It’s official. We can say that Clayton Kershaw will not pitch again for the Dodgers in a regular season MLB game, after closing out the 2023 campaign with a high-caliber outing in Seattle.
The 37-year-old left-hander’s last outing was flawless: 5.1 innings of work with seven strikeouts, just four hits and no runs allowed. Appealing to his exquisite control and moving the ball around the periphery of the zone, Kershaw shackled the Mariners, who were left reeling by his slider and curveball.
His exit from the diamond could not have been more exciting. Manager Dave Roberts sent Freddie Freeman to the mound to retire the left-hander, who was given a standing ovation by more than 30,000 fans at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park.
Not even Shohei Ohtani’s 55th home run could steal the spotlight from the Dodgers ace, who completely dominated in five at-bats (including three strikeouts) against sluggers Cal Raleigh and Eugenio Suarez, who hit 60 and 49 home runs this season, respectively.
After this performance, the Dodgers are already looking ahead to the postseason, where Kershaw will have another chance to shine with the team of his life.
Numbers from another galaxy
Clayton Kershaw will hang up his spikes after a brilliant 18-season Major League career, in which he won 223 games and lost 96. His ERA during this long stretch was 2.53, while his WHIP was 1.02, spectacular numbers for a pitcher who worked 2855.1 innings.
In total, he struck out 3,052 opponents and held them to a paltry .211 batting average over 455 games, 451 of them as a starter. Kershaw leaves as the Dodgers’ all-time strikeout leader and second in wins, behind only Don Sutton (233).
Among all left-handed starters in MLB’s century-long history, Kershaw ranks fourth in strikeouts, behind Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton and CC Sabathia. In addition, he is seventh in ERA and leads the winning percentage category (.698). With these numbers and an impeccable career in every sense of the word, he should be unanimously elected to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
Kershaw’s track record
- 11-time All-Star
- Triple Crown winner (21 wins, 248 strikeouts and 2.28 ERA) in 2011
- Three-time Cy Young Award winner (2011, 2013, 2014)
- World Series champion in 2020 and 2024
- Five-time National League ERA leader, four of them MLB’s absolute leader
- National League Most Valuable Player in 2013, when he achieved 21 wins and only three losses, an ERA of 1.77, a WHIP of 0.857 and 239 strikeouts
- 2011 Gold Glove winner
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