It’s the end of an era in Los Angeles. Clayton Kershaw, likely bound for Cooperstown, announced that he will retire at the end of the 2025 campaign. Kershaw, who will make his last regular-season start at Dodger Stadium against the Giants, ends it as one of Major League Baseball’s best pitchers of the modern era.
Clayton Kershaw will end his career as among the game’s all-time best pitchers from a statistical standpoint. He became the 20th pitcher in Major League history to reach 3,000 strikeouts, a feat he accomplished earlier this season at Dodger Stadium.
Kershaw’s 1.02 career WHIP ranks third-best among pitchers with at least 2000+ innings pitched. Only Hall of Famers Ed Walsh and Addie Joss had a better career WHIP.
His stretch from 2011-14 was one of the best in league history. Kershaw led the Majors in ERA in every season, won the pitching triple crown in 2011, and won three Cy Young awards in that span.
Kershaw capped off that four-year run with an MVP award in 2014. He remains the last full-time pitcher to win the MVP award (Shohei Ohtani, his Dodger teammate, won two as a two-way player).
His velocity has waned over the years. But despite that, hitters have struggled to barrel him up (4.1% Barrel%) this season. That’s a testament to how good his slider and curveball are, and how he’s able to play those two off a four-seamer that’s averaged 89 MPH this season.
He’ll also be one of the few — at least in this day and age — to play out his entire career with one team. Kershaw spent all 18 seasons with the team that drafted him all the way back in 2006.
Kershaw remained with the Dodgers over the last few seasons, as he signed several one-year deals before 2025. His last start is scheduled for September 19, an Apple TV+ game.
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