National Hug Day evokes bad memories for Dodgers' A.J. Ellis
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}PHILADELPHIA - MAY 25: Starting pitcher Josh Beckett #61 of the Los Angeles Dodgers is swarmed by teammates after throwing a no hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on May 25, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Dodgers won 6-0. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
National Hug Day is a fun-spirited day designed to unite people, but for Los Angeles Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis, it ended up reminding him of some bad times -- with the "help" of his teammate, of course.
In celebration of National Hug Day, a fan sent a photo to Ellis of him and ace Clayton Kershaw embracing after Kershaw pitched a shutout in San Francisco to clinch the NL West division title last season.
Ellis retweeted the photo to his followers, admiring Kershaw's ability to hold him -- a "230-pound(ish) giddy schoolboy," in his own words -- after pitching nine scoreless innings.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner seized the otherwise fuzzy moment as an opportunity to taunt his teammate -- because, well, that's what athletes do.
Turner is referring to an unfortunate incident that Ellis would rather forget.
While celebrating Josh Beckett's no-hitter on May 25, 2014, Ellis stepped on the catcher's mask of the day's catcher, Drew Butera, and sprained his ankle, which sidelined him for three weeks.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ellis had some fun with Turner's conjuring of his unflattering incident, blaming Butera, who is no longer with the Dodgers.
Well, that was a successful celebration of National Hug Day -- with no sprained ankles, thankfully.