In 2006, the L.A. Dodgers took a risk drafting an 18-year-old from Highland Park High School in Dallas, Texas. Two years later, Clayton Kershaw made his MLB debut, and it’s been history since he arrived at Dodgers Stadium.
A 20-year-old kid walked into Dodger Stadium in a cloudy day, getting ready to pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals, not knowing that he would spend the rest of his career with the organization. He tossed six innings, allowed two runs and one walk, and recorded seven strikeouts. It took 10 innings for the Dodgers to take a 4-3 victory, with outfielders Andre Ethier delivering a walk-off single.
Kershaw was a Dodger for life. It’s now been 18 years for the southpaw, who finishes with more than 200 wins, more than 3000 strikeouts, and too many awards to count, including an MVP, three Cy Youngs, three World Series rings, a triple crown, a gold glove, and 11 All-Star appearances.
He earned the ERA title five times, four of them consecutively between 2011 and 2014. During that time, he threw his only no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies in an 8-0 victory. He struck out a career-high 15 batters with zero walks in the contest, falling just short of a perfect game due to a 7th inning error. Still, it was the 22nd no-hitter in Dodgers history.
Kershaw almost went perfect twice in 2022 in games where he threw seven innings of perfect ball. Both times, he was removed by manager Dave Roberts due to low early-season pitch counts following a lockout and injuries.
Prior to his professional career, Kershaw had a great High School career. As a senior under former Highland Park head coach Lew Kennedy, Kershaw went a phenomenal 13-0 with a 0.77 ERA and 139 strikeouts in only 64 innings, numbers big league scouts drool over. He threw a five-inning perfect game in high school, striking out all 15 batters in route to round out his dominant four-year stint with a school-record 38 wins, not to mention a 3.7 GPA in the classroom.
Kershaw became a national sensation. He was named the USA Today High School Baseball Player of the Year and the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2006, immediately cementing his status as a top MLB draft prospect. “Clayton has electric stuff on the mound,” coach Kennedy told John Torenli, a contributor for MLB.com back in 2011, after Kershaw received the honor. “He competes well and has a knack for getting strikeouts in tough situations. He is a humble young man, who is a great role model for our team and community.”
Former minor league manager Juan Bustabad told Torenli, “Clayton was more advanced than your normal high school kid. You knew he was a special [sic]. A left-handed pitcher throwing 95, 96 miles per hour. All the tools were there, and he’s a tough kid mentally. I knew he would make it to the big leagues fast.”
But his fastball was not Kershaw’s strength, as it slowly faded to from the mid 90s to between 88 and 92 mph. He was more recognized for his looping curveball that broke off the table. Back in 2010, Sandy Koufax gave Clayton Kershaw tips on how to spin his curveball. Koufax explains that the middle finger should be used to pull down on the front of the ball to create maximum rotation. From there, the rest is history; he threw it more than 6000 times in his career.
In 2014, Kershaw won the Most Valuable Player and Cy Young awards. He had a huge impact that year with more than 230 strikeouts and 21 wins. Giancarlo Stanton had a phenomenal season, leading the National League with 37 home runs and 105 RBIs in 145 games before his season ended early due to being struck in the face by a pitch. He finished with a career-high 5.4 WAR but placed second in NL MVP voting behind Kershaw.
Kershaw has had an inconsistent postseason history, posting a 13-13 record with a 4.62 ERA, 213 strikeouts, and one save in 41 postseason appearances. Some people call it inconsistent and leave it at that, while others say nerves have gotten to him. His last experience in the postseason came this past fall against the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series. He entered in a bases loaded situation with two outs in the inning, immediately pitching from the stretch. He threw a pitch and covered first base on a ground ball hit to the first baseman and he got the out.
In 2020, Kershaw and the Dodgers won it all even though the year was shortened because of the pandemic. During that postseason, Clayton Kershaw had a dominant 2020 postseason, playing a key role in the Dodgers’ World Series run. He went 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA and 37 strikeouts over 30 2/3 innings across five postseason starts, including two wins in the World Series. He also allowed only five walks in that 2020 playoff run.
In 2024, the Dodgers won it all again, but this time Kershaw did not pitch in the postseason due to a chronic left big toe injury.
A year later, in his final season before retirement, Kershaw made two postseason appearances for the Dodgers during their 2025 World Series-winning run. After announcing in September that 2025 would be his last season, he was primarily used in a relief role.
Kershaw was committed to playing in the World Baseball Classic in 2022, but players must acquire their own insurance coverage and that proved to be an issue for him. Due to his history of back and elbow injuries and time spent on the injured list in 2022, insurers would not cover him, forcing him to withdraw from Team USA.
This year though, it was different. It was announced through social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter that Kershaw would be joining Team USA in their journey throughout the WBC. Manager Mark DeRosa told reporters that Kershaw would just be there for emergency appearances. Kershaw came out of retirement to join Team USA’s roster but did not pitch in any of the five tournament games before being replaced by Jeff Hoffman for the semifinals. His only time on the mound during this period was a pre-tournament exhibition game against the Colorado Rockies on March 4, 2026.
In 2031, Kershaw will be eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Kershaw was about as close as it gets to a Hall of Fame lock once he appeared in his required 10th season in 2017. At that time, nearly a decade ago, he already was a three-time Cy Young Award winner with an MVP Award, seven All-Star selections, five NL ERA titles, and three strikeout titles. While injuries chipped away at Kershaw’s playing career after that point, he remained a highly effective pitcher for several more seasons while adding three World Series rings, going back-to-back in his final two seasons. “Oh yeah! [Kershaw]’ll definitely be a part of the HOF,” sophomore Drew Perlin says.
It’s safe to say that Kershaw has built hundreds of skyscrapers full of his legacy. He has made it for the L.A. Dodgers and all of Major League Baseball. Crofton High School sophomore Tyler Miller is a huge Dodgers fan and an even bigger Kershaw fan. “I’m a huge fan of him,” Miller says. “I have copied his whole wind-up motion. It sucks he has retired but he built a legacy.”
Thank you Kershaw for everything you have done for all of the MLB. Have a good retirement.
