Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Lost in the shuffle of the Dodgers winning 8-0 on Sunday night against the Mets was an … odd … feature on ESPN Deportes about the Yu Darvish trade. This was spotted by our very own Sarah Wexler.
Okay, what did I just watch pic.twitter.com/mbVlWeu329
— Sarah Wexler (@SarahWexler32) August 7, 2017
It’s in Spanish, so I’m sure it makes a little more sense for those who are fluent in the language. But from the outside looking in, this is certainly something. I get the whole “Rangers-to-Dodgers part,” but the rest of it is bizarre and, at times, a little racist (and I say that in the lightest way possible).
The feature has a musical bed that sounds like it’s from an upbeat Japanese R&B track (who’s being racist now?). It’s also a bit catchy. The animation of Darvish changing jerseys is an explosion that takes him from the Rangers to the Dodgers — because that’s what happens when a player is traded; we’ve just never known it until now.
Fast forward to the part with a person who is supposedly Darvish, lying on a couch with a video game controller. I think the narrator even says “PlayStation” at one point. His head is two different photos/cutouts and is shot in a stop-animation format. The slide after that is Darvish with his right arm in a big mechanical brace, so I’m assuming it has something to do with him missing the 2015 season with Tommy John surgery. And don’t we all just play PlayStation when recovering from reconstructive elbow surgery?
Almost two-thirds of the way through, Clayton Kershaw-san and Hideo Nomo-san (yes, the narrator pronounces the “san”) make an appearance, for some reason. I’m sure it has to do with Kershaw being the Dodgers’ best pitcher and Nomo being the Dodgers’ first Japanese pitcher. What follows is a sight to behold. It’s a headshot of Darvish superimposed into samurai armor, you know, because he’s Japanese. There’s also the obligatory “karate” sounds/grunts as that image appears on the screen. We’re fully in it now, folks.
The other Dodgers included in the feature — Yasiel Puig, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger — are there, I assume, imply Darvish is joining a really talented team. The funniest part is not only that the uniforms almost look like they read “Dopgers,” but they’re the all-blue throwbacks to the late-1990s, because, sure why not. Maybe it’s an ode to Adrian Beltre and Chan Ho Park? Who knows.
The feature ends with the puppet-like Darvish aligned right and “talking” with the World Series trophy aligned left. The ESPN Deportes staff got the most important part right, IMO.
And here’s my ode to Chad: #Content.
