TORONTO — His legendary career — one of the great careers in baseball history — had reached its storybook conclusion. The Dodgers had won a second consecutive World Series in extraordinary fashion. And the only person at Rogers Centre who didn’t seem to know was Clayton Kershaw.
Mookie Betts had turned a dramatic double play to end Game 7, an utterly insane 5-4 Los Angeles victory in 11 innings. The Dodgers began pouring out of the dugout to celebrate. But Kershaw, who was warming up in the right-field bullpen, didn’t have time to keep tabs on the situation. He thought there were two outs.
“Honestly,” a shirtless and beer-soaked Kershaw said afterward, “I didn’t know. … [Bullpen catcher Josh Bard] looked at me and said, ‘We just won the World Series,’ and I was like, ‘Are you sure?’”
Kershaw would be the last one to reach the celebration on the infield. He didn’t seem to mind. He was greeted there with hugs from dozens of teammates — soon to be his former teammates.
This summer, Kershaw announced he would be retiring after the 2025 season. In the months since, he’s been at peace with the decision.
Eighteen seasons. Five ERA titles. Three Cy Young Awards. An MVP. More than 3,000 strikeouts.
And now, a third World Series title.
“It’s hard to put into words, honestly,” Kershaw said. “I’m just so grateful. The way that my career, this season, has ended has been more than I could have ever hoped for. I’m just a little bit speechless, a little bit shocked that we won this one tonight.”
Had the game kept going, it’s unclear when Kershaw might’ve entered. He was preparing as though he would be facing the next batter, the lefty-hitting Daulton Varsho, when Alejandro Kirk bounced into the game-ending double play.
And with that, one of the great World Series in baseball history was over. Kershaw had played his part. A small part? Technically. He recorded only one out. But what an enormous out it was.
In the 12th inning of Game 3, with the score tied and the bases loaded, Kershaw was called upon with two outs. After an eight-pitch battle, he induced a Nathan Lukes groundout to escape the jam. It was the final out he recorded — and maybe the most important.
“Have it be at Dodger Stadium, have it be the last one — you can’t script that either,” Kershaw said. “That’s so cool. I have to give [manager Dave Roberts] a lot of thanks for that, too, trusting me to do that. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs. So for him to continue to trust in me and trust me in those big moments, it means a lot.”
Indeed, by the end, this was not vintage Clayton Kershaw. His fastball checked in around 90 mph. He had to grind like never before to get outs. But make no mistake: He earned his World Series ring. Kershaw made 23 appearances — 22 starts — and posted a 3.36 ERA. The Dodgers won 17 of the 23 games he pitched.
And because he made one final appearance in the Fall Classic, Kershaw will join some exclusive company in five years when he’s inevitably enshrined in Cooperstown. Here’s the full list of Hall of Famers to finish their careers by appearing in a World Series with a team that eventually won the title:
“I will be able to say for the rest of my life that we won Game 7 of the World Series, the last game I ever played,” Kershaw said. “You can’t script that. You can’t write it up. Even if I was not throwing 88 [mph], I still would be done. It’s just the perfect way to end it.”
When the postgame ceremony broke up, Kershaw’s Dodgers teammates spilled onto the confetti-filled outfield. Kershaw took a detour, alongside his family. They moseyed to the pitcher’s mound.
For so many years, the big league mound was Kershaw’s office. It’s where his curveball danced and his slider bit and his fastball — once upon a time — was pinpoint and brilliant. It’s where he experienced all manner of postseason disappointments — only to end his career with one final postseason success.
So he sat on the mound, soaking it in with his family one final time. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman later told reporters that he had offered Kershaw some sort of job with the organization. Kershaw downplayed it — “something where I could hang out,” he said. His wife, Ellen, is expecting their fifth child. That’s not front-of-mind right now.
“First and foremost, it’s for me to have this fifth kid and be a dad for a while,” Kershaw said. “I don’t think there’s any full-time jobs in my immediate future.”
As Kershaw retreated from the celebration to his locker in the bowels of Rogers Centre, he did so alongside his son. A swarm of reporters awaited him.
As he was preparing to talk, Kershaw asked his son what they should do after he’d fulfilled his media obligations one final time. He said he was thinking about getting dressed and getting ready to leave.
Kershaw had lifted the Commissioner’s Trophy. He’d spent those precious moments on the mound with his family. He’d left the field to chants from Dodgers fans behind the first-base dugout. He’d been doused in champagne in the adjacent batting-cage area. So, after all that, was it time to go?
“No,” his son pleaded. “Not yet.”
So the two Kershaws rejoined the celebration.
