Dodgers’ Kershaw on ‘GibbyBall’: There’s no place for that

To say Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is no friend of the
Diamondbacks would be an understatement.

The 2011 NL Cy Young Award winner, who was ejected from a game last September
after
throwing at Gerardo Parra, was on the receiving end of
some
revenge Monday night courtesy of Diamondbacks ace Ian
Kennedy.

Sort of.

Kershaw stepped to the plate in the third inning of Monday
night’s game, a 3-1 Dodgers victory, and saw a few pitches
come his way.

Ball one was high and tight, ball three was behind the
lefty. Neither pitch hit Kershaw, but the message was
sent.

“He threw three balls in there,” Kershaw said after the
game. “He’s got pretty good command, so it’s a little iffy
there, but whatever — he missed.

“It’s part of it, I guess.”

Kershaw ended up reaching first on a walk.

Of course, that couldn’t be the end of it all, as Kershaw
retaliated by throwing at Kennedy in the fifth inning,
also
failing
to hit him before allowing a walk.

No worries, as all is fair in love and baseball, right?
Not
exactly.

“I don’t really understand why,” Kershaw said of getting
thrown
at. “Just because all that stuff ended last year.”

Apparently not.

“But whatever, that’s old-school baseball to them,”
Kershaw
continued. “Gibby-style, whatever they want to call it,
that’s
fine.

“But there’s no place for that.”

Except, you know, in baseball, where this has been going
on for generations. Besides, Kershaw did throw at
Kennedy, so it’s not like he’s totally against the
concept.

“Gibbyball” has been a breath of fresh air for
the Diamondbacks, as they’ve followed their skipper’s lead
and become a tough-minded, relentless team in the mold of
their manager.

And even last year, many criticized the starters for
supposedly not having their teammates’ backs, because guys
like Justin Upton were hit with plenty of pitches with
nary a response from Arizona.

They vowed to change that,
with Daniel Hudson even warning opposing pitchers.

“Remember, he’s got to hit,” the right-hander said in
February.

So Ian Kennedy stuck up for his teammate, Clayton Kershaw
stuck up for himself, and everybody can finally move on.

Maybe.

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