Sep 19, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp (27) celebrates after beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-6 at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
The Arizona Diamondbacks wanted to make the Los Angeles Dodgers wait until after they left Phoenix to clinch the National League West title. LA had other ideas and when they finally won 7-6, the team decided to have an extra special pool party to celebrate their accomplishment. However, their splashing did not go over well in D-Back land. CEO Derrick Hall fired off an e-mail (obtained by mlb.com) that stated:
"“I could call it disrespectful and classless, but they don’t have a beautiful pool at their old ballpark and probably wanted to see what one was like.”"
Here is what Willie Bloomquist had to say, also via from mlb.com:
"“There’s a fine line, going overboard at someone else’s place,” Bloomquist said. “But what are we going to do about it? There’s not much we can do about it now. They’ve clinched the division this year, but if that’s how they’re going to act and be classless, that’s their gig; that’s their clubhouse. I just think it’s disrespectful and classless.”"
Derrick Hall taking a shot at Dodger Stadium is completely asinine. Even though I have never been to Dodger Stadium, as a long-time fan and lover of baseball I would certainly be more than thrilled to visit “that old ballpark”. Sorry D-Back fans and organization, it has more history and charm than Chase Field could ever hope to obtain. As far as Bloomquist’s comments go, I am not in love with what the Dodgers did. However, they didn’t spray paint Dodger Blue in the outfield. The team didn’t give a one finger salute toward the D-Back dugout before back-flipping into the water. I don’t believe they meant to show up the D-Back players or their fans or the organization at all. It was a spontanous celebration of a long, draining baseball season. Should I be a fan of what the Dodgers did? No. Does it give me more of a reason to dislike them? Yes. In the grand scheme of things, however, I am more upset that the D-Backs played so poorly in the second half and allowed this celebration to take place on their field, a game, by the way they led 6-3 after three innings. Perhaps Brandon McCarthy summed it up best, via Twitter:
"“Celebrating is fun. I don’t care how and where you do it. Only thing to care about is what we need to do to celebrate in our pool next year.”"
Now go out in 2014 and knock LA’s block off.
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