During their last homestand, several Los Angeles Dodgers players took to wearing a blue Austin Barnes shirsey that featured a ‘C’ on the front. Rumblings in the clubhouse suggested Trea Turner was the mastermind behind the latest t-shirt design to reach the team.
Barnes then confirmed as much during an interview with DodgerBlue.com from the sixth annual Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation Blue Diamond Gala.
“Trea Turner is my captain,” he responded when asked about the Barnes t-shirts. “So he’ll answer those questions.”
During an interview this week with David Vassegh on AM 570 L.A. Sports Radio, Turner explained the Austin Barnes ‘captain’ t-shirt design was in response to his early-season production and served as good-natured ribbing:
“He’s our captain. He led us early in the year, hit our first homer of the year, put us on his back early with all those homers. Started calling him ‘captain’ and it kind of stuck. He hates it, so I had these shirts made to make everyone know he’s our fearless leader. I remind him every single day. He’s one of the many special people that we have here. He contributes, and these shirts were my gift to him. … He won’t even wear the freaking shirt. I try to give him a shirt every day. I put a new one in his locker but he won’t wear it. Hopefully we can crack him here pretty soon.”
Barnes has yet to wear the shirt made in his honor, and only gave them a mild stamp of approval the first day teammates surfaced in them for batting practice.
To Turner’s point, Barnes hit a home run in each of his first two starts this season and had four by May 21. His production has tailed off some, but Barnes remains a popular figure in the Dodgers clubhouse.
Do the Dodgers have a captain?
The Dodgers have not designated a captain on their roster, though most would consider Clayton Kershaw or Justin Turner to unofficially share such title.
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