{"id":550170,"date":"2026-02-02T08:50:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T08:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/550170\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T08:50:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T08:50:25","slug":"los-angeles-dodgers-miss-clayton-kershaw-after-he-retired","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/550170\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Dodgers miss Clayton Kershaw after he retired"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dodgers FanFest 2026<\/a> is an annual reminder for fans that baseball is right around the corner. However, on Saturday at Chavez Ravine, the loudest presence was an absence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Clayton Kershaw<\/a> wasn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n

For the first time since he was a wide-eyed 19-year-old draft pick, the Dodgers gathered without the man who had been their north star for nearly two decades. Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, former National League MVP, 11-time All-Star and three-time World Series champion, retired<\/a> at the end of the 2025 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nov 1, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) celebrates with the Commissioner\u2019s Trophy after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in game seven of the 2025 MLB World Series at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

In two weeks, that reality will sharpen. <\/p>\n

When this current Dodgers squad report to Camelback Ranch for spring training, they\u2019ll walk into a clubhouse that has never existed for them before. There will be no locker with No. 22 hanging above it. No early-morning sprints before a start. No laughter as he sings in the weight room, no more Kershaw Days at Dodger Stadium.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, we\u2019re going to miss Clayton,\u201d manager Dave Roberts said<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a different ball club without him. When we get to spring training and Camelback and not seeing his locker where it\u2019s been for 18 years is going to be different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kershaw spent all 18 seasons with the Dodgers, a rarity in modern sports and a point of pride for an organization that watched him compile a 222-96 record, a Live Ball Era-best 2.54 ERA, 15 shutouts, and 3,000 strikeouts. He leaves second on the franchise wins list, just 11 behind Don Sutton, tied with Zack Wheat and Bill Russell for the most seasons ever played\u00a0 in Dodger blue. A first-ballot Hall of Famer in waiting, even if Cooperstown won\u2019t say it out loud yet.<\/p>\n

Oct 7, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) throws a pitch in the first inning for game one of the NLDS for the 2023 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
\n USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be really weird not seeing him in there,\u201d Mookie Betts said. \u201cI also want him to enjoy his retirement. It\u2019s a new chapter in life, and something that he\u2019s not going to be used to. I really want him to enjoy it, but I really want him to come see the boys as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freddie Freeman smiled, then paused, the memory still fresh in his mind. \u201cI just saw my walk-off home run [in Game 3 of the 2025 World Series] and they showed Kersh running onto the field like a 5-year-old looking for candy,\u201d Freeman said. \u201cEveryone talks about Kershaw the Hall of Fame pitcher, what he meant to this organization, but the day-in-and-day-out inside the clubhouse, the joy he brings, him singing at the top of his lungs shirtless in the weight room \u2014 those are the things I\u2019ll miss more. It\u2019s weird seeing Dodgers legends no longer walking around the clubhouse anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Will Smith put it more quietly. \u201cI\u2019m going to miss his presence each and every day,\u201d he said. \u201cHe keeps the mood light, but also is intense with everything he does. His legacy is going to carry on in the clubhouse.\u201d<\/p>\n

FLUSHING, NY \u2013 SEPTEMBER 13. Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches as the New York Mets play the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citifield. Friday, September 13th, 2019. (Photo by Anthony J. Causi) Anthony J Causi<\/p>\n

Kershaw once joked<\/a> he was on the \u201cno-plan, plan.\u201d That didn\u2019t last. <\/p>\n

Team USA in the World Baseball Classic awaits<\/a>, as does a new role<\/a> on NBC\u2019s Sunday Night Baseball. He\u2019ll be around, Betts joked, hopefully not too critical of his former team.<\/p>\n

Still, when spring arrives in Arizona, the silence will land first. The Dodgers will move forward. They always do.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll just do it without Kershaw standing there, reminding everyone what it meant to wear the uniform.<\/p>\n

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