Jun 18, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) celebrates with shortstop Miguel Rojas (72) and outfielder Yasiel Puig (66) after the final out of his no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. Dodgers won 8-0.Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Clayton Kershaw Surprised Dodgers Veteran With Retirement Announcement

Originally posted on Los Angeles Dodgers on SI
By Patrick Warren | Last updated Sep 28, 2025 8:30 PM ET

Objectively, Clayton Kershaw's retirement announcement couldn't have been too much of a surprise. The 37-year-old had mulled retirement in seasons past and after 18 years in MLB, it made sense for the future Hall of Famer to ride off into the sunset.

However, just because his decision made sense doesn't mean it didn't come as a shock to some — including Kershaw's teammates.

"We're sitting right next to him [and he says], 'I'm telling everyone that I'm retiring tomorrow.' And I was kind of shocked, that was my first reaction. I didn't know what to say," Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas told Doug McKain of Dodgers Nation.

Kershaw didn't look like an aging starter this season, holding a 10-2 record as a starter and a 3.52 ERA. While Kershaw will not start in the postseason for the Dodgers and did not make the team's Wild Card roster, he is likely to come out of the bullpen for the team if the Dodgers advance to the NL Division Series.

"I thought the whole time that with the season that he's having, the way that he's pitching, providing start after start an opportunity for us to win, I thought he had a pretty good opportunity to pitch next year," Rojas said. "But obviously, there have to be reasons behind it, family-related and health-related too to kind of make this decision. Regardless of what year he was going to make this happen, I feel like he's retiring at a moment where he's at the top of the game still. He's pitching at the highest level for a competitive team that wants to win the World Series."

Rare is it for a player with as long of a career as Kershaw to spend his entire time as a pro with the same team. As Kershaw prepares for one final run in the postseason with the Dodgers, he has earned nothing but respect from Rojas and his teammates.

"I'm just happy for him that he got to experience all his time in LA, 18 years of baseball at the highest level as a pitcher," Rojas said. "I'm so proud that I got the opportunity to play behind the best of our generation.

"Hopefully we can win it not just for the city of LA, but for him so he can retire as a champion once again."