{"id":237781,"date":"2025-09-19T01:51:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T01:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/237781\/"},"modified":"2025-09-19T01:51:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T01:51:15","slug":"im-at-peace-with-it-clayton-kershaw-announces-retirement-after-18-seasons-with-dodgers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/237781\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;I&#8217;m at peace with it.&#8217; Clayton Kershaw announces retirement after 18 seasons with Dodgers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Last year, in the middle of a <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2024-11-01\/dodgers-world-series-victory-parade-dave-roberts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">World Series celebration<\/a> he had spent two decades dreaming about, <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2025-08-16\/dodgers-padres-legendary-clayton-kershaw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Clayton Kershaw<\/a> took the mic at Dodger Stadium and made a declaration.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love you guys, thank you!\u201d he shouted to an adoring Chavez Ravine crowd.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDodger for life!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, that distinction was cemented.<\/p>\n<p>After 18 seasons, <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/dodgersnow\/la-sp-dn-dodgers-clayton-kershaw-wins-cy-young-20141112-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">three Cy Young Awards<\/a>, an MVP, more than <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2025-07-02\/dodgers-white-sox-clayton-kershaw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">3,000 strikeouts<\/a> and two <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2024-10-20\/complete-coverage-dodgers-2024-world-series-playoff-run\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">World Series<\/a> titles, Kershaw announced he will retire from Major League Baseball at the end of this year \u2014 starting and finishing his career in a <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dodgers<\/a> uniform.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m at peace with it,\u201d Kershaw said before Thursday\u2019s game. \u201cI think it\u2019s the right time and it\u2019s been such a fun year, it\u2019s been such a blast.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kershaw\u2019s announcement, which initially came in a press release from the team, preceded what could now be his final Dodger Stadium start scheduled for Friday night.<\/p>\n<p>That game will mark his 247th time taking the bump at the only ballpark he has ever called home. And though manager Dave Roberts said he envisions Kershaw having a role on the Dodgers\u2019 postseason roster, when the 37-year-old will make one more attempt at one more championship, it could still very well be his last outing at Chavez Ravine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve just never been around a greater competitor,\u201d said Roberts, Kershaw\u2019s manager for the last decade. \u201cVery accountable. Very consistent. And he\u2019s made me better. I think that we\u2019ve both grown together. So I feel fortunate to have been able to manage him and be around him for 10 years. And he\u2019s earned this right to walk away at his choosing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After 222 wins, more than 2,800 innings, and a career 2.54 ERA, Kershaw\u2019s countdown to Cooperstown will begin this winter.<\/p>\n<p>After serving as the face of the franchise during one of the most successful runs in club history, the book will finally be closing on his illustrious career.<\/p>\n<p>           <video playsinline=\"playsinline\" loop=\"\" preload=\"none\" title=\"Clayton Kershaw announces retirement after 18 seasons with the Dodgers\" data-video-id=\"00000199-5eb1-d183-a19f-dff3f6cf0000\">               <\/video>               <img class=\"image\" alt=\"\"   width=\"473\" height=\"840\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758246673_889_\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>             <\/p>\n<ul data-element=\"action-bar-menu\" class=\"flex gap-2 list-none  absolute w-full h-10 top-0\">\n<li data-element=\"action-bar-share\" class=\"flex  w-full h-10 top-0 lg:items-center lg:justify-center \">\n<p> Share via     Close extra sharing options  <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Kershaw\u2019s retirement had been a long time coming. Over each of the past four offseasons, he contemplated whether or not to walk away from the game. An 11-time All-Star and five-time ERA champion, he long ago ensured his spot as a future Hall of Fame pitcher. As the franchise\u2019s all-time strikeout leader, his place in club lore had already been enshrined.<\/p>\n<p>Yet he never lost his desire to play.<\/p>\n<p>Despite an elbow injury at the end of the 2021 season, a shoulder surgery after the 2023 campaign, and foot and knee procedures this past offseason, he came back to <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2025-02-13\/dodgers-clayton-kershaw-one-year-deal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">continue his Dodgers tenure<\/a> \u2014 never ready to give up another title chase.<\/p>\n<p>This year, he has authored <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2025-09-02\/dodgers-clayton-kershaw-pitching-the-bowl-revival\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the kind of renaissance season<\/a> that once felt behind him. He is 10-2 in 20 starts with a 3.53 ERA, succeeding despite diminished fastball velocity and a decline in overall stuff. He has been an integral member of a first-place Dodgers team, ever effective with his trademark fastball-slider-curveball mix. Yet, even with one more postseason run lying ahead, he decided his time in baseball was finally up, with his wife Ellen expecting the family\u2019s fifth child.<\/p>\n<p>Kerhsaw began informing Roberts and some teammates of his decision over the last month, and sent a text in a roster-wide group chat on Thursday morning that he would publicly announce his decision.<\/p>\n<p>            <img class=\"image\" alt=\"Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, middle, smiles while taking to teammates at Dodger Stadium.\"   width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758246674_339_\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>         <\/p>\n<p>Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, middle, smiles while taking to teammates at Dodger Stadium before Thursday\u2019s game against the San Francisco Giants.