Clayton Kershaw, the enduring face of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has officially announced that the 2025 season will be his last on the mound. For 18 remarkable years, he embodied the rarest of titles in modern sports: the “one-club man.” His retirement leaves a bittersweet void in baseball, as fans bid farewell to a pitcher whose career redefined dominance, loyalty, and excellence.
Kershaw’s numbers speak for themselves. A career ledger of 222 wins, 3,039 strikeouts, and a 2.54 ERA paints the portrait of a generational great. His accolades include three Cy Young Awards, a National League MVP, and two World Series championships—achievements that cement his place among the most illustrious players to ever step onto a diamond.
Even in his final season, Kershaw refused to go quietly. Returning from injuries that had plagued him in recent years, he summoned the grit of a true competitor. His 2025 campaign—10 wins, only 2 losses, and a 3.53 ERA across 20 starts—was not just respectable, it was defiant. It was proof that even in twilight, his willpower burned as brightly as ever.
The “Blue-Blooded Ace”: Completing a Legendary Tale
Baseball often feels like a business more than a sport. Players change uniforms, franchises shuffle rosters, and loyalty can seem like a relic of the past. Yet Kershaw stood as an exception. Drafted 7th overall in 2006, he never once donned another jersey. For nearly two decades, he wore Dodger Blue as though it were stitched into his identity. His story, as much about loyalty as it is about talent, belongs to a vanishing era of the game.
A Decade of Pure Dominance
During the 2010s, there was no pitcher more feared, more respected, or more dominant. Kershaw’s mastery reached its apex in 2014, when he not only captured the Cy Young Award but also claimed league MVP honors—a rare feat for a pitcher. His trademark weapon, the infamous 12–6 curveball, dropped like it had been pulled by gravity itself, buckling knees and dazzling fans alike. His career statistics are staggering, but beyond the numbers lay an aura of inevitability: when Kershaw took the mound, opposing lineups felt overmatched before the first pitch was thrown.
Battling Injuries, Defying the End
The latter chapters of Kershaw’s career were marked by setbacks. Lingering injuries curtailed his once-superhuman velocity, and speculation of retirement swirled as his appearances dwindled. But Kershaw refused to fade into silence. Determined not to let injuries dictate his exit, he returned in 2025 and showed flashes of the competitor who had once ruled the game. In doing so, he authored a final, fitting epilogue: not of decline, but of resilience, dignity, and unyielding fight.
Hall of Fame Bound, Forever a Dodger
Kershaw now walks away, but his legacy is indelible. A first-ballot Hall of Famer in waiting, his impact stretches far beyond statistics. For Dodgers fans, he will always be the beating heart of a golden era—his iconic No. 22 jersey destined to be retired and immortalized at Chavez Ravine. Though the mound will no longer feel his presence, the image of his looping curveball and his fierce competitiveness will live on in memory.
For Korean fans, too, Kershaw holds a special place, having shared the Dodgers stage with Ryu Hyun-jin and building a bond that transcended borders. His farewell marks not only the end of a career but the close of an era in baseball itself. And when he throws his final pitch, the applause will not be for a single strike, but for a lifetime of brilliance.