The long-term face of the Dodgers franchise and the future Hall of Fame Clayton Kershaw His 2025 season debut against the Angels tonight, and before he began Season 18, the veteran spoke with Fabian Ardaya of track and field about him continuing his career.
“I really don't understand this.” Asked why he continued his career, Kershaw said, as Ardaya said. “People asked me. Why not ride the sunset? I'm 37. I've had a long time. Baseball is fun. Why not? As of today, here's my answer, yes.”
Of course, Kershaw flirts with the possibility of retirement from time to time over the years. After winning the World Series II championship last year with the Dodgers and being forced to end the season in August due to injury, eventually requiring surgery on his left sole plate and repairing the left-bend plate throughout the winter. He has been recovering since then, entering a one-year contract this year that guarantees him 7.5mm, although based on the incentives that started, the time on the active roster could bring the season to a total of 15mm by the end of the season, depending on his health.
Southpaw is already a slam dunk hall of fame and one of the greatest pitchers of the 21st century, but he can also conquer some career milestones. On the one hand, he was more than the 20th pitcher in Major League Baseball history, reaching 3,000 times in his career and 32 strikeouts. He still needs to join the 257 1/3 innings of the 3,000 innings club isn't what he can achieve this season, but after 258 innings in 2022 and 23 years, it's not hard to imagine that he's hitting that milestone before his long-time decision to continue his career.
Another motivation for Kershaw may be that none of his World Series rings bring full experience: The Dodgers were unable to hold a parade in 2020 due to the 1920 pandemic, and Kershaw competed with his teammates last year due to injury. Kershaw confirmed that his inability to play last year was the source of frustration.
“No one wants to sit around.” Kershaw said, as Ardaya passed on. “I want to promote, contribute, be part of it. Last year it was difficult. Obviously, at least be part of it, see us win and things like that. You always want to be part of a great team. That's what I want to do.”
More from the Dodgers…
- Los Angeles' lineup has taken a bit of a hit in recent weeks Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernández Both are on the injured list. Fortunately, manager Dave Roberts told reporters yesterday (including Ardaya) that the club may not be without these bats for a long time. Edman is expected to be activated tomorrow's series finale against the Angels, while Hernandez is currently on a brief recovery mission but may be active in Monday's game against the Diamondbacks. Edman's 122 WRC+ and versatility have been very missed since he entered IL in late April, and Hernandez Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani On the team.
- Speaking of Ohtani, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register wrote that his latest bullpen saw him throwing 50 courts between two 25-shot “innings” in a round-and-down game. Plunkett added that this was the most thrown court in a meeting when he recovered from Tommy John's surgery. This could mean that there will be developments facing field batsmen soon, although Plunkett does point out that the two-way phenomenon still hasn't thrown any breakthrough yet. Even with his progress in his recovery, the defending NL MVP shouldn't be back on a major league mound in the second half of the season.
