This story was excerpted from Sonja Chen’s Dodgers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Clayton Kershaw has always been the type to value team achievements over what he’s been able to accomplish as an individual.
So when he announced he would retire at the end of the 2025 season, it came as little surprise that he got choked up while thanking his teammates, the majority of whom were gathered in front of him in the Dodger Stadium press conference room.
“​​The hardest one is the teammates, so I’m not even going to look at you guys in the eye,” Kershaw said. “Just you guys sitting in this room, you mean so much to me. We have so much fun. I’m going to miss it.”
The feeling is mutual. Here’s how teammates, former and current, reacted to Kershaw’s announcement.
Those who have known Kershaw the longest have seen him evolve throughout his career — not only in the late years, but in the beginning as well.
“He came in the big leagues with that 97 [mph] fastball and then with a 12-to-6 curveball,” longtime teammate and current Angels closer Kenley Jansen said. “But when he went down for a quick, short time, he developed a slider. … After that, it just was miserable for hitters for 18 years. It’s unbelievable to see how he works, man. How he works, and how he prepares and dedicates [himself]. His routine was his routine, and he never slipped from his routine.”
As time went by, Kershaw’s work ethic became part of the underlying team culture.
“The culture in this clubhouse has been created over a long period of time, but in reality, it starts with him,” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said. “For as long as I’ve known, he’s been the unspoken leader. You’re gonna show up, you’re gonna work as hard as you can, nothing is gonna hold you back, you’re gonna celebrate all the good moments. When you have a guy of that caliber who puts in that kind of work, it really sets the tone for the whole team.”
That quality has impressed rookies and veterans alike.
“His ability to prepare and compete, I don’t think will ever be matched by anyone,” said Angels utility man Chris Taylor, who was Kershaw’s teammate for nearly 10 years. “Everything he did throughout the week to prepare himself to perform when he was on the mound. And then also when he was out there, he’s the biggest competitor there was.”
Kershaw’s influence has particularly resonated with the younger Dodgers, many of whom grew up watching him.
“He’s meant a lot. I think more than he realizes, probably,” Dodgers right-hander Emmet Sheehan said. “Just from the example he sets every day for us younger guys. It’s so valuable to have that, not just hearing it from what he says, but actually watching him do it, it’s huge.”
Spending time around him has been especially meaningful for his fellow left-handers.
“It’s been one of the coolest things that you could imagine,” rookie reliever Jack Dreyer said. “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.”
“When you grow up watching a guy play, and sometimes it’s like, ‘Don’t meet your idols.’ But with Kersh, it’s not that at all,” rookie reliever Justin Wrobleski said. “I think it’s just been, he’s super welcoming. This year, especially, he’s been helpful with on-field stuff and with everything else. I’d say there’s no one specific memory for me, but I think it’s just a lot of conversations and just having the ability to talk to a guy that you’ve looked up to your whole life.”
From the team achievements to the career milestones Kershaw has racked up along the way, he and his teammates have created countless priceless memories … good and bad.
“My least-favorite memory is not being on the field for his 3,000th strikeout,” said Muncy, who injured his left knee in a collision at third base just before Kershaw’s milestone. “I missed that by one or two pitches. But hearing the crowd roar from the X-ray room, I’m definitely not gonna forget that one. And then for him to, in that moment, come up and find me, give me a hug and make sure I was doing OK despite his accomplishment just speaks to the person he was.”
Kershaw is an all-time great on the mound, but the consensus among the Dodgers is that he’s an equally high-caliber teammate.
“He loves everyone. He wants the best for everyone. He cheers. He wants to win pretty much everything,” Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts said. “He exudes just that competitiveness that everyone needs, and you can feel it. Especially when he takes the mound, but even when he’s not pitching, he’s getting us going. He’s making sure we’re having fun, enjoying it, but staying focused on the task at hand.”
The Dodgers hope that Kershaw will do the same on Friday, when he’ll start at Dodger Stadium one last time in the regular season.
“I think knowing Clayton, I thought he would just not even tell anybody and just retire,” Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “But I’m glad he did. … I mean, it’s just a heck of a career. Just in awe of him. When I first came into the league, getting to face him, and then obviously coming over here, it all just gets bigger and bigger. Watching him daily go about his business, what he does day in and day out, not only on the field, off the field, what he’s done in communities, he’s just a special person.
“I’m just very happy that I got to spend four years with him. And it’s incredible, even in his 18th year, we’ve counted on him every fifth or sixth day in this season alone. I mean, he’s not a Dodger legend. He’s a baseball legend forever. I mean, the greatest pitcher of our generation.”
