“I've tried to hold it together” - Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw fights back tears announcing retirement after 2025 season

Los Angeles Dodgers great Clayton Kershaw will retire after the season. The veteran Dodgers pitcher made the announcement in an emotional pregame press conference on Thursday.

The three-time Cy Young winner addressed the media ahead of the series opener against division rivals, the San Francisco Giants. Kershaw, who has been with the Dodgers since 2008, fought back tears during his announcement.

“I’m gonna call it. I’m gonna gonna retire. I’m at peace with it. I think it’s the right time," Kershaw said. "I'm really not sad, I'm really not. I'm really at peace with this. It's just emotional and I've tried to hold it together.

The future Hall of Famer reflected on what it meant to represent the NL West team, a place he called "home." Kershaw also talked about earning the respect of his teammates in the clubhouse.

"Hold on, I can answer that, just give me a minute," Kershaw said. "I think we all play this game for the respect of our teammates, so having these guys here is pretty special."

The 11-time All-Star will make his last home start of the season against the Giants on Friday. Expected the Dodgers faithful to rock up to the ballpark in numbers to celebrate one of the greatest players in franchise history.

Dodgers teammate Freddie Freeman knew about Clayton Kershaw's decision

Clayton Kershaw's MLB future was uncertain in the offseason after he became a free agent following a second World Series win with the Dodgers. However, he signed by the defending champions ahead of the 2025 season.

While many were taken aback by Kershaw's decision to retire, Dodgers teammate Freddie Freeman knew about the announcement and kept it to himself, per MLB insider Fabian Ardaya.

"Freddie Freeman said Clayton Kershaw told him of his plans to retire about a month ago and was sworn to secrecy. Joked that he was surprised that Kershaw even announced the news at all rather than go out quietly."

Several Dodgers players are still coming to terms with Kershaw's retirement with postseason on the horizon.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash