Cody Snavely
The 2024 World Series victory over the New York Yankees is a distant memory for the Los Angeles Dodgers clubhouse on the eve before the team leaves for Tokyo, Japan, embarking on their quest to become the first team in over twenty years to win back-to-back titles.
However, as we all know, the Fall Classic created many great memories, such as Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in Game One, but a close second was right-handed pitcher Walker Buehler coming out of the bullpen in Game Five on short rest, closing the game and the series out.
In an interview with Dodgers insider David Vassegh on AM570 DodgerTalk, left-handed pitcher and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw discussed Buehler’s heroics months after the conclusion.
“There was a lot of times when he just kept wanting to take the ball. He’s not afraid. That was a great moment for him. Super special, and we needed every pitch that he had. We were pretty much out at that point. For him to come in and close the game like that, it was a really cool way to end his Dodger tenure.”
Kershaw, who has been known to do any task the Dodgers ask of him in his career, knew the type of player Buehler was. As teammates, the duo led the Dodgers to two World Series titles.
Buehler, 30, opted to enter free agency this season after the Dodgers declined to offer him the one-year $21.05 million qualifying offer. Instead, Buehler would make the decision to join the Boston Red Sox on a 1-year, $21.05 million deal, and Kershaw couldn’t be happier for his former teammate.
“I’m happy for him. I know Boston is going to be a good setting for him and he can handle that media crowd and be good. I hope he pitches well, just not against us.”
The Dodgers will travel to Boston in late July for a three-game weekend series, which will be not only 2018 American League Most Valuable Player Mookie Betts’s second time at Fenway Park as a visitor but also the reunion between the Dodgers and Buehler.
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