LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw, for the most part, is doing his best to avoid the sentimentality in all this. But he isnâ€t numb to it either. Lately, heâ€s been starting to notice the little things that heâ€s just now doing for the final time.
For instance: Last week, when Kershaw finished watching video of Blue Jays hitters, then finished poring over the numbers and had fully mapped out his gameplan … he exhaled. This thought popped into his mind:
“I just prepared for the Blue Jays,†Kershaw said at Thursdayâ€s World Series media day. “The last scouting report Iâ€ll ever have to do.â€
“No, that one feels good,†Kershaw said, breaking into a wry grin. “No more homework.â€
OK, so his final scouting report did not pull on Kershawâ€s heartstrings. But this might: Kershaw is set to begin what is essentially his final three-game series at Dodger Stadium. As it would happen, it comes in Games 3, 4 and 5 of the World Series.
On Monday, Kershaw will have his name announced to the Dodger Stadium crowd during introductions for the final time. Heâ€s on the World Series roster, but it remains unclear if a situation would arise where Kershaw would be called upon to pitch. A future Hall of Famer in the twilight of his career, Kershaw isnâ€t expected to handle any high-leverage work. If anything, he would pitch in mop-up duty.
Across his 18-year career, he has taken the Dodger Stadium mound precisely 250 times in the regular and postseason. The next time might be the last time.
“Iâ€m not good at the emotion thing,†Kershaw said at World Series media day. “Itâ€s special, I know that. I think once I announced that I wasnâ€t going to be playing last year, you just think about everything in terms of your last time. … Itâ€s just really cool that all thatâ€s happening in the World Series.â€
Kershawâ€s accolades are almost too numerous to count. Heâ€s an 11-time All-Star, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, owner of five ERA titles and the 2014 National League MVP. Earlier this season, Kershaw recorded his 3,000th strikeout. Now heâ€s eyeing his third World Series.
Kershaw, who debuted in 2008, is a link to a different era of Dodger baseball. In his first four full seasons in the big leagues, the Dodgers did not make the playoffs. In each of his next 13, they did.
“Every fifth, sixth day that we needed him, he just kept doing it over and over again — 18 years,†said Freddie Freeman, who was on hand for the last four of those years. “Heâ€s just a special player. There are one of ones — and weâ€ve got a couple of them on this team right now. But Clayton is definitely one of one.â€
Tyler Glasnow, who will get the start in Game 3 on Monday night, grew up a Dodgers fan in Santa Clarita.
“He was always one of my favorite players,†Glasnow said. “Just to be able to be his teammate, just even coming in, walking around Dodger Stadium, and now Iâ€m able to play with him — itâ€s just super surreal. I feel like itâ€ll probably kick in when itâ€s all said and done for me. But heâ€s just been an awesome teammate.â€
Really, thatâ€s where Kershawâ€s focus is right now. When he made the World Series roster, it meant his career wasnâ€t over yet. He could still impact the World Series, even if it wasnâ€t in his traditional role at the front of the rotation.
“He’s handled this last month with class, professionalism,†said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “All the while, he’s always said that he wants to do anything he can to help the team. He’s followed through on that. All the stuff — finishing out the season and how everything kind of played out — was a lot on his plate. He handled it with grace. And then the uncertainty of role, going to the â€pen — he’s just fallen in line. So he’s adjusted his workout regimen, throwing program, to be ready when called upon.â€
Roberts was also asked about his plans for using Kershaw and noted that his first priority would be winning the World Series. Obviously. But …
“I would love to get him into one of these games,†Roberts said. “If the situation is right.â€
For now, all Kershaw is doing is preparing himself for that situation. And in the process, heâ€s doing everything for the final time.
“Iâ€ve thought about it a lot,†Kershaw said. “Like, itâ€s maybe the last time to get loose, maybe the last time to do an armband, the last time to try to figure out how to get somebody out. All that stuff. Itâ€s a weird time. Itâ€s a lot of different emotions for me right now.
“But at the end of the day, itâ€s a lot of good emotions. Itâ€s gratefulness, contentment, at peace — all those things.â€
Sonja Chen contributed additional reporting to this story.
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