Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was livid over the antics of Colorado Rockies’ starter Tyler Anderson on Wednesday.
In what was a rough atart for Kershaw, who ended up finding his groove to throw 10 K’s, the Dodgers ace was upset that he had to wait as Anderson made his way to the dugout from the bullpen in right field after completing his pregame warm-ups.
“That was … I mean, that was one of the more disrespectful things I have been a part of in a game,” Kershaw said after the Dodgers to a 4-2 victory over the Rockies.
“I really didn’t appreciate that,” Kershaw said (h/t ESPN). “The game starts at 7:10 and has started at 7:10 here for a long time. Just go around, or finish earlier. But yeah, that wasn’t appreciated, for sure.”
Kershaw seemed to be shaken a bit as he led off the game by putting three Rockies on base. Despite loading the bases, Kershaw escaped the inning by only giving up 1-run.
“I don’t think it affected [Kershaw],” Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal said.
“Actually, it might have started a fire [under him]. That may be the best way to describe it. It was probably a bad thing for them. But it’s a learning process. [Anderson] is young, and I think he hasn’t even had a year in the big leagues yet. He’ll learn from it.”
“I threw a few extra pitches in the bullpen before the game,” Anderson said. “I didn’t mean any disrespect by it. I was surprised the umpire didn’t let him pitch.”
Although Kershaw said Anderson didn’t effect his performance, it’s hard to believe that it didn’t make him angry when it was happening.