Editor’s Note: This is the third in a series of stories where Dodger broadcasters reflect on their favorite call from 2025.
Previous stories:
Joe Davis on Freeman’s World Series walk-off
José Mota on Ohtani’s moonshot and masterpiece
by Mark Langill
The Event:
Clayton Kershaw records his 3,000th career strikeout on July 2 against the Chicago White Sox at Dodger Stadium. His final batter of the night, Vinny Capra, took a called third strike to end the sixth inning.
On the call:
Tim Neverett
The Call:
“One ball, two strikes to Capra … better than 50,000 on their feet at Dodger Stadium … 1–2 pitch … strike three called! There it is! He got him with a slider! Strikeout number 3,000 for Clayton Kershaw. History at Dodger Stadium! They will stop the game … Kershaw doffing his cap to the crowd, this adoring crowd at Dodger Stadium as Clayton Kershaw enters the 3,000 club … just the 20th member and only the fourth left-hander in the history of the game to have 3,000 strikeouts, every one of them coming in a Dodger uniform.”
I n the early months of the 2025 season, Tim Neverett didn’t just write a “K” notation in his scorebook. He highlighted the box and added the actual strikeout number, along with the type of pitch used for the third strike.
Kershaw began the 2025 season with 2,968 strikeouts. The 32 strikeouts needed appeared to be a Mount Everest-type challenge after Kershaw’s season debut on May 17 against the Angels, when he managed two strikeouts in four innings while allowing five earned runs on five hits.
At age 37, did Kershaw have anything left in the gas tank?
It didn’t take long for the old Kershaw to emerge. Kershaw went on a roll in June. He went 4–0 with a 2.28 ERA in five starts with 23 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings.
On the morning of July 2, Neverett had a feeling he was going to see history that evening when Kershaw faced the White Sox with 2,997 career strikeouts.
“The first guy he struck out in the third inning was Miguel Vargas, a former teammate of Clayton’s,” Neverett said. “By the fifth inning, I figured he was going to be done because he only had one strikeout in the game. But then he strikes out Lenyn Sosa, the second baseman, for 2,999 to end the fifth inning. (Manager) Dave Roberts sends him back out there for the sixth inning.”
Kershaw, though, was running out of time. Leadoff batter Mike Tauchman was retired on a leadoff grounder to Kershaw.
Neverett again thought Kershaw’s night was finished when Michael A. Taylor roped a double to the left field corner.
“I thought Dave Roberts was going to take him out right then,” Neverett said. “But he left him in the game, which I thought was a really cool moment, because under the circumstances, he probably wouldn’t have been in the game.”
Taylor was caught stealing for the second out, but third baseman Max Muncy was injured on the play and was replaced by Kiké Hernández. When play resumed, it was obvious with two outs that Kershaw wasn’t going to be around for the seventh inning.
On a 1–2 count against Capra, it was now or never.
One strike away. Or one start away if he couldn’t put away Chicago’s third baseman.
On his 100th and final pitch, Kershaw made history.
Behind the Mic: Tim Neverett calls Kershaw’s 3,000th career strikeout was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.