Clayton Kershaw, who will be joining other great Dodgers players in Cooperstown soon, has announced that the 2025 MLB season will be his last as a player.

On Thursday afternoon, the Dodgers released an announcement from the team on its X account. 

"Three-time NL Cy Young Award winner, 2014 NL MVP and 11-time All-Star Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers will announce today that he will retire as a player at the end of the 2025 season," the Dodgers announced. "He will make his final Dodger Stadium regular season start on Friday."

What a career as a Dodger. Toss in two World Series championships, a member of the 3,000-strikeout club and a 2011 Triple Crown winner among his accolades.

"I’m really not sad. I’m really at peace with this. It’s just emotional and I tried to hold it together," he said at a Dodger Stadium news conference. "I told our guys not to make it weird today because I was going to get weird if you make it weird, and here I am making it weird."

Kershaw never left the Dodgers. He bled Dodger Blue through and through, a total of 18 seasons with the organization. Kershaw was the No. 7 overall MLB Draft pick in 2006. He played in the 2007 All-Star Futures Game. In 2008, he was the No. 4 overall prospect.

Then, on May 25, 2008, Kershaw made his MLB debut.

At Thursday's practice, Kershaw was the first one on the field at Dodger Stadium, throwing batting practice to his son Charley in the outfield.

"I’ve just never been around a greater competitor," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "Very accountable, very consistent. He’s made me better and I think we’ve both grown together so I feel fortunate to have been able to manage him and be around him for 10 years."

Jayson Stark, a longtime MLB writer who now works at The Athletic, shared some very interesting statistics about Kershaw on Thursday afternoon.

Among all starting pitchers in the live-ball era (2,000-plus innings pitched), when it comes to ERA+, Kershaw is first alongside Pedro Martinez at 154. As for WHIP, he's No. 1 at 1.02.

"It’s sad day but it’s an exciting day for him," third baseman Max Muncy said. "He gets to finally move on to the next chapter."

Kershaw will be in the Baseball Hall of Fame as soon as possible. Don't be surprised if Kershaw is a first-ballot Hall of Famer after his incredible career.