MLB, Torre burst bubbles from Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers have their own special way of celebrating home runs: Bubbles.
Up to this point, when a Dodgers player hit a home run, a machine that spits out bubbles was turned on in the dugout. Yasiel Puig received the bubble treatment earlier this season. Clayton Kershaw even bent the rules a bit, getting the bubble machine after his no-hitter.
Major League Baseball has asked the Dodgers to stop. Joe Torre, executive vice president of MLB, traveled to Dodger Stadium early last week to advise the team to stop using the machine, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
Not everyone received the message. When Matt Kemp belted a home run Wednesday, the bubble machine again was seen in the dugout. The Dodgers had it up and running, letting bubbles flow through the air, according to Shaikin.
Did the Dodgers negotiate a compromise with MLB, or did they unilaterally decide to bring back the bubble machine?
The ban of the bubble machine is baffling. The refusal of Dodgers officials and MLB executives to discuss it is even more baffling.
Torre, a former Dodgers manager, was asked through a league spokesman why the Dodgers were asked to turn off the machine.
“We respectfully decline comment right now,” MLB spokesman Mike Teevan said.
“We’re just having a good time with it,” Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier said. “If it’s not hurting anyone, other than bubble soap getting in someone’s eyes, it shouldn’t be a big deal.”