Kershaw, 37, was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers as a skinny kid out of Dallas and will retire as one of the most decorated pitchers in the franchise’s long history. He led the major leagues in earned run average four times and the National League five times, and recently recorded his 3,000th strikeout.
Kershaw won his first Cy Young Award in 2011 and added titles in 2013 and 2014, throwing the lone no-hitter of his career in the latter season. He has 222 career wins and seemed ticketed for much more, but back problems in the middle of last decade curtailed some of his greatest seasons.
Still, he has a half-dozen top three Cy Young finishes and 11 All-Star appearances to his name.
His 2.54 career ERA ranks first among active pitchers, and 47th all-time.
The Dodgers were such frequent postseason participants – currently on their way to a 13th consecutive appearance – that Kershaw almost had an additional career in October.
For much of that span, he was forced to shoulder a disproportionate load, pitching too deep into games to cover for an inadequate bullpen early in his career, or forced to take on relief roles in tight spots later in the 2010s.
The results could at times be tragicomic – such as the two late-inning home runs he gave up in the decisive Game 5 of the 2019 NLDS to the Washington Nationals – yet Kershaw always took the ball.
He pitched in 12 postseasons, 22 series overall, and finally reaped the reward of a championship in 2020, when the Dodgers powered past four opponents to win the World Series not far from his Dallas Metroplex roots during the COVID-19 shortened season.
Kershaw got another ring in 2024, but was injured for their playoff run that ended in a vanquishing of the New York Yankees.
This year, he got healthy and again has been great – 10-2 with a 3.53 ERA, the beguiling break on his slider returning as Kershaw gets by with a 90 mph fastball a half-dozen ticks below his career peak.
And there’s one more playoff date coming, the Dodgers likely to win the NL West and host a wild card series. Before then, though, he’ll bring down the curtain on his regular-season Dodger Stadium career – with a Sept. 19 start against the rival San Francisco Giants. Tickets for that engagement just got a lot more expensive.
Clayton Kershaw stats
- 222-96 career record in 2844 ⅔ innings
- 3,039 strikeouts
- 2014 National League MVP
- 2011, 2013 and 2014 NL Cy Young winner
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