Clayton Kershaw officially announced earlier this week that this would be the last season of his storied career. On Friday night, the future Hall of Famer had this final home start for the Los Angeles Dodgers, a 6-3 win over the San Francisco Giants that clinched the Dodgers’ spot in the postseason.
“Wasn’t his best,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Kershaw’s performance after the game, according to ESPN. “but like he does, he just finds ways to compete, get outs and put us in a position to win a ballgame.”
During his pregame routine, Kershaw took a moment to sit on the grass and take everything in.
“I take a couple minutes just to sit and try to breathe and, not take it in but just kind of focus a little bit,” he said. “Obviously a little bit harder tonight, a little bit harder to do that. But in a good way. In a good way.”
Kershaw didn’t have the words to describe the feelings of the moment.
“I don’t have enough gratitude and thanks and words,” Kershaw went on. “I think I just need to write it all down or something. I can’t adequately express how thankful I am for tonight, this whole season, just my whole career. Just so thankful I’ve gotten to be a Dodger this long.”
“The Dodgers’ culture has been established long before me, and it’ll be established long after I’m gone,” Kershaw said. “That’s the cruel thing about baseball is that your career will be gone in an instant and the game keeps going.
“But that’s also the beautiful thing about it, too, is that this game doesn’t need anybody. I’m so grateful I got to be a small part of Dodger history for as long as I’ve been here.”
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.