by Mark Langill
Clayton Kershaw and Willie Mays are rarely associated with one another, although their names will be within proximity five years from now on the Baseball Hall of Fame’s alphabetical roster.
Born 57 years apart, they now share a unique link to history on the eve of the 2025 World Series.
Of the 10 Hall of Famers whose last career game occurred in a World Series, only Mays had announced his intention to retire before the Fall Classic.
The nine others are: Frank Baker (1922 Yankees), Travis Jackson and Bill Terry (1936 New York Giants), Joe DiMaggio (1951 Yankees), Jackie Robinson (1956 Dodgers), Sandy Koufax (1966 Dodgers), Eddie Mathews (1968 Tigers), Jeff Bagwell (2005 Astros) and Pedro Martinez (2009 Phillies).
And the similarities don’t end there.
Mays and Kershaw made their respective Major League debuts at age 20 on May 25 in 1951 and 2008, respectively. And each wore a different uniform number for a week before receiving the numbers associated with their respective careers: Mays (14 to 24) and Kershaw (54 to 22).
Both Mays and Kershaw announced their retirements in September, so they would not be a distraction in the pennant race.
Mays spent his first 21 seasons with the New York/San Francisco Giants. His trade to the New York Mets in May 1972 was hailed as a “homecoming” for the player nicknamed “The Say Hey Kid” while playing at New York’s Polo Grounds.
When Mays privately told the Mets on Sept. 9, 1973, that he intended to retire, New York (69–74) was tied for third place in the NL East, three games behind the first-place St. Louis Cardinals.
The Mets rallied and won the NL East with an 83–79 record, extending Mays’ career.
Mays, 42, played in both the NLCS against Cincinnati and in the World Series against Oakland. His final hit was an RBI single in the 12th inning off reliever Rollie Fingers to break a 6–6 tie in New York’s eventual 10–6 victory in World Series Game 2 at Oakland.
Unlike Mays, who with the 1951 Giants reached the World Series as a rookie, Kershaw had to wait a decade until his first Fall Classic.
Kershaw has pitched in three previous World Series in 2017 (Astros), 2018 (Red Sox) and 2020 (Rays). The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner wasn’t on the Dodgers’ 2024 postseason roster because of injuries.
He rebounded during an All-Star season in 2025 in which he recorded his 3,000th career strikeout on July 3 against the Chicago White Sox. Kershaw also finished with the second-lowest career ERA (2.54) during the regular season of any pitcher with at least 2,000 innings pitched during the Live Ball Era since 1920.
It’s anyone’s guess whether Kershaw, 37, pitches in the World Series, but his stellar career will end with active-roster status on a World Series team.
2025 World Series: Clayton Kershaw will end a special a career in the Fall Classic was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.