Clayton Kershaw Says Thank You For A Historic Career At Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles Dodgers left-handed pitcher Clayton Kershaw has decided that it’s time to walk away from baseball and will retire at the conclusion of his 18th major league season. He is tied with shortstop and outfielder Bill Russell (1969-1986) and Hall of Fame left fielder Zack Wheat (1909-1926) for the most years playing for the Dodgers in franchise history. At peace with his decision, Kershaw is enjoying the benefits of health in his age-37 season after a series of injuries and surgeries that ravaged his body in recent years. In a retirement press conference which lasted less than 15 minutes, Kershaw demonstrated a wide range of emotions while staying true to who he is as a teammate, husband, father, and icon for a generation of baseball fans. While a prolonged retirement tour throughout major league ballparks is the antithesis of Kershaw’s personality, pitching at Dodger Stadium for the 228th and final time in the regular season with one day’s notice is as comfortable to him as the sweat-stained hat and cutoff t-shirts that have become his signature look.

In the top of the fifth inning with the Dodgers trailing the San Francisco Giants by the score of 2-1, Kershaw struck out designated hitter Rafael Devers which ended his evening after 91 pitches. In Kershaw’s first start at Dodger Stadium on May 25, 2008, he struck out center fielder Skip Schumaker of the St. Louis Cardinals, the first batter he faced in his major league career. The Dodgers went on to defeat the Giants by the score of 6-3 giving Kershaw a no-decision while clinching a postseason berth.

The only question that remains regarding Kershaw’s Hall of Fame candidacy is which member of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) will be protected by anonymity and prevent him from being a unanimous selection in his first year of eligibility on the 2031 ballot. Jayson Stark, the 2019 BBWAA Career Excellence Award winner, posted on social media that Kershaw is an all-time, inner-circle Hall of Famer. That’s lofty praise coming from a luminary of the profession. Stark’s honest opinion happens to be a fact as evident in a variety of statistical observations prior to Kershaw’s final regular season start at Dodger Stadium.

Statistical Excellence Of Clayton Kershaw

Since the outset of Major League Baseball’s Live Ball Era in 1920 through the present day, Kershaw’s magnificence begins with winning percentage. Based on a minimum of 200 decisions, Kershaw’s .698 winning percentage ranks first according to Baseball-Reference. One other starting pitcher has surpassed a .690 winning percentage and that is Hall of Fame left-hander Whitey Ford. A New York Yankees pitching legend, Ford’s .690 career winning percentage is the highest among 20th century pitchers. There have been 74 pitchers who have started at least 440 ball games since 1920, and Kershaw is the only one who hasn’t surpassed triple-digit losses according to Baseball-Reference.

Based on a minimum of 2,500 innings pitched during the Live Ball Era, Kershaw has the lowest earned run average (2.54), fielding independent pitching (2.85) and walks and hits per inning pitched (1.017) according to Baseball-Reference. He is tied with Hall of Fame right-handed pitcher Pedro Martinez for the highest adjusted earned run average (154) with 100 serving as league average. Kershaw and Martinez were 54% better than league average in this statistical category. Opponents were only able to post an on-base plus slugging of .590 against Kershaw which is the lowest among all pitchers who have surpassed 2,500 innings in the Live Ball Era. In other words, Kershaw has mastered the art of run prevention.

In an interview with Bob Costas on the MLB Network, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts talked about mutual love and respect for Kershaw. However, Kershaw has moments where he is difficult to manage due to stubbornness and differences of opinion. Roberts has experienced three phases of Kershaw’s career: greatness, injuries and the natural decline in abilities as a byproduct of age. He has seen Kershaw struggle with dejection from postseason failures and experience elation in becoming a loving husband and father to four children. His wife, Ellen, is pregnant with their fifth child.

Clayton Kershaw And The Quest For Perfection

Kershaw’s quest for perfection every fifth day has presented a series of challenges for the people who are closest to him. When he isn’t scheduled to pitch, Kershaw’s self-deprecating sense of humor and friendly demeanor are in stark contrast to the irritability and rigidity that are evident on the days in which he toes the rubber on the pitcher’s mound. Kershaw’s competitive spirit reaches entirely new levels of intensity as his demeanor is fueled by a disdain for losing. As author Andy McCullough wrote in his brilliant book on Kershaw, the future Hall of Famer is the last of his kind and views greatness as a burden instead of an invitation to indulge in the excesses of celebrity. He strives to be a man of high moral character and integrity while playing for the respect of his teammates.

Kershaw will miss the camaraderie of the clubhouse and feelings of joy after a victory. However, he is ready for a life of serenity in Texas after two decades of torturing his body. As Kershaw was thanking the training staff, he couldn’t help but call his body a carcass at the retirement press conference. While his status on the Dodgers’ postseason roster will be determined in the coming days, expect Kershaw to leave every fiber of his being on the pitcher’s mound whether it is in the starting rotation or coming out of the bullpen.

In the years to come at Dodger Stadium, expect a jersey retirement ceremony and possibly a statue erected in the Centerfield Plaza for Clayton Kershaw alongside the likes of Sandy Koufax and Jackie Robinson. Besides a bronze plaque in the hallowed halls of Cooperstown making its debut during the summer of 2031, Kershaw also deserves to be honored by Major League Baseball with the Commissioner’s Historic Achievement Award. An exemplary career that goes well beyond statistical accomplishments, Kershaw represents the beginning of the end when it comes to a generation of workhorse starting pitchers. After right-handed pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander follow Kershaw into retirement, Major League Baseball will experience an identity crisis in trying to define what it means to be an elite starting pitcher in the modern sense.