Dodgers: Analyst Says This Could Be LA Superstar's Last Season in MLB
After a heartbreaking postseason exit last October, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw was asked about his future with the team and in baseball generally, and he was somewhat noncommittal. He never said the word "retirement," but he didn't shoot it down, either.
Over at Bleacher Report, Zachary D. Rymer wrote about "10 MLB Stars Who Are Candidates to Retire After 2023 Season," and our boy Clayton makes the list at number seven.
Clayton Kershaw might already be living the retired life right now if things had gone a little differently last winter.
He apparently didn't even pick up a baseball until January after spending the first few months of the offseason recovering from the forearm injury that ended his 2021 season. At that point, the Dallas native was looking at just three options once the MLB lockout lifted: return to the Dodgers, sign with the nearby Texas Ranger or retire. ...
It's far from impossible to imagine Kershaw returning for his age-36 season in 2024, particularly if 2023 goes anywhere near as well for him as 2022. But if his performance declines and/or the injury bug takes further bites out of his arm or back, it's likewise far from impossible to imagine him deciding he's had enough.
Interestingly, it might be pitching well that pushes Kershaw into retirement instead of pitching poorly. Kersh has said he might have retired if the Dodgers had won the World Series in 2022, and if, hypothetically, Los Angeles had an outstanding year capped by a dominant October culminating in a World Series title and even a WS MVP for Kershaw, it's almost unthinkable that the future Hall of Famer wouldn't ride off into the sunset.
So if Kershaw is done after 2023, let's hope it's because he's going out on top, rather than because the injury bug took further bites. We can selfishly hope he pitches until he's 90 (or at least 40), but chances are he's leaving us sooner than we want. Let's just hope it's on his terms.
