On Sept. 18, award-winning pitcher and fan favorite Clayton Kershaw announced he was retiring at the end of the season. The left-hander made the announcement during an emotional press conference at Dodger Stadium.
He said he was at peace with his decision after his long run with the organization. He then pitched 4.1 innings against the Giants in his final regular season start in front of his family and tens of thousands of adoring fans. The ovation seemed to last forever: a long, loud thank-you from the city.
Before first pitch, the ballpark felt more like a ceremony than a baseball game. Fans showed up early in No. 22 jerseys, phones out, making sure they didn’t miss a moment. His family watched him go through his simple warm-up — stretch, toss, a small nod to the dugout — as they have done a hundred times before. The scoreboard played a short tribute, and the crowd stood as one. It wasn’t wild the whole time; it was steady. People wanted to be there for the first pitch and the last one. The tone fit Kershaw: grateful, calm, and focused.
Kershaw’s résumé is on par with many of the all-time greats of the game. The legendary lefty won three Cy Young Awards in 2011, 2013, and 2014; won the 2014 MLB MVP Award; has made 11 All-Star appearances; and was a two-time World Series champion with the Dodgers in 2020 and 2024.
Since being picked seventh overall out of high school in the 2006 draft, Kershaw has a 222–96 W/L career record with a 2.54 career earned run average, the lowest since the Live Ball Era began in 1920. He turned every fifth day into a viewing party that even fans used to seeing stars were dazzled by.
Kershaw stacks up well against plenty of other Dodger greats. He passed Don Sutton as the franchise all-time strikeout leader and led the Dodger pitching staff just like Sandy Koufax once did. In 2014, he threw a no-hitter that was one botched ground ball away from a perfect game.
Very few pitchers in the modern era have both a league MVP and multiple Cy Youngs. Kershaw did it without chasing radar-gun numbers. He won with location, tempo, and a breaking ball that fell straight out of the sky. That type of pitch mix and longevity may never be seen again from modern-day pitchers.
After a shoulder injury in late 2023, Kershaw returned to the Dodgers rotation this season on a limited workload, still outperforming many of his peers with a record of 10–2 and a 3.56 ERA. After months of reflection, Kershaw stated that he chose to retire in order to finish his career while still performing at a high level and to devote more time to his wife and four children.
For the Dodgers organization, the news is both sentimental and strategic as it starts to solidify their October strategy for the final postseason of Clayton Kershaw in Dodger-blue. Ticket demand spiked immediately after the announcement, and prices are expected to skyrocket, further proving Kershaw’s bond with the city of Los Angeles.
This October is also a chance to shape the end of Kershaw’s career on his terms. His postseason stories throughout the years have been marked by both pain and prosperity. There were nights where the bullpen let him down, and there were starts on short rest that he probably should not have made. In 2020 the narrative flipped — big outs, a ring, and a deep breath from the whole city. Now, the goal is simple: be the veteran to lead the Dodgers all the way to the World Series one last time.
“Just you guys sitting in this room, you mean so much to me,” Kershaw said during his press conference. “We have so much fun. I’m going to miss it.”
Across the MLB, the reactions from teammates and opponents have been swift and meaningful.
“The culture in this clubhouse has been created over a long period of time, but in reality, it starts with him,” Max Muncy, a Dodger since 2017, said.
“It’s been one of the coolest things that you could imagine,” Dodgers rookie reliever Jack Dreyer said about playing with Kershaw. “Growing up, I would watch him. I had pictures of us side-by-side for mechanics when I was in high school. To say he was someone I looked up to is kind of an understatement. So it’s been really special to get to share his last season with him. You can’t really put it into words.”
Kershaw might have announced his retirement, but the end has not arrived just yet. The Dodgers, who are already postseason-bound, expect him to contribute out of the bullpen during their postseason run in their quest for a third ring since 2021.
Whether Kershaw’s last pitch is his signature 12–6 curveball to win his final ring or a painful loss in the playoffs, he will still go down as one of the most memorable lefty pitchers the MLB has seen. Whatever happens, the standard he has set for perseverance and success isn’t going anywhere.
