Clayton Kershaw is retiring after spending his entire 18-year career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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The Cooperstown Class of 2031 will have at least one member.
That’s the year Clayton Kershaw’s five-year waiting period will expire.
The iconic left-handed starter of the Los Angeles Dodgers is retiring after this season – though he may be pitching for another month if his club plays deep into October.
Kershaw, 37, announced Thursday that he will not return in 2026.
He retires with three Cy Young Awards, five ERA crowns, a World Series ring, an MVP award, a Gold Glove, and membership in the elite 3,000 Strikeout Club.
The 6-4, 225-pound Texan, who makes his final Dodger Stadium start Friday, had two 20-win seasons en route to the 222-96 record he carried into his retirement announcement.
Lifetime Dodger
He spent his entire 18-year career with the Dodgers, where he befriended fellow legendary lefty Sandy Koufax as a young pitcher and spoke at the dedication of a Koufax statue erected outside the ballpark.
Sandy Koufax (blue jacket) and Clayton Kershaw spoke at the dedication of the Koufax statue outside Dodger Stadium in 2022. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)
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“Sandy,” he said at the time, “one day I hope I can impact someone the way you championed me. Not just as a left-handed pitcher but in life.”
Kershaw leaves a remarkable record that includes more seasons (18), more strikeouts (3,039), and a better earned run average (2.54) than any pitcher pitcher since 1972 with more than 2,000 innings pitched.
His resume also includes a no-hitter and 13 post-season victories. Only Don Sutton, also a Hall of Famer, had more wins (233) for the Dodgers.
Injury Wave
Plagued by back, shoulder, knee, and toe injuries in recent years, Kershaw missed the first half of the current season but came back strong, winning 10 of his first 12 decisions while making 20 starts.
He did not pitch in the 2024 World Series, which the Dodgers won in five games against the Yankees, but worked in three others, including a winning effort in the virus-shortened season of 2020.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred might have sensed the pitcher was thinking of retiring when he named him as the “legacy selection” for the National League’s 2025 All-Star roster.
Long-time Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who has had to play mix-and-match with an injury-riddled rotation over the past two years, was thrilled that Kershaw was able to notch his 3,000th strikeout in July.
“To continue to fight back, come back, and post is hard to do,” he said of the pitcher. “There were lots of trials, tribulations, surgeries, rehab, frustration, and tears.”
Kershaw was well-compensated for his achievements. His peak pay was $35,571,429, his salary in 2017, but he earned $7,500,000 this year. He also collected bonus pay for the 12 straight years the Dodgers reached post-season play from 2013-2024, with this year likely as well.
As he got older and his fastball lost velocity, he added other pitches to compensate. Known for his sharp-breaking curveball and slider, Kershaw added a split-fingered fastball without ever losing his reputation for throwing strikes. In his 2014 no-hitter, he fanned 15 without yielding a walk. The only baserunner resulted from a throwing error by an infielder.
Playoffs Reserve?
Because Roberts has a robust rotation, Kershaw may not start in the post-season. But he’ll be rooting for teammates Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Shohei Ohtani, all of whom could be selected ahead of him.
And they’ll be rooting for him when the Dodgers retire Kershaw’s No. 22 – which could happen soon – and Cooperstown comes calling. He’s virtually certain to be a first-ballot selection.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danschlossberg/2025/09/18/clayton-kershaw-will-retire-from-dodgers-after-2025-season-ends/
