TORONTO — As soon as Blake Treinen entered the ninth inning Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday evening Clayton Kershaw I lowered my guard and began to look around.
For the previous three hours, the future Hall of Fame pitcher had been engrossed in the game, mentally preparing for a potential appearance in the bullpen.
But when that didn't happen, Kershaw, 37, allowed himself to relax, taking in the scene of the October night at Chavez Ravine and soaking in the final moments of his final game at Dodger Stadium.
“It's a weird thought, like, 'This is your last game there,'” said Kershaw, who announced last month that he would retire at the end of this season. “And it's not a sad thought. Honestly, just a grateful thought. Like, 'Man, we've had a lot of great times here.'
Win or lose Games 6 and 7 of this World Series, Kershaw's overall career will come to an end this weekend at the Rogers Center in Toronto. But on Wednesday night, he closed the book on the ballpark he called home for all 18 seasons of his illustrious MLB career.
Dodger Stadium is where Kershaw made his major league debut back in May 2008 as a highly anticipated left-hander prospect with a big curveball and a calm demeanor. It was the stage for his rise to stardom over the next nearly two decades, as he won three Cy Young Awards, the 2014 National League MVP award and a career 2.53 ERA, which ranks as the best among pitchers with 1,000 innings in the live-ball era.
It was here that he experienced some of the most defining moments of his career, including non-striker in 2014 And his 3,000th strikeout earlier this year. It was here that he suffered repeated October disappointments, none more serious than the back-to-back home runs he gave up in Game 5 of the 2019 National League Division Series.
In other words, Kershaw was always home, a place he returned to day after day, year after year, season after season—no matter the ups and downs, the hurts and pains, the successes and failures.
“I just started thinking about it when the game ended,” said Kershaw, who decided to cross the field to return to the clubhouse after Wednesday's game rather than through the bullpen tunnel. “I thought, 'Man, I could walk on this thing again.'
In about an hour, Kershaw will stay on the field a little longer, joined by his wife Ellen for an impromptu meeting; their four children; and other family members and friends who attended his last home game.
“Ellen just texted and said, 'Hey, we have a big team,'” Kershaw said. “So I said, ‘Well, just go to the field. I’ll try to take a quick shower so we can hang out.”
Television cameras captured Kershaw laughing as his children ran around the bases, tried to throw baseballs at a hovering drone and enjoyed the diamond that over the years became their personal childhood playground.
At one point, Kershaw posed for a photo with the Dodger Stadium team — standing on the mound they had manicured throughout his 228 career starts at the stadium.
“Honestly, it was amazing,” Kershaw said. “It was the perfect way to do it. Just have everyone running around… It was unplanned, unprompted, but made great memories.”
Kershaw certainly hopes to add another memory at Dodger Stadium next week. If the team can erase its three-games-to-two deficit in the World Series this weekend in Toronto, it will return to Chavez Ravine to celebrate the championship.
If not, he'll have a couple of farewell moments to cherish, from Wednesday's post-game scene on the field to his last career appearance at Dodger Stadium back in Game 4 in which he was stranded in the 12th for one of the biggest outs of his career.
“I'm very grateful for how everything went, unlike last time before this” he joked after giving up five runs in his only appearance at Dodger Stadium this postseason. “You can't plan for anything. Who knows if it will ever work out. But yeah, getting that last ball out was pretty cool.”
The same thing happened to him last Wednesday evening.
