“Guess The Baseball Community Wasn’t Too Happy To See Me” – Hawk Tuah Girl Haliey Welch Responds To Criticism Of New York Mets First Pitch

Just trying to help some dogs and veterans. It seems like the two biggest stories in baseball this week have had nothing to do with the actual sport. Of course the first was Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran serving a two-game suspension for his use of a gay slur towards a heckling fan (a suspension that resulted in his jersey becoming a top seller and eventually selling out in the MLB shop). And the other is - what else these days - the Hawk Tuah girl. Haliey Welch has been doing her best to capitalize on her viral fame since becoming an internet phenomenon a couple months ago with her spicy man-on-the-street interview in Nashville. She's appeared on stage with Zach Bryan, partied with Shaq, and been on pretty much every podcast out there (including an awkward interview with Bill Maher). And earlier this week, she even threw out the first pitch of a New York Mets game. https://twitter.com/SNY_Mets/status/1824129186111332393?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1824129186111332393%7Ctwgr%5Ecdb74960cfc3027e30009ad9190867bb718194a3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whiskeyriff.com%2F2024%2F08%2F16%2Fits-ridiculous-its-embarrassing-new-york-sports-radio-host-loses-his-mind-over-hawk-tuah-girl-throwing-out-first-pitch-at-mets-game%2F The appearance set off a firestorm of criticism for the Mets, including from broadcaster Sal Licata of WFAN Sports Radio, who said it was a disgrace and once again put the Mets in the “baby brother” role with the New York Yankees: “The Yankees have Aaron Judge and Juan Soto breaking records. Ruth, Mantle, Gehrig… and the Mets have Grimace and now Hawk Tuah. Come on, bro, I can’t take it! I cannot take it anymore. It’s ridiculous. And then you wonder why fans get so ticked off and upset. It’s embarrassing. Is it the biggest deal in the world? No. Absolutely. Does it mean anything on the field? No. but that’s the problem. The product on the field isn’t good enough and you’re coming up with these silly gimmicks that are a laughingstock. It’s a joke. Hawk Tuah.” https://twitter.com/WFAN660/status/1824175478749700567?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1824175478749700567%7Ctwgr%5Ecdb74960cfc3027e30009ad9190867bb718194a3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whiskeyriff.com%2F2024%2F08%2F16%2Fits-ridiculous-its-embarrassing-new-york-sports-radio-host-loses-his-mind-over-hawk-tuah-girl-throwing-out-first-pitch-at-mets-game%2F There were plenty of other jokes about her appearance, as well as those mocking the Mets for inviting her. But Welch doesn't seem to mind the criticism. In an Instagram post, she responded to the backlash, explaining that she was at the game to raise awareness for America's VetDogs, a nonprofit organization that provides veterans and first responders with service dogs at no cost: " So I guess some of the baseball community wasn’t too happy to see me yesterday. The main reason I went to the game was to spread awareness and donate to America’s vet dogs which pairs dogs with war veterans for a forever home. Join me in donating to this amazing charity." https://twitter.com/HalieyWelchX/status/1824442648167584102 Welch has been using her newfound fame for a variety of animal-related causes, including donating supplies to animal shelters and rescues here in the Nashville area. Hard to hate on that.