The Los Angeles Dodgers announced their promotion schedule on Friday. Hidden among the dates for bobbleheads, jerseys and a replica World Series trophy was a masterclass trolling of the San Diego Padres.
The first salvo will be fired on Monday, June 16, the first game against the Padres in Los Angeles. The Dodgers will honor two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell with a bobblehead giveaway.
Snell, who signed a five-year, $182 million contract at the start of the offseason, had spent three seasons in San Diego. He was the 2023 NL Cy Young award winner, posting a major league-leading 2.25 ERA and a 1.189 WHiP in his 180 innings, striking out 234 batters with 99 walks.
The second shot will come the following day. The Dodgers will be giving away replica World Series trophies on Tuesday, June 17. Once again, the Padres will be in the opposing dugout.
The Padres had come close to eliminating the Dodgers, taking a 2-1 lead in the NLDS. However, the Padres were shut out in the final two games as the Dodgers marched on to their first full-season championship since 1988.
Those promotions occurring against the Padres is another layer in what has become a fierce rivalry in the 2020s. Both teams have held championship aspirations and have faced each other three times in the postseason. While the Dodgers have won two of those series, the Padres had the most memorable series win as they eliminated the 111-win 2022 Dodgers team in four games in the NLDS.
This is not the only trolling moment in the rivalry. The Padres had the infamous “Crying Kershaw” image on their scoreboard after battering him for four runs on eight hits and five walks over 4.2 innings on May 5, 2023. As the Dodgers won the next two games in the series, they had the last laugh there as well.
The Dodgers’ giveaways against the Padres are another layer in what has been a fierce rivalry. The trolling back and forth is not over.