The Dodgers and Cubs are locked in a close NLCS, but a footnote from five months ago has become a focal point in the lead up to the 2016 presidential election. It came to light that All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez refused to stay in Donald Trump’s hotel in May when the Dodgers visited the Cubs.
For years the Dodgers have used the Trump International Hotel and Tower when they take road trips to Chicago, but this season Gonzalez wasn’t interested in continuing the tradition, telling the Los Angeles Daily News:
“I didn’t stay there. I had my reasons.”
Gonzalez didn’t want to expand on his reasoning, saying:
“We’re here to play baseball not talk politics.”
However, his heritage as a Mexican-American surely played a role in regards to staying at a hotel owned by a candidate who has spoken strongly against immigrants and Gonzalez said it’s not a stretch to connect the dots.
“You can draw your own conclusions. They’re probably right.”
The Dodgers are back in Chicago during the NLCS, but now the entire team is not staying at Trump’s hotel. The reason isn’t political, but rather procedural. The hotel required a non-refundable deposit to book rooms for the players, and until the Dodgers beat the Nationals they didn’t know whether they’d need rooms in Chicago at all.