by Cary Osborne
Clayton Kershaw stood tall, baseball in hand and looked in at the opposing hitter.
It’s one of the rare times on a Major League field when Kershaw was not looking for a strikeout or simply an out.
Standing across from Kershaw was 9-year-old Aaron Rojas — the son of Dodger infielder Miguel Rojas.
Rojas was throwing Wiffle balls to Aaron in Colorado during the Dodgers’ last road trip.
It was a moment where Rojas started to think about the evolution of the pitching great who is now three strikeouts away from 3,000.
Rojas came up to the big leagues with the Dodgers in 2014 when Kershaw at 26 years old was the most dominant pitcher in the Major Leagues. That was a time when players knew that a Kershaw start day meant the pitcher’s focus and intensity were so high that it was best to give him space before games.
On Wednesday, before his start against the Chicago White Sox at Dodger Stadium with one of baseball’s great milestones ahead of him, Kershaw was approachable and easy-going, Rojas said.
“He was talking with us in the kitchen,” Rojas said. “He’s a little bit more relaxed with everything.”
For the last five or so years, many people close to Kershaw have described a change in the left-handed living legend. Most of that has been attributed to him settling into fatherhood.
And he could have settled deeply into that fatherhood without pitching another Major League game after last season and ending it with his second World Series ring.
He had also accomplished nearly everything imaginable in his storied career — Cy Young Awards, an MVP, a Roberto Clemente Award, a no-hitter, the franchise’s strikeout record.
His manager believes, though, the 3,000th strikeout is something that has driven him — that and his inextinguishable desire to compete.
“It’s the last box for Clayton to check in his tremendous career,” Roberts said.
Roberts also had a read on how Kershaw was approaching Wednesday’s start.
“I think he’s at mile 26 and there’s point two left, and he’s like ‘I see the finish line,’” Roberts said.
Just to be clear — that’s on the milestone. Not the career.
The Dodgers have needed Kershaw and will continue to this year.
Kershaw’s 2025 Major League season — his franchise-record tying 18th season in Dodger blue — didn’t begin until May 17 after offseason knee and foot surgeries.
Now he is making his ninth start of the year for the Dodgers. Only Yoshinobu Yamamoto (17 starts) and Dustin May (15 starts) have started more games for the Dodgers in a season where four key starting pitchers have missed significant time on the injured list. Those names are Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki and Tony Gonsolin.
The 38-year-old Kershaw began the season allowing five earned runs in his first start. He struck out eight batters in his first four starts.
He has a 1.57 ERA in his last four starts and has logged 23 innings. The Dodgers have won all four games.
“It’s again a reminder for me — for anyone — to never bet against that guy,” Roberts said.
Roberts and Rojas have had great seats for many of the great moments of Kershaw’s career. So has Orel Hershiser — one of the most accomplished pitchers in Dodger history.
Hershiser said if there were a Mount Rushmore of Dodgers, Kershaw would be on it.
When he thinks of Kershaw, he doesn’t necessarily go to an action, but his reactions.
“It’s when he lets the emotions out,” Hershiser said. “Whether it’s two arms raised to the sky and looking up or almost crying for a huge out, or a world championship, whether it’s going down to almost his knees with his fists — both fists in front of his belly button just clenched. It’s never a huge out for him. It’s a huge out for the team because he’s always about competing and winning for his teammates.”
Hershiser has thought about how he will handle Kershaw’s 3,000th strikeout during the broadcast for SportsNet LA. Hershiser is doing color with Stephen Nelson on play by play for the TV broadcast tonight.
“I think I’m going to do what I’ve always tried to do, which is take the audience some place that they can’t see,” Hershiser said. “Which is probably going to be more the emotional side of it.”
“I really believe, as I’ve watched Clayton through his rehab and then coming back — he went through two surgeries to come back — I think this was one of the main goals, was to get to 3,000 and not retire.”
If he gets there tonight, he can thank Miguel Rojas.
On July 20, 2019, Kershaw struck the then-Miami Marlin Rojas out.
Rojas remembers it. It was a slider. He had such a bad swing that he tumbled and to brace himself placed his palm on the ground.
“I remember my thumb was hurting afterward,” Rojas said.
Rojas says he is grateful for being Kershaw’s teammate, for pitching to his son, for competing for his team. Many are expecting a special moment tonight. He is as well.
“We all know in this clubhouse and everyone around baseball knows how big of a deal this is,” Rojas said. “What I think of the most is playing with him almost 12 years ago and seeing how good he was … and now being able to see how he overcame a lot of adversity to continue to pitch and strive for greatness.”
For those have viewed Kershaw up close, they can’t wait for another special moment was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.