Fear of failure gone, Clayton Kershaw leads Dodgers into playoffs — possibly for last time

LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw sat alone behind the dais Friday afternoon, wearing cut-off sleeves, shorts, and looking as relaxed as if he just walked off the local golf course after 18 holes with his buddies.

He has been doing this gig more brilliantly than any pitcher of his era. He will be pitching on the playoff stage for the 12th time in his 16 seasons. And, perhaps for the final time of his Hall of Fame career, he is pitching Game 1 of the NL Division Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers, this time against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium.

He will go down as one of the greatest Dodgers who ever lived.

He will be on the Mount Rushmore of the most illustrious athletes in Los Angeles history.

He will be enshrined in baseball immortality with a Hall of Fame plaque that will stand forever alongside the likes of Koufax, Gibson, Mathewson and Feller.

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Saturday, for the 39th time in his postseason career, he’ll be taking the mound (9:20 p.m. ET, TBS). It could be the last time Dodgers fans see him on the mound at Dodger Stadium.

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Kershaw, 35, hasn’t dropped any hints about his future — whether he plans to retire after this season, whether he wants to finish his career in his hometown of Dallas, or if he will give it a go with L.A. one more time in 2024.

The Dodgers and Kershaw’s teammates certainly aren’t taking anything for granted, savoring every single moment, knowing that one day, it has to come to an end.

But, man, no matter when his career ends, has it ever been one glorious, breath-taking ride.

“I think everyone that steps foot in the Dodgers clubhouse gets to say they get to be a teammate with Clayton Kershaw,’’ said Dodgers All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman. “It’s incredible, his work ethic. I mean, he doesn’t have the career (he) has just showing up every five days... I wish we could have a camera and follow him around, it’s a treat. Being around a Hall of Famer for two years, it’s been nice.’’

Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young winner, hasn’t finished in the top five of Cy Young balloting since 2017. He hasn’t pitched 180 innings since 2015. He hasn’t struck out 150 batters since 2019.

No matter.

He’s a living, breathing icon that one day will have a statue outside Dodger Stadium.

He's also still trying to get the Dodgers another World Series title and a parade, which they never got after winning the World Series following the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

Clayton Kershaw has shifted the narrative around his postseason performance

Sure, no one is expecting Kershaw to pitch a shutout, much less last longer than five innings Saturday. But he’ll be giving everything he possibly has from his weakened left arm, knowing that if this is really his final month, he can put an exclamation point on a legacy that will never be forgotten.

“I think I stopped chasing some things and just started embracing what I had,’’ Kershaw said, “and started learning how to pitch like that. I'm getting a little bit better at it each time. Hopefully continue to do so.’’

Sure, there have been blemishes on his postseason resume. Too often he walked off the mound with his head lowered. Too often he struggled in a game the Dodgers counted on him to win. His pedestrian 13-12 record and 4.22 ERA in the postseason speak to the low moments.

And yet, for all of the heartbreak, the struggles, Kershaw wouldn’t trade in those experiences for anything.

“I'd much rather fail on the biggest stages,’’ Kershaw said, “than not to get to be here at all.

“It's a special thing to get to be in the postseason... I’ve become more grateful for it. And I think at the end of the day, I just look at some of the things that have happened and the things that I've gotten to be a part of.

“Not all has been positive, obviously, but I wouldn't change it.’’

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Kershaw made sure the narrative shifted in 2020 as he led the Dodgers to the World Series championship. Since the start of that postseason he has gone 4-1 in the playoffs with a 2.93 ERA.

“I think when you get beat down enough,’’ Kershaw says, “you start saying, 'Screw it.' And I think that's kind of what happened over the years. So, you can't hold it too tight. You've just got to go out there and play and pitch.

“It doesn't mean it's always going to go great. But I think the mindset can definitely help with that. Just comes with experience. And thankfully for me I've gotten to do it a lot and gotten a little bit better at it over the years.’’

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It’s no different for him in the regular season now. Kershaw rarely hits 90 mph on the radar gun. He doesn’t have the pinpoint control or the lethal curveball. But the man still knows how to pitch, evidenced by his 13-5 record and 2.46 ERA in 24 starts.

“I think he's the first one to tell you he hasn't been feeling like 100 percent,’’ Freeman said, “and he goes out there and gives you everything he's got. You're not going to feel good every single day, but when you're a competitor like he is, you find ways. You just find ways to be able to compete. You grind. You do everything you can in between starts to do the best you can.

“What he's been able to do the last couple of months, the way he's felt, it's inspiring.

“There's a reason Hall of Famers are Hall of Famers. And this is another chapter to Clayton Kershaw that just solidifies all (the) things he's ever been about.’’

In a season in which the Dodgers’ entire rotation has been devastated by injuries, with rookie pitchers starting 52 of the 162 games, Kershaw has been their beacon of strength. This is a rotation that yielded a 4.57 ERA, the Dodgers' worst since 1929, but never did they give in.

It was Kershaw’s presence, guidance, and leadership that kept the Dodgers' rotation from completely unraveling.

And it’s Kershaw’s moxie, talent and experience that could lead the Dodgers deep into October.

“He's just the pillar of consistency, of compete, of success and professionalism,’’ said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who had his finest season. “So, everything that you expect or want out of a superstar player he checks all those boxes. The last five, six years there's always been some injuries that he's had to deal with, but (it) never took away from his desire to get back and help us, which he's done.

“I just marvel at sometimes with what he has to work with and the success that he still continues to have. This, right now, is as good as he's been for the last couple of months.’’

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This has been an awfully trying season for the Dodgers. No team has been hit by more injuries. Their top three starters are all gone with Walker Buehler unable to recover from Tommy John surgery, Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin undergoing elbow surgeries, and Julio Urias still under administrative leave after being arrested on domestic violence charges.

Kershaw is the lone pitcher from the Dodgers’ opening-day rotation on the postseason roster.

Yet, they still ran away with their 10^th division title in 11 years, despite treating free agency like six-day-old pepperoni pizza rotting on the kitchen counter.

There was $3.7 billion spent in free agency this past winter, including $380 million by their loud-mouth neighbors down south in the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers? They spent just $53 million, and laughed all the way to a runaway title.

“Yeah, we heard it that we didn't spend billions of dollars,’’ Freeman said, “and we're not going to be good now for some reason. But we knew in the clubhouse in spring training that we had a good group...

“We knew what we had. We came together as a group real fast. I think everybody that's been watching us all year know how much fun we have as a group and it translates onto the field.’’

And, believe it or not, no one had more fun than Kershaw, who relished every moment. His family is scheduled to fly from Dallas into Los Angeles on Saturday, hoping it’s just step one of what could be an October to cherish.

No longer is there a fear of failure that haunted him in the past.

It has been replaced by a wave of confidence and self-assuredness.

When he steps onto the mound Saturday, stares into the glove of catcher Will Smith, he’ll carry the belief that he’ll once again dominate, showing the baseball world that he’s still one of the finest left-handers to ever put on a uniform.

“I think now it's just a lot more positive,’’ Kershaw said. “I think at times maybe in the past I had a fear of failure and didn't want to go out there and fail. I think now it’s just a lot more positive...

“I can’t wait to get out there.’’

Yes, once again.

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