Beyond the natural competitiveness and tension that comes with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants being storied rivals, there’s the animosity that exists between Yasiel Puig and Madison Bumgarner.
The two first exchanged words in May 2014 after Puig hit a home run off Bumgarner and did one of his patented bat flips. Bumgarner met Puig as he jogged down the third-base line, but their confrontation was brief and broken up by Giants catcher Buster Posey and the home plate umpire.
Later that season, Bumgarner hit Puig with a pitch, which led to a shouting match and both benches clearing. A similar situation unfolded Monday after Bumgarner fielded a tapper and threw to first base for the final out of the seventh inning.
As Bumgarner and Puig stared one another down, the left-hander yelled, ‘Don’t look at me.’ That led to both benches and bullpens clearing, and Dodgers players returning Tuesday with ‘#DONTLOOKATME’ t-shirts.
After photos of the players wearing the shirts went viral, Puig sent one to Bumgarner, with an assist from Charlie Culberson and Brandon Belt, per ESPN’s Doug Padilla:
A day after the Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig and the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner feuded on the field, a tongue-in-cheek gift from Puig to Bumgarner yielded laughs from both clubhouses.
Credit Dodgers infielder Charlie Culberson as the go-between for the two camps.
Culberson had a Dodgers clubhouse attendant deliver the shirt to the Giants’ side, and when Bumgarner was not there to receive it, amused Giants players hung it at Bumgarner’s locker.
After communicating with San Francisco’s Brandon Belt, Culberson said the gift was a hit in the Giants’ clubhouse, just as it was in the Dodgers’ clubhouse.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and multiple of Puig’s teammates felt Bumgarner was responsible for igniting the altercation. Justin Turner said Tuesday there wasn’t any concern over the Giants potentially growing upset with the Dodgers’ shirts and seeking retribution.
San Francisco did not, though they came away with a 2-0 victory to remain within striking distance in the National League West.
