Clayton Kershaw wasn’t expecting manager Dave Roberts to hand him the microphone during the Dodger Stadium portion of Friday’s World Series celebration, because, as the 36-year-old left-hander said afterward, “My role was pretty limited.”
But as the three-time National League Cy Young Award winner and longest-tenured Dodger began to address a rollicking crowd of 42,458, he was surprised how quickly his emotions came to the fore.
“Oh man, I’ve waited for this day for a long time, I’ve wanted to celebrate for a long time,” Kershaw said, his voice raw from screaming during the parade. “I can’t imagine being anywhere else right now, and I can’t imagine doing it with a better group of guys.
“I’m at a loss for words,” Kershaw continued, fighting back tears. “I didn’t have anything to do with this championship, but this feels like the best feeling in the world!”
Kershaw was one of several Dodgers players and coaches who won the World Series during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and did not get to celebrate with a parade for the fans.
So even though he did not throw one pitch in October because of toe and knee injuries, both of which Kershaw said will be surgically repaired Wednesday, he cherished every ounce of Friday’s festivities as if he were named most valuable player of the World Series.
“For Doc to call me up and for my teammates to want me to say something meant the world to me, it really did,” Kershaw said. “I knew it’s gonna be a special day, but it was a little bit more emotional than I expected. For sure, it’s a day I’ll definitely never forget.
“You know, baseball is just a game. Everybody says that. But I don’t know, man, you look around and you see how much it means to so many different people … It might be baseball, but it means a lot to a lot of different people. I’m no different.”
Kershaw returned from offseason shoulder surgery in July to make seven starts, only to miss the entire postseason.
As bittersweet as it was to be reduced to a playoff spectator, it became easier once Kershaw accepted in early October that he wouldn’t be able to play.
“All of September was really hard, just trying to pitch, trying to pitch, and not getting any better,” Kershaw said. “But once I basically threw in the towel and said, ‘Hey, this isn’t gonna work,’ I was able to sit back and try to enjoy it. It doesn’t mean I didn’t want to be out there, but knowing I couldn’t made it a little easier to enjoy.”
There will be a lot more sitting — and not as much enjoyment — in Kershaw’s immediate future.
Kershaw revealed on Friday that in addition to his toe injury, he has a torn meniscus in his left knee that will be surgically repaired with his toe.
“It’s gonna be a two-for-one special,” Kershaw joked. “My knee was bugging me, so I was like, ‘Let’s get an MRI just to check,’ and sure enough, I need it fixed, so just add it to the list. But that one should be pretty quick. The foot is hard because you can’t walk on it, so I’ll be on crutches for a little bit.”
Kershaw, who announced during the playoffs that he will return to the Dodgers next season, said the damage in his left foot was more extensive than the bone spur that previously was reported.
“I think I ruptured my plantar plate. I think I got a bone spur. I think I got some arthritis. I don’t really know. I gotta ask a few questions,” Kershaw said. “There’s a lot of stuff that needs to get fixed. … but I’ll be back somehow.”