The Los Angeles Dodgers won their ninth National League West title in the past 10 seasons with a win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Tuesday.
Following the win, the team did their usual celebration with beer and champagne in the clubhouse, but it didn’t include a repeat of a pool party.
In 2013, the Dodgers clinched their first of the nine titles this decade and took the celebration to the Chase Field pool, which angered the Diamondbacks organization and some of their fans.
Although it wasn’t in the Dodgers original plans to throw a pool party upon clinching, Clayton Kershaw said the decision to celebrate with a swim came after the Diamondbacks asked them not to, but it wasn’t meant to disrespect them, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“Honestly, what I remember is that wasn’t even in our mindset,” pitcher Clayton Kershaw said Sunday. “We didn’t have any intentions of doing that – until they said, ‘Do not jump in our pool.’ We were like, ‘No, you can’t tell us what to do.’
“The message got down to us that they didn’t want us in their pool. If they hadn’t said anything, I don’t think we would have even thought of it. But they did and we did it. … If they hadn’t said anything, we probably wouldn’t have done it.”
The pool party wasn’t meant to be “disrespectful to anyone,” Kershaw said.
Although the pool party has become a laughing matter among Dodgers fans, it is something the Diamondbacks organization still takes seriously.
In 2017, when the Dodgers swept the Diamondbacks in the NL Division Series, there were police on horseback guarding the pool until after midnight. When the Dodgers clinched the division on Tuesday, the Diamondbacks had sheriffs standing inside the pool area despite Kershaw and manager Dave Roberts saying it wasn’t going to happen again.
Dodgers clinching 2022 title ‘pretty special’ for Clayton Kershaw
Prior to the celebration beginning, Roberts congratulated the team for the achievement and singled out Kershaw, who ended up giving a speech and expressed his gratitude.
The only remaining player from the 2013 roster, Kershaw shared how grateful he is to be a part of another division champion team.
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