by Cary Osborne
Clayton Kershaw’s throwing partner sat next to him in the dugout at Dodger Stadium on Sunday and later followed him out to shallow left field where they started to get their arms active.
Kershaw shared the news with him earlier in the day that he was getting back on a Major League mound. And 7-year-old Charley Kershaw, dad said, was overjoyed to hear the news.
Today is that day — a little over eight months since he had left shoulder surgery — the first surgery of his career: Kershaw is making his season debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“I’m not going to take it for granted,” Kershaw said.
After a six-week stint on the injured list last summer, Kershaw pitched the last two months of the season with guardrails. Teammates knew he was battling through pain, even though the longtime Dodger ace never advertised it and never revealed it publicly. But the consistent five-inning starts, and always under 85 pitches, were a clear sign of a pitcher being protected.
After the season on Nov. 3, Kershaw revealed he had surgery to repair the gleno-humeral ligaments and capsule of his left shoulder.
With 16 Major League seasons behind him, a World Series championship, an MVP, three Cy Young Awards and a pre-punched ticket to Hall of Fame induction dated five years after he retires, Kershaw’s surgery could have written the final chapter of his playing career.
“I never thought he was going to be done after last year,” said Austin Barnes, his longtime teammate and catcher. “I knew he wasn’t going to let that be the end of it.”
Kershaw was informed that if he had the surgery and things went according to plan, he would be back on a Major League mound in eight months. Today marks eight months and three weeks.
“You just don’t bet against him,” said Dodger pitching coach Mark Prior. “He’s been on a mission to be back, and it shows.”
Kershaw was throwing weighted balls at the Dodgers’ Spring Training complex at Camelback Ranch in mid-March. In late May, he was throwing an aggressive bullpen — the pop of a ball meeting a catcher’s mitt reverberating around an empty Dodger Stadium. On June 1, he threw a simulated game.
“A lot of guys go through the ups and downs more mentally and emotionally. He has been very convicted and stable in what he knows and the plan that he needs to implement,” Prior said. “Most guys you can see some compensation, and you can see some they’re trying to figure things out. For the most part, he was just, ‘Alright, this is my throw, and I’m going to make this work.’ And pretty much for the most part, every time he’s been on the mound, it’s been like the guy that he is when he’s been healthy for us.
“I don’t know if I’ve seen too many guys go through rehab with this much tenacity or with this much conviction.”
On June 19, Kershaw began his rehab assignment in Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, then came out of it with soreness. He was put on pause. He resumed July 13 with three innings at Triple-A Oklahoma City and then four innings on Friday with OKC.
Manager Dave Roberts announced on Saturday that it was time for Kershaw to get back to the big leagues.
It’s been a lot of work to get to this point. But Kershaw won’t define the last eight months with one word in particular — challenging.
“I don’t ever want to say something’s challenging because comparatively to what other guys go through and things, it’s not that bad,” Kershaw said. “Basically, I had the surgery, and between the guys here, the help I had back home, Dr. (Neal) ElAttrache, they all said, ‘If you do it right, you will be back at eight months.’ So I said OK, let’s do it. And so I give them a lot of credit. They helped me out a lot.
“I’ve never really had to lean on people and rely on people as much in the rehab process, but those guys know what they’re doing,” Kershaw said. “They really helped me out a lot. So I’m thankful for that. I finally listened to people, which I usually don’t do. So I’m just thankful that I got back when they said I would.”
Kershaw returns on schedule, and when needed. Four months ago, he seemed like a luxury for a deep Dodger starting rotation. Now he settles into a rotation that has seen starts from rookies in four of the Dodgers’ six second-half games. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler are on the injured list. Tyler Glasnow came off it on Wednesday. Bobby Miller is in the Minor Leagues.
Kershaw, 36 years old, begins his 17th Major League season today for a team with World Series hopes again.
“He is on tilt in a sense that he is just so overjoyed to get to participate again,” Roberts said. “So I think it’s going to be emotional for him, I really do, to just get back to playing. And I’ll keep an eye on him. I might have a little conversation (with him during the game), but obviously, he’s been through it so many times, and I think we all just really want him to pitch well.”
Clayton Kershaw begins season 17: ‘I’m not going to take it for granted’ was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.