TORONTO — Clayton Kershaw took in the scrum with a dry grin and then settled into gratitude. Media Day can feel like a blur, but he treated it like a last lap around a familiar track. He talked about savoring the moments, about the way peers have reached out, and about this club’s single aim over the next stretch of days. He also lit up at the mention of Blake Snell.
Kershaw laughed at the premise that this is what he truly came back for, then leaned in. “This is it. This is why I’m here. Get to talk to everybody here,” he said, playing along before letting the sincerity show. Asked if he’s enjoyed the last couple of months more than usual, he answered, “I think so. I usually try not to get too wrapped up in everything, but once I came out and said that I was finished, it’s hard not to be a little bit reflective.” He ran through the snapshots that stuck: “The last home game at Dodger Stadium, the last game in Seattle, getting to celebrate the victories in the postseason… I know I maybe have one more time to get to do that. You can’t help but kind of look back and just be grateful for it all.”
The respect from around the league has reached him, and he’s noticed. “I’m super honored by that,” he said of opponents who’ve sought him out. “You never expect anybody to say nice things, especially when you’re playing against you, but to have guys say ‘great career’ or ‘enjoyed playing against you’… it really is awesome.” He drew a clear line about whose opinions matter most: “Your peers are who the opinions matter. There’s a lot of people outside this game that will say things that don’t understand, so to have your peers’ respect… guys inside your clubhouse and guys around the game, that’s the most important thing as far as your reputation.”
Inside the current clubhouse, the tributes can get loud. He joked about what to do when teammates make goat sounds. “I just tell them not to make it weird,” he said, smiling at the dynamic. Then he pivoted to appreciation: “We’ve got a lot of awesome guys… I’m so grateful for all these guys. It’s pretty cool.”
What drives this group now is not complicated in his view. “We’re a great team and this is what we’re supposed to do,” he said. “We’ve got one goal at the beginning of every season.” He praised the tone set by the stars and the front office that found them: “It takes the right type of superstars, and Andrew does a great job. When you look at Sho, Mookie, Freddie, the top three guys on down, they’re superstar players, but their mindset is just to win the World Series. They do everything they possibly can to help us win the World Series.” He contrasted that with other rooms he’s seen: “I’ve been around guys where they’ve been great players that might not necessarily be the case at times, and to have that… that trickle-down effect makes everybody realize that’s why we’re here and that’s why we are a Dodger.”
Pressed on what makes this team feel unique, Kershaw picked specific examples. “I don’t know if it’s work ethic. I just know there’s a factor of wanting to win and what that looks like,” he said. Then he listed receipts. “You saw it last year with Freddie’s ankle. You see it this year with Mookie becoming a Gold Glove shortstop. You see it with Shohei doing everything he can to be the best hitter and the best pitcher.” That standard has spread, he added: “It trickles all the way down—Will Smith trying to play through a broken hand, pitchers stepping up, bullpen guys throwing constantly. They see these guys do it, so they’re going to fall in line, too.”
Kershaw also had time for the present tense ace on the mound tonight. “I’ve always said that Blake, when he’s right, is top two or three pitchers in the game,” he said. “I said that when he was in Tampa. I’ve said that when he was in San Diego or San Francisco. He’s special.” The detail came quickly: “He’s got four pitches that are elite, and he loves to compete. He really does.” He closed that thought with a fan’s anticipation: “I’m excited to watch tomorrow.”
There was a quick aside about an old friend—“Haven’t seen Donnie yet,” he said with a laugh, promising a hug but noting “this is as far as it goes”—and then the tone returned to the bigger picture: what it means to be here, now, with one more banner to chase. The stage does not change his baseline view. “We’re going to try to do that over the course of the next ten days,” he said, meaning the only goal that matters this time of year.
The afternoon began with a quip—“This is it”—and kept circling back to thanks. “Grateful” came up more than once. So did the idea that the room models the standard from the top of the roster to the last arm in the bullpen. He has seen versions of this team for a long time. He has also seen how this one behaves when it needs to win. As he put it, the aim hasn’t moved: “We’re a great team and this is what we’re supposed to do.”
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