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Dodgers fan gets hassled over T-shirt at D-backs game, but social media prevails

Mike Oz
(Dodgers fan Armando Mendoza eventually got to wear his shirt. Photo: @LKRBOI)
(Dodgers fan Armando Mendoza eventually got to wear his shirt. Photo: @LKRBOI)

The latest spat between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks didn't happen on the field and it didn't even include any players. It was between one Dodgers fan who lives in Arizona and a few Chase Field employees who didn't like his T-shirt. Ultimately, thankfully, common sense and social media prevailed.

Armando Mendoza (who goes by @DaaDozer on Twitter) went to the Dodgers-D-backs game Tuesday wearing a T-shirt that said "We won the West. Now Where's the Pool." It's a reference, of course, to the Dodgers clinching the NL West in Arizona last season and celebrating in the Chase Field pool. Controversy erupted and Arizona people, even really powerful Arizona people, were outraged.

Judging by what happened to Mendoza when he entered Chase Field and went to his seat Tuesday, some folks in Arizona still aren't ready to laugh at the pool incident and any humorous T-shirts it might produce. The whole saga transpired on Twitter, and it's told in the timeline below.

A quick, bare-bones version of the story, however, goes like this: Mendoza was asked by stadium staff to turn his T-shirt inside out when he entered the game. He did, but turned it around once he got to his seat. Chase Field staff tracked him down and told him again, threatening to kick him out. Mendoza started tweeting about it. Word reached Diamondbacks VP of communications Josh Rawitch, who made sure Mendoza was allowed to wear his shirt.

Now here's the play-by-play:

Dodgers fans have had wardrobe issues in Arizona before. Last season, a group of them sitting behind home plate were forced to change their clothes at the order of D-backs owner Ken Kendrick. The team offered those Dodgers fan another suite or D-backs clothes and a round of drinks.

In this case, Mendoza wasn't sitting behind home plate, in a highly visible area (i.e. where TV cameras would be positioned all night). He was sitting in section 102, very close to the pool in right field. The shirt was even funnier given his seat location.

At least this story ended well, thanks to some quick actions by the D-backs. Mendoza, to his credit, hadn't gotten so angry that things couldn't be made right(ish). Finding resolution here was a good thing, because we'd hate to live in a world where fans can't trash-talk other fans with custom T-shirts.

BLS H/N: @DuranSports

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Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!