GLENDALE, Ariz. -- It looks like a Southern California baseball rivalry just received a boost from a minor collision in the desert.
Los Angeles Dodgers ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw said his car was rear-ended Friday as he tried to access the 101 freeway on the west end of Phoenix, and when he got out of his car, both of the young women in the vehicle that ran into his were wearing Los Angeles Angels T-shirts.
According to social media posts, Kershaw called the shirts "ugly," but to show he was only having fun with the pair, he took selfies with both of them. The photos were later posted to Facebook.
Welp.... I guess that's one way to end our spring training vacation ... But if you're going to get in a car accident......
Posted by Tiffany Lynn Cole on Friday, March 18, 2016
"I was just merging onto the 101 North there, and two lanes of traffic merge onto the freeway there so you have to completely stop. You can't merge in," said Kershaw, who was not injured in the accident and pitched the following day against the Chicago White Sox. "The guy in front of me stopped real fast so I stopped real fast, and I think they were probably looking back to merge and just kept going."
Kershaw said his car was still driveable, but the car that hit him had to be towed. He shrugged when asked about taking the selfies.
"I guess you had to be there," he said. "We talked for a while and did all the normal exchange of car-wreck information, insurance. As we were waiting for the highway patrol to come and write the police report, we just started talking."
It was an eventful weekend for Kershaw, who also fouled a ball off his foot in a simulated game Sunday and returned to the clubhouse immediately afterward.
"It hurt. I'm fine, but yeah," he said about the foul ball.
Ho-hum, just like when he informed the Dodgers of his car accident.
"I called and told them that if anybody needs me, I'm in a wreck on the 101," he said.