Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw called it a career after winning his third World Series championship with the Dodgers in 2025, and revealed when he knew it would be his last season.
The southpaw announced his retirement in September, shortly before his final start at Dodger Stadium just a few days later.
“I knew I was done basically the whole season,” Kershaw said. ” I kind of went into this year thinking it was going to be my last one and didn’t really say anything until the end and then going into the postseason definitely knowing it was my last one. What a way to end it, man, it was so special. I couldn’t script it any better than that. It was just time, it was time to be done and I’m at peace with that and I don’t have to try to keep up anymore.”
Kershaw has spent the last 18 seasons with the Dodgers, and is sure to enter the Hall of Fame once eligible. He won an MVP, three Cy Youngs, a Gold Glove and three ERA titles with the Dodgers, making 11 All-Star Games in the process.
He surpassed 3,000 strikeouts in 2025, a mark only 20 pitchers have reached, and was the active leader in ERA until his retirement. Kershaw is also the Dodgers’ all-time leader in bWAR, with a total of 80.9 throughout his career.
While perhaps their best pitcher of all time heads to retirement, the Dodgers are still in a solid spot without him. Their current rotation consists of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and potentially Emmet Sheehan.
Kershaw ushered in a new dynasty in Los Angeles, and will go down in history as one of the best players to have ever played the sport.
