Los Angeles Dodgers longtime ace Clayton Kershaw has called it a career, and his teammates are seeing him into retirement with kind words.
There are not a lot of players that get to ride into the sunset as champions; Clayton Kershaw was one of the few.
The longtime Los Angeles Dodgers ace left the game on his terms and became a back-to-back World Series champion in the process. On the final day of 2025, the only team Kershaw ever knew posted a tribute video with his teammates providing special messages for him, including several pitchers he shared the mound with through recent years.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto received the chance to be in the rotation with Kershaw for the Dodgers’ consecutive World Series titles, and he made his respect for the 11-time All-Star evident.
“Kershaw, congratulations on a long career,” Yamamoto said in Japanese. “The two years that I was able to play with you were very special, and I’m so grateful for them. I truly respect you and hope to use the things I’ve learned from you to follow in your footsteps.”
“I wish you and your family the very best. Thank you for everything.”
Right-hander Tyler Glasnow also expressed the admiration he has for the time spent with Kershaw.
“What’s up, dude? I just want to say it has been an honor for me to play with you,” Glasnow said. “Being from LA and watching you as I was in high school growing up and then being able to be your teammate has been a huge opportunity for me.”
“You’re very good at pitching, but to come to the ballpark every day and see how good of a human being you are, how selfless you are, your ego has never one time gotten in front of how you treat people or changed who you are. And I think that’s the most impressive thing, you can still stay super grounded and super humble.”
Blake Snell, who joined the Dodgers last offseason, also extended his congratulations to Kershaw.
“Kersh, congratulations on 18 successful seasons in the big leagues,” Snell said. “Watching you from afar was a privilege, and then getting to know you this year was just a blessing for me to understand what made you such a great pitcher, but I’ve learned a better human, a better friend, a better teammate.”
“I’m sure the offseasons are going to be long now, and retirement is going to be fun. I know family is going to be amazing and everything for you. Now, that’s the next chapter of your hall of fame career, and I’m more than excited for you.”
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