Recently-retired Los Angeles Dodgers pitching legend and MVP Clayton Kershaw will participate in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Two months after officially retiring from the game of baseball, Kershaw decided that he still has one more go in him. The 37-year-old will participate for Team USA, and this will be his first time pitching for his country.
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Kershaw will be making his first appearance in the games after he withdrew from the 2023 World Baseball Classic due to insurance issues. He will come out of retirement for this one, and his role with the team will likely be coming out of the bullpen as he did for the Dodgers in their most recent postseason run.
When asked why Kershaw would pitch for his country, it was not complicated at all.
“Why not?” Kershaw said.
“I am throwing just enough to make it for 10 days,” he said. “I’m not pitching this season — so I figured this is the perfect time to try the WBC. I really want to be a part of it.”
The 2014 National League MVP has done it all in his stellar career. He has 11 All-Star nods, three Cy Young Award wins, a Triple Crown winner, a Gold Glove winner, a three-time NL wins leader, a five-time NL ERA leader and a three-time World Series champion.
Kershaw needs no more to prove, and yet he will do all he can to lead Team USA to a Gold medal. His future after baseball is unclear; however, he revealed how grateful he is to have ended his last season healthy.
“Watching some of the highlights back from the playoffs, it feels like a fairy tale, that I got to end it the way it did,” Kershaw said. “I literally couldn’t have asked for anything more. I just am so grateful for it all. It was an amazing run, man. It was so good. I have so much peace not throwing a ball again.”
The Texas native finished his MLB career at the mountain top, contributing to the Dodgers’ 2025 World Series run. His last appearance for the Dodgers came in the legendary Game 3 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Kershaw entered the game with two outs, bases loaded, and got out of the jam after Tommy Edman made a far from routine glove flip to Freddie Freeman for the last out of the inning.
Photo Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images
