Dodgers Interview: The GOAT goes out on top

TORONTO — Clayton Kershaw’s final game ended in champagne, confusion, and a grin he couldn’t hide. He told stories about a wild last out, about teammates who emptied the tank, and about the quiet decision he carried all season. He sounded relieved. He sounded joyful. He sounded done.

“I don’t have words,” Kershaw said on MLB Network affter the game. “It’s the most unbelievable feeling ever to win another one with this group.” Then he laughed about the final sequence. “I had no idea the game ended. I thought there was one out. I turn around, see the double play, think there’s two outs, the run scores, and it’s a tie game. Bardo, our bullpen coach [Josh Bard] tells me the game is over. We win. I didn’t believe him. It was crazy.”

He moved quickly to the people around him. “It’s our group, man. The Dodgers,” he said. “We have a lot of superstars, a lot of guys that get paid well, a lot of All-Stars, a lot of MVPs. That doesn’t scratch the surface of who they are. It comes out in different ways—Mookie working so hard to become a Gold Glove shortstop, Freddie playing every day and being the rock, Shohei pitching tonight on short rest, Glas and Blake in the rotation, and what Yama did tonight. That’s above and beyond after a complete game, 100 pitches, no rest. I’m so grateful to be part of this group.”

The decision to retire brought clarity. “This is the perfect way,” Kershaw said. “I couldn’t script it any better. I’m so happy this was my last game I’ll ever play. I’m so happy I don’t have to try to get people out throwing 88 miles an hour anymore. I’m so happy.” He admitted the season carried a quiet plan. “I knew going into the season it was going to be my last one,” he said. “My wife and I didn’t tell anybody until the very end. We wanted to enjoy it. I felt healthy, did as well as I could with what I had, and got to be part of an amazing, winning group. To end it like we did with these guys—I’m beyond grateful.”

The night took a toll in familiar, funny ways. “We had to run out there twice,” he said, chuckling about the Wrobleski/Gimenez dustup. “The benches cleared. I’m exhausted from that. I haven’t run in a few months, guys. I was going to have a heart attack. I was bouncing up and down. It was awesome.”

Kershaw cherished winning with one franchise. “There’s a lot of right place, right time,” he said. “I just got drafted by the Dodgers and got to stay here this long. I was talking to Jeter a little bit—he’s the model for that with the Yankees. There’s something special about it. I don’t really know why it happened, but I’m very grateful I get to say I’ve been a Dodger for this long. It’s a great organization. It’s a great group. Hopefully I can help them down the road with something, but I’ll always be a Dodger.”

From the clubhouse celebration, he pointed to the standard inside the room. “Look at these guys,” Kershaw said. “It’s amazing when people as talented as they are go above and beyond for the team. You see it over and over—Sho taking the ball, then Blake, then what Yama did. Maybe it never gets done again. Will Smith catching 18 innings. I’ll never get to do this again. Just let it burn. It’s the best. I’m so grateful to be part of this clubhouse.”

The friendships matter most. “Relationships keep going,” he said. “I’ll keep in touch with these guys and I’ll be around. You don’t get to do something like this in normal life. I got to do it more than a lot of people. I’m overflowing with gratitude.”

He loved the way they won. “They don’t quit,” he said. “Nobody quits. Everybody steps up. Everybody does whatever it takes. I’m super honored to be in this clubhouse.”

Multiple Cy Young Awards, Hall of Fame waiting. Kershaw took it in and smiled. “Sounds good,” he said hearing his resume read back to him. “Thank you.” Then he gave the line that will follow him into every ceremony, every return to Dodger Stadium, every afternoon he just shows up unannounced to reconnect. “I’ll always be a Dodger.”

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