The Cy Young interview with Clayton Kershaw, it seems, is becoming a November ritual.
In three of the past four years the Los Angeles Dodgers ace has taken home the award, and after each win he sits for interviews and humbly deflects questions about his legacy.
Last year Kershaw did his interview surrounded by his childhood friends, and some observers were a bit confused by his crew:
Walked in late - what the hell was going on with @ClaytonKersh22's interview on @SportsCenter? pic.twitter.com/OIiUrlhS0S
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) November 14, 2013
After Kershaw this week became the first pitcher since Randy Johnson (1999-2002) to win three Cy Young Awards in a four-year span, he decided to have his buddies join him again.
"I got my posse back here with me," Kershaw said in an interview on SportsCenter. "They know they got blown up on the internet last time so they figured they should come back."
ESPN anchor John Anderson asked if any of Kershaw's friends could ever get a hit off him, and he says a few of them were his high school teammates and could have made contact back then.
Not surprisingly, Kershaw's friends were once again the subject of lots of tweets:
Clayton Kershaw and his friends are obviously trolling us in some form or fashion. pic.twitter.com/xbwCxbN8qV
— Mike Oz (@mikeoz) November 13, 2014
And then the cameras turned off and Clayton Kershaw's friends argued about their favorite song off the new Migos tape.
— Mike Oz (@mikeoz) November 13, 2014
nobody had time to change after work? what’s going on here? why’s kershaw so underdressed? who are these guys? wtf? pic.twitter.com/QKjETepJ7W
— Bomani Jones (@bomani_jones) November 13, 2014
dude, the duke lacrosse team would take those kids’ lunch money every day. RT @soulpoppa: Duke lacrosse players
— Bomani Jones (@bomani_jones) November 13, 2014
Clayton Kershaw is the man. Pretty awesome that he's still best friends with all his buddies from high school and brings them on ESPN
— Logan (@Logan_August2) November 12, 2014
how come Clayton Kershaw doesn't have a SINGLE friend who spends his days clearing brush at his ranch?
— Jason Wojciechowski (@jlwoj) November 13, 2014
Clayton Kershaw interview was great. Didn't forget his friends when he became famous and didn't let fame get to him. Respect.....
— Darrell S Malamut (@darrellboston85) November 12, 2014
When I die, I hope I come back as one of Clayton Kershaw's top 7 friends. One can dream
— Matt Dyer (@Matthew_Dyer) November 12, 2014
A few of the tweets commented on the apparent lack of diversity in the group:
Why is Clayton Kershaw surrounded by 7 eerily similar looking white guys?
— Conrad Kaczmarek (@ConradKazNBA) November 12, 2014
Kershaw officially has the whitest group of friends on the planet. Impossible to be whiter. pic.twitter.com/TKc0iXBnJu
— Michael Dyer (@Mike_Dyer13) November 12, 2014
I admire Clayton Kershaw for the diversity in his group of friends. Their hair ranges all the way from light brown to dark brown.
— Jason Wojciechowski (@jlwoj) November 13, 2014
I finally saw Kershaw and his bros. Amazing. A new standard in white people.
— kyla the worst (@fifthstarter) November 13, 2014
Cocaine so white it was asked to be on screen with Kershaw.
— Paul (@walkoffhbp) November 12, 2014
Of course, the group was missing the most famous of Kershaw's childhood friends:
BUT IS MATTHEW STAFFORD THERE? RT @Buster_ESPN: On SportsCenter, Clayton Kershaw is surrounded by his friends from childhood.
— NOT BUSTER OLNEY (@TRIPPINGOLNEY) November 12, 2014
wonder how long it was before clayton stopped calling those guys when he met girls. that’s when he’d call stafford. pic.twitter.com/QKjETepJ7W
— Bomani Jones (@bomani_jones) November 13, 2014
Kershaw went 21-3 in 2014, and despite missing more than a month of the season while recovering from a back injury, he led the majors in wins and ERA (1.77). He compiled 239 strikeouts in 198 1/3 innings and led the Dodgers to the NL West crown.
In case anyone was wondering, Kershaw's friends celebrated the huge achievement by playing ping-pong and Super Smash Brothers.