<\/p>\n<p>(Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKnowing Clayton, I thought he would not even tell anybody and just retire,\u201d first baseman and fellow veteran star Freddie Freeman joked. \u201cBut I\u2019m glad he did. So the fans, and not only Dodger fans, but all baseball fans, can enjoy his last start here at Dodger Stadium in the regular season tomorrow. I mean, it\u2019s just a heck of a career. \u2026 And now he gets to retire on his own terms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Originally drafted seventh overall by the Dodgers out of Highland Park High School in Texas in 2006, Kershaw has spent the entirety of his professional life in the organization, going from top prospect to young sensation to Cy Young winner to pitcher of his generation.<\/p>\n<p>He made his MLB debut in 2008, and broke out as a star the following year. By 2011, he had earned his first All-Star selection, his first ERA title and his first Cy Young Award. The accolades would keep coming after that \u2014 with Kershaw leading the majors in ERA each season from 2011 to 2014, winning two more Cy Youngs in 2013 and 2014, and becoming only the 22nd pitcher to ever win MVP honors with his 21-3, 1.77-ERA season in that historic 2014 campaign (which also included his only no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies that June).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s not [only] a Dodger legend, he\u2019s a baseball legend, forever,\u201d Freeman said. \u201cThe greatest pitcher of our generation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The back half of Kershaw\u2019s career was plagued by injuries, starting with a bad back that sidelined him for part of 2016.<\/p>\n<p>Still, he earned another ERA title in 2017 while helping the Dodgers win their first pennant in 29 years. He received the first of his four All-Star selections past the age of 30 in 2019. He had a resurgent performance in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, going 6-2 in the regular season with a 2.16 ERA before finally experiencing a World Series title.<\/p>\n<p>Up to that point, the postseason was the only area were Kershaw struggled. In 32 playoff outings from 2008 to 2019, he was 9-11 with a 4.43 ERA. Those mediocre numbers were underscored by excruciating collapses against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013 and 2014, the Houston Astros in 2017 and Washington Nationals in 2019. But they also overshadowed his willingness to take the ball on short rest, in relief appearances out of the bullpen and when his body was worn down from 200-plus-inning regular seasons by the time the playoffs began.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe never said no, he never said my arm hurts, he never said I need a little bit more time,\u201d said third baseman and longtime teammate Max Muncy. \u201cIt was, \u2018Whatever this team needs to get over the hump, I\u2019m gonna do it.\u2019 You\u2019re talking about one of the best pitchers of all time, and for him to be that unselfish when it came to this team, it\u2019s pretty ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>            <img class=\"image\" alt=\"Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw sits on the field at Dodger Stadium with his son Charlie.\"   width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758246675_974_\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>         <\/p>\n<p>Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw sits on the field at Dodger Stadium with his son Charlie before Thursday\u2019s game against the San Francisco Giants.<\/p>\n<p>(Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<p>In 2020, Kershaw vanquished such demons, making five starts and going 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA in the Dodgers\u2019 first victorious World Series run since 1988. The title, Kershaw has said since, meant more than even he could have ever imagined.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think having that [World Series] definitely started letting me relax a little bit more,\u201d Kershaw said in 2023. \u201cI didn\u2019t realize I had been carrying that weight that much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And once he won it once, the notoriously competitive left-hander craved to do it again.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why, even as his body has continued to break down in recent years, Kershaw kept coming back every spring. He believed, when healthy, he could still contribute to a World Series contender. And despite numerous free-agent flirtations with his hometown Texas Rangers, he always saw the Dodgers as the team he was meant to stay with.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis heart has always been here with this city, with this organization,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cI do know, in speaking to him, how important that has been to him. To be a mainstay. To play for one team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It made last year\u2019s World Series title a sentimental one for the iconic southpaw. Kershaw was a limited participant, making only seven starts in the regular season before missing the playoffs with his foot and knee problems. But he relished in the celebration, especially <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2024-11-01\/dodgers-world-series-victory-parade-dave-roberts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the title-winning parade<\/a> that the 2020 team had been denied by the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>He knew then that he would be a Dodger for life.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, it finally became official.<\/p>\n<p>After 18 seasons, Clayton Kershaw is calling it a career.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know it\u2019s reality, but I still don\u2019t know that I believe it,\u201d Muncy said. \u201cFor as long as I\u2019ve been here, it\u2019s been 22.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last year, in the middle of a World Series celebration he had spent two decades dreaming about, Clayton&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":237782,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[127497,127493,7480,127496,5494,2442,20645,10713,51,127495,50,127498,700,5950,22799,52,127494,1628],"class_list":{"0":"post-237781","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-246th-time","9":"tag-37-year-old-kershaw","10":"tag-clayton-kershaw","11":"tag-cy-young-awards","12":"tag-dodger-stadium","13":"tag-dodgers","14":"tag-era","15":"tag-foot","16":"tag-headlines","17":"tag-illustrious-career","18":"tag-news","19":"tag-playoff-outing","20":"tag-retirement","21":"tag-season","22":"tag-start","23":"tag-top-stories","24":"tag-world-series-title","25":"tag-year"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115228461695701440","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237781\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}