Dodgers News: Roberts on the emotions, meaning, and plan for Kershaw’s last LA start

LOS ANGELES — Before first pitch of what’s expected to be Clayton Kershaw’s final start at Dodger Stadium, Dave Roberts tried to balance the enormity of the moment with the urgency of a pennant race. Asked what he expects from the ballpark, Roberts said he anticipates “a lot of anxiousness… a lot of excitement, energy… anticipation,” noting that Dodgers fans have “seen him for 18 years… watched his career kind of grow,” and tonight offers “some finality.” It’s one of those “I was there” nights, the kind that lodge in the memory forever.

Kershaw, Roberts emphasized, is determined to treat it like a job to do. “Clayton, I think, right now, is trying to approach it as just another game that we need to win,” Roberts said, while acknowledging the human side of it all: “I’m sure there’s a lot of people that are going to be coming into town to support him… for us it’s the game, but obviously [we’ll be] watching him keenly and seeing how he manages his emotions.”

Inside the clubhouse, it’s emotional. Roberts said the players “really want to play well, win the game for Clayton, for the Dodgers,” and he connected that desire directly to Kershaw’s own words from the day before: “He said yesterday that this is… some of the most fun he’s ever had with the ball club. He loves these guys and… what he’s going to miss most about playing is spending time with them.” That sentiment, Roberts said, “really resonate[s] with his teammates,” and he expects “a great performance all around.”

If tonight is a celebration, it’s also a tribute to something rarer every year in pro sports: one player, one franchise. Asked about the significance of spending 18 years in one uniform, Roberts didn’t hesitate. “No. No, I don’t think it can [be overstated],” he said. In a world where “people take the easy way out, chase short money… the loyalty part of it is just not what it used to be,” Kershaw chose to stay. Roberts acknowledged that, yes, “it was rocky… uneasy at the negotiating table at times,” and it required “taking a little bit less or betting on yourself… to remain a Dodger.” That, he said, is where he gained “a lot of respect for him.”

Respect from fans—especially in Los Angeles, where the postseason microscope never blinks—was earned the hard way. Roberts said the “universal respect is certainly warranted, 10 times over,” in large part because Kershaw carried the burden that comes with being “the ace.” He pointed to years when the lefty shouldered “240 innings” and took the ball on “very short rest multiple times in a postseason,” never “running from that responsibility.” Even when things weren’t optimal, Roberts said, Kershaw “never complained… never made an excuse.” That authenticity forged a bond: at his highest moments the fans “have shown their love,” and during the painful ones, “the fans have been kind of hurting along with him… wanting so much for such a guy that’s been such a stalwart and a great… person for this city and organization.”

Roberts also applauded the way Kershaw and his wife, Ellen, chose to share the news, allowing fans to say goodbye properly. “He and Ellen nailed it,” he said. “I love the way that they’re doing it for the fans, the media. They’ve earned it. They deserve it… instead of… saying goodbye after the season and not getting a chance to say goodbye.” Yesterday was “certainly an emotional day,” Roberts said, but “he’s ready to go today. And it’s going to be a great weekend.”

The symmetry of the night isn’t lost on the manager: Dodgers–Giants, under the lights, against the franchise Kershaw has so often dominated. “It really is [apropos],” Roberts said with a grin, adding, “All we need is Buster in the lineup… hitting third.” He harkened back to his own first impressions of a teenage Kershaw, recalling that during the pitcher’s first spring, veteran Mark Sweeney told him, “Doc, there’s this guy… like Sandy Koufax 2.0.” When Kershaw arrived, Roberts said, “it was just great stuff… uncomfortable and electric,” and he was “glad I got to see it from the dugout.”

For all the sentiment, Roberts’ game posture is clear. “I’m going to approach it like a regular game. I really am. We need to win this game,” he said. He wants a “storybook” night as much as anyone and is “expecting” a great moment for No. 22, but the plan will be pragmatic: “Game score, how his stuff is, pitch count… I’ll bake in,” Roberts said when asked if he’d ride Kershaw longer. As for whether Kershaw might get another start next week, Roberts kept it open: “We’ll see… it’s just kind of how he comes out, how we end up. I don’t think anyone can answer that right now.”

Roberts also touched on why last year’s championship parade meant so much—especially to Kershaw. “In ’20 none of us got the parade,” he said, and after 17 seasons at that point, finally “to be able to… celebrate with the city” explained why the emotions were so raw. “We want to do it again,” he added.

So here it is: a perfect Friday night against the Giants, a stadium awash in No. 22 jerseys, and an ace determined to keep it about the baseball. Roberts distilled the mission to its essence: “I want it to be storybook… and I hope it’s perfect… but I’m going to play to win.” If the storybook cooperates, Los Angeles gets both—the win, and a parting Kershaw moment that fans will tell their grandkids about with the simple preface: I was there.

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