Snapshots: Fans, teammates celebrate Kershaw’s legacy

Clayton Kershaw, who announced he will retire after the 2025 season, waves to the crowd at Dodger Stadium before the final regular-season home game on Sept. 21. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

by Mark Langill

The Dodgers’ final homestand of the regular season became a weekend tribute to Clayton Kershaw.

The longest tenured pitcher in franchise history announced on Sept. 18 his decision to retire at the end of the 2025 season. After an emotional press conference attended by his teammates, other club personnel and media, Kershaw made his final regular season start at Dodger Stadium on Sept. 19 against the San Francisco Giants. He allowed two runs on four hits in 4 1/3 innings and had a no-decision in the Dodgers’ 6–3 victory.

Overall, the Dodgers went 4–3 on the homestand against the Philadelphia Phillies and Giants on Sept. 15–21 to maintain their first-place status in the National League West heading into this week’s road trip to Arizona and Seattle.

In addition to Kershaw, Shohei Ohtani continued to rewrite history while reaching at least 50 home runs for the second consecutive season.

With a crowd of 46,601 on Sept. 21, the Dodgers topped 4 million in home attendance for the first time in franchise history.

On Sept. 15, former pitcher James Paxton received his 2024 World Series ring from manager Dave Roberts during batting practice. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

On Sept. 15, Emmet Sheehan allowed one run on one hit in 5 2/3 innings. It gave Sheehan a 1.48 ERA in his last 24 1/3 innings, including 32 strikeouts and seven walks. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

On Sept. 15, Max Muncy hit his 18th home run of the season. The 405-foot shot was his first since returning from the injured list on Sept. 8. (Katie Chin/Los Angeles Dodgers)

On Sept. 15, Mookie Betts was named the Dodgers’ nominee for the 2025 Roberto Clemente Award. Wearing uniform №21 on Roberto Clemente Day, Betts had two sacrifice flies and a home run. (Katie Chin/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Andy Pages had his third multi-double game of the season on Sept. 15. He also tied the game in the ninth inning with his 25th home run of the season. (Nick Tomoyasu/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Ohtani pitched five hitless innings against the Phillies on Sept. 16. He struck out five and walked one. (Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

On Sept. 16, Ohtani trotted into the history books with his 50th home run of the season against Philadelphia. Ohtani is the only Dodger to hit at least 50 home runs in a season. He hit 54 home runs in 2024. (Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Kiké Hernández hit his ninth home run of the season on Sept. 16. The two-run blast to left-center in the second inning. It was his first home run since being activated from the injured list on Aug. 26. (Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Kershaw’s teammates and family members attended his farewell press conference on Sept. 18. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

On Sept. 18, Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts against the Giants. He received a no-decision in the Dodgers’ 2–1 victory. (Carrie Giordano/Los Angeles Dodgers)

During his pregame stretching on Sept. 19, Kershaw watched the grounds crew paint 22 on the pitcher’s mound. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Kershaw waved and blew a kiss to his family before his final regular-season start at Dodger Stadium on Sept. 18. (Carrie Giordano/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Kershaw became the first Major League pitcher since Baltimore’s Jim Palmer (1965–84) to make at least 450 starts while pitching for one team. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

After striking out Rafael Devers to open the fifth inning, Kershaw received the baseball from third baseman Kiké Hernandez after it was thrown around the infield. Kershaw was removed from the game and received hugs and handshakes from manager Dave Roberts and his teammates. (Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Snapshots: Fans, teammates celebrate Kershaw’s legacy was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.