night, "probably up too late," he said. "We are prayerful for families who have lost husbands and dads. It's a really, really sad thing. You can't really explain behavior like that; you don't even try to."
For pitcher Trevor May, the night was just another awful event in a week full of them, and he felt moved enough to take to Twitter with a message.
"Go make someone else happy right now. Hug your significant other, your kids, your parents. Do something nice for a stranger," May wrote through his account, @trevmay65. "Let's show that we can have more love than hate in our hearts. Make the world around you just a little bit happier. #dallas"
"I don't understand why everything has to devolve into taking sides and arguing and violence, when we agree on so much," May said. "I just wish we could all try to add a little bit of joy to the world, instead of hatred."
The Rangers and Twins were on the field for pregame ceremonies, first a swearing-in ceremony for Air Force recruits, then a moment of silence for victims of violence.
