In 2025, one of the greatest pitchers of the last two decades and top five greatest left handed pitcher of all time, Clayton Kershaw, retired. Over his 18 year career, Kershaw won 3 Cy Young awards in 2011, 2013, and 2014, American League MVP in 2014, 11 All-Star selections, a Gold Glove in 2011 ,won the Pitching Triple Crown in 2011 and more. He also boasted the lowest ERA (earned runs allowed) since the 1910s, and accumulated over 3,000 strikeouts, and highest win percentage in 100 years.
His greatest attribute though wasn’t his pure dominance, it was his loyalty. In his career which spans the bulk of the last two decades, Kershaw stayed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, no matter what the circumstance. Through thick and thin, win or loss, it did not matter to Kershaw, as the Dodgers fanbase and the team itself meant the world to him. In his career which spans the bulk of the last two decades, Kershaw stayed with the Los Angeles Dodgers But he wasn’t just all great; he commonly struggled in the playoffs’’,’’ especially in key moments. That was until his dominant post season run in 2020 where he won his first World Series and delivered the exact performances the Dodgers needed in the key parts of games.
In the beginning he was the best pitcher out of every high school in 2006 and committed to Texas A&M but when the Dodgers decided to draft 18 year old Kershaw he opted to skip college and go straight to “The Show.” He didn’t make his debut until 2020 though but in his first game he had a great performance with seven strikeouts and only five hits. In his first season he solidified himself as a strong pitcher but didn’t show his true potential until the 2009 season. During this season Clayton had an ERA of 2.79, 185 strikeouts, and had an opposing batting average of .200 which was the lowest in the league.
At the end of the 2025 season Clayton Kershaw will officially retire and hang up the jersey as a Los Angeles Dodgers. After Kershaw’s one of a kind career, he is incredibly likely to become a first ballot hall of famer and will go down as one of the best players to ever do it, along with those that came before him.
