⚡ FLASH NEWS: Looking back at Kershaw’s 2025 with the Dodgers uncovers the quiet adjustments, key moments, and impact that shaped the season ⚡

In what was the final season of his historic career, Clayton Kershaw gave Dodgers fans one last hurrah as he ended his career as a three-time champion and one of the greatest pitchers in franchise history.

Kershaw played a minor role in helping the Dodgers maintain their supremacy in the NL West in 2024, making just seven starts before suffering a bone spur in his toe. Once again a free agent, Kershaw signed back with the Dodgers on one-year deal, but was placed on the IL to begin the season after undergoing surgeries to repair both his foot and a torn meniscus.

Kershaw missed the first month of action as he continued to rehab, but he made his 2025 debut on May 17 against the crosstown Angels. He struggled mightily in his first start, giving up five runs across just four innings before a rain delay in Queens limited his next start to just two innings of work against the New York Mets.

Kershaw managed to hit his stride in June, where he managed to toss at least five innings in four of his five starts, posting a perfect 4-0 record with a 2.28 ERA while striking out 23 and walking just seven across 27 2/3 innings of work. By the end of the month, Kershaw was sitting at 2,997 career strikeouts, with a chance to make history in his next start against the Chicago White Sox.

Kershaw’s road to history against Chicago was a hard-fought battle, having given up four runs over 5 2/3 innings with just two strikeouts. Against Vinny Capra, and with his next pitch being his 100th of the night, Kershaw placed a slider on the outside corner to get Capra looking and cemented himself as the 20th member of the 3,000 strikeout club. Kershaw joined Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson as the only left-handers with at least 3,000 strikeouts and became the only one of the three to do so with just one team.

Kershaw was named to the NL All-Star team for the 11th time in his career as a “legend” pick, and he managed to get two quick outs on six pitchers, striking out Vladimir Guerrero while mic’d up with the broadcasting crew during the midsummer classic.

Kershaw once again struggled to open the second half, overall miring in a poor month of July where he posted an 0-2 record with 4.71 ERA, with his strikeouts dropping to just 10 in 21 innings over four starts. He quickly turned the page in August, as he secured a winning decision in each of his five starts and lowered his ERA to 3.06 by month’s end.

The Dodgers had just wrapped up their first series win over the Philadelphia Phillies since 2023 on Sept. 17, where Blake Snell had a statement performance by striking out 12 over seven shutout innings. The following day, Dodgers fans were shocked when it was that Clayton Kershaw would retire following the 2025 season. Kershaw never publicly hinted at retiring throughout the season, but privately, through conversations with his wife, Ellen, he knew that it was the right time to call it a career.

“Usually we wait until the offseason to make a final call, but I think almost going into the season we kind of knew that this was going to be it. I didn’t want to say anything, unless I changed my mind… Over the course of the season, how grateful I am to have been healthy, be out on the mound, and be able to pitch, I think it just made it obvious this was a good sending-off point.”

His final home start of his regular season career came on Sept. 19 against the San Francisco Giants, and although he went just 4 1/3 innings while throwing 91 pitches, he allowed just two runs and struck out six hitters, with the final strikeout of his home career coming against Rafael Devers. He made his fourth career regular season relief appearance while the team was in Arizona, and he made his final regular season start in Seattle against the Mariners, tossing 5 1/3 shutout innings while striking out seven.

Kershaw’s presence in the postseason was minimal at best, having been relegated to mop-up duties during the Dodgers’ loss to the Phillies in Game 3 of the NLDS. He wasn’t on the field for any of the Dodgers’ four games against the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS, but he got one opportunity in the World Series.

In an 18 inning marathon between the Dodgers and Blue Jays in Game 3, Kershaw came in with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the 12th inning, with the goal to get Nathan Lukes out and preserve the tie. Kershaw tossed eight pitches to Lukes, with the final one being hit weakly to the right side of the infield. Tommy Edman made a shovel pass to Freddie Freeman to send the game to the bottom of the 12th, and Clayton Kershaw threw the final pitch of his 18-year career, ultimately ending with his third World Series championship.

Kershaw ends his career as the Dodgers all-time leader in strikeouts and second to Don Sutton in wins, and he is the most valuable Dodger in history per both rWAR and fWAR. His career 2.53 ERA is the second best in baseball since the beginning of the live ball era behind Hall of Fame pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm, and his career 154 ERA+ is tied with Pedro Martinez as the best in baseball history among starting pitchers with at least 2,000 innings.

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2025 particulars

Age: 37

Stats: 11-2, 3.36 ERA, 1.216 WHIP, 3.55 FIP, 84 K, 35 BB, 112 2/3 IP, 124 ERA+, 1.6 rWAR, 2.5 fWAR

Postseason stats: 2 1/3 IP, 5 ER, 3 BB

Salary: $7,500,000

Game of the year

Clayton Kershaw saved his best start for last, as in the final start of his 18-year career, he tossed 5 1/3 shutout innings against the Seattle Mariners, giving up just four hits and one walk while striking out seven.

Roster status

Clayton Kershaw is retired after spending his entire 18-year career with the Dodgers. He will become eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2031.