Clayton Kershaw has earned his spot among all-time lefties

The baseball world buzzed on Thursday with news that legendary Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw plans to retire at the end of the 2025 season.

Now 37, the left-hander is wrapping up his 18th MLB season, a career defined by both dominance and durability. Over that span, Kershaw has racked up 222 wins against 96 losses, 3,039 strikeouts, a 2.54 ERA and a 1.017 WHIP across 2,844.2 innings. His resume includes 11 All-Star selections, three Cy Young Awards (2011, 2013, 2014), an NL MVP (2014), a Gold Glove (2011) and two World Series titles (2020, 2024).

Kershaw should be praised as a top left-handed starter in baseball history. 

Kershaw is one of only 20 starters to surpass 3,000 strikeouts and appears destined to retire as the winningest pitcher in history who has never reached 100 losses. His body of work cements his status not just as one of the best pitchers of his generation, but as one of the top left-handed starters in baseball history.

Kershaw will undoubtedly hang up his cleats and gloves as one of the best starting pitchers in MLB history. The longtime Dodgers staple ranks even higher on the list of all-time best left-handers.  

The veteran appears to be locked into a top tier of all-time lefties alongside two other megastars. His aforementioned resume places him in the same class as:

• Randy Johnson (303 wins, 4,135.1 innings pitched, 3.29 ERA, 4,875 strikeouts, 1.171 WHIP, five-time Cy Young winner)
• Sandy Koufax (165 wins, 2,324.1 innings pitched, 2.76 ERA, 2,396 strikeouts, 1.106 WHIP, three-time Cy Young winner)

Kershaw’s rank among the top-three left-handers in baseball history is even more impressive when you consider his substantial injury history. Various ailments kept the ace from making more than 28 starts in each of his final 10 seasons. 

Despite numerous ailments, Kershaw has still managed to remain a model for regular-season consistency. Entering Thursday he owns an outstanding 3.53 ERA, 10 wins, and 71 strikeouts across 102 innings. Still every much on top of his game, the Dodgers’ great will be the rare athlete who goes out on their own terms. 

While the timing of Kershaw’s retirement news will deny him the prolonged farewell tour that a player of his caliber deserves, baseball fans will get the privilege to acknowledge the Dodgers’ legend over the final few regular-season games of 2025. 

The club will also have an opportunity to have what they hope will be a prolonged postseason run. The news that Kershaw will have his last opportunity to make a meaningful impact in the playoffs will assuredly serve as a massive moral booster. 

Kershaw once famously said, “I'll never take for granted the opportunity to put on a Dodger uniform.” As the next several weeks unfold, it is appropriate for baseball fans around the world to savor the last opportunity to see the baseball legend toe the rubber on an MLB mound. 

May we do our best not to take Kershaw’s excellence for granted.