Stars come out for Clayton and Ellen Kershaw's Ping Pong 4 Purpose event at Dodger Stadium
On Thursday night, Dodger Stadium was the place to be. The park hosted the fourth installment of Ping Pong 4 Purpose, a charity event put on by Clayton and Ellen Kershaw's fundraising organization, Kershaw's Challenge.
The Kershaws have arrived. #PingPong4Purpose pic.twitter.com/5rYd5GCyVc
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 12, 2016
As you'd imagine, plenty of celebrities were on hand for the night, including (to name but a few) Will Ferrell, Susan Sarandon, Eric Stonestreet, Mario Lopez, Brian Baumgartner, Diplo and Tank.
My partner for tonight @MarioLopezExtra let's do this. #KershawsChallenge #PingPong4Purpose pic.twitter.com/JauhYNtAR2
— Adri¨˘n Gonz¨˘lez (@Adrian_ElTitan) August 12, 2016
Will Ferrell, Susan Sarandon, Clayton & Ellen hosting ??? #PingPong4Purpose #KershawsChallenge pic.twitter.com/2Z9vql2rdS
— Cat Toffoli (@catbtoffoli) August 12, 2016
As for the Dodgers personnel who took part in the festivities, Kershaw (who didn't play in the tournament due to his back injury) was joined by Orel Hershiser,
#PingPong4Purpose with my life partner! https://t.co/4lvS3GKQFH pic.twitter.com/RiB9p9OaPd
— Enrique Hern¨˘ndez (@kikehndez) August 12, 2016
Trayce & Rocco. #PingPong4Purpose pic.twitter.com/ZFMKBnTLaf
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 12, 2016
L.A. stars outside the diamond were also represented, as Anze Kopitar and Tyler Toffoli of the Los Angeles Kings and Austin Rivers of the Clippers also made appearances.
They look better than they table tennis. #pingpong4purpose @KershsChallenge pic.twitter.com/V6p2Bczvaa
— LA Kings (@LAKings) August 12, 2016
Despite not playing in the tournament, Kershaw came dressed to the nines for the party -- as, he told a reporter, he felt inspired by the Olympics in Rio:
Seriously, though, look at his socks/shoes combo:
The red-carpet segment of the night -- or, rather, the blue carpet -- facilitated some one-on-one chats with several of the night's participants. Ferrell took some time to address his eventful but all-too-brief MLB career, which took place one memorable day during Spring Training 2015, and the chance of a potential return:
Others, like Turner, came prepared with a wristband that implied pingpong is serious business in the Dodgers clubhouse:
For Segedin, who logged thousands of games in the Minors before getting called up to Los Angeles recently, he's had a pretty eventful past few weeks:
Kendrick, who went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs in the Dodgers' 9-3 win over the Phillies on his bobblehead night on Tuesday, discussed his big day and whether there'd be any carryover into the tournament:
But it was Sarandon, Academy Award-winning actress and a legend in the Hollywood scene, who has a special involvement with pingpong. She co-founded the SPiN social club in several cities across the United States, and spoke a bit about what the game means to her:
Unsurprisingly, the night yielded many amusing images, like this action shot of doubles team Ferrell and Maeda:
Will Ferrell scores! #PingPong4Purpose pic.twitter.com/KImcI5SI1C
— Kershaw's Challenge (@KershsChallenge) August 12, 2016
As well as blue-carpet shots of Ferrell and Baumgartner:
And Lopez and his son, who looks to already have hair as amazing as his dad's:
The duo that wound up winning the tournament went home with a real trophy, too!
Tonight's winners! #PingPong4Purpose pic.twitter.com/Hr5HSVXtoO
— Kershaw's Challenge (@KershsChallenge) August 12, 2016