by Cary Osborne
Of the 15 Dodger players, the manager and executives who spoke on stage at Friday’s World Series celebration at Dodger Stadium, two spoke through tears.
Two veterans — Clayton Kershaw and Teoscar Hernández — each own World Series rings. Kershaw from the 2020 World Series champion Dodgers and Hernández with the 2017 Houston Astros. Each didn’t have the opportunity to take part in a post-World Series parade and celebration then.
Kershaw couldn’t because a pandemic made a public celebration impossible, and Hernández couldn’t because he was traded to Toronto.
The unbridled emotion came out for both. Kershaw explained why after the event.
“I knew it was going to be a special day and all this stuff, but it was a little bit more emotional than I expected for sure,” Kershaw said. “It’s a day that I’ll definitely never forget. You know, baseball is just a game. Everybody says that. But I don’t know. You look around and you see how much it means to so many different people. I think it might be baseball, but it means a lot to a lot of different people. I’m no different.”
One of the greatest pitchers in Major League history, and at 17 seasons, the Dodger pitcher with the longest tenure in franchise history, pitched his first game for the club on July 25 in a return from offseason shoulder surgery. But in September, he was shut down due to a bone spur in his left big toe. He tried to come back for the postseason, but manager Dave Roberts announced before the National League Division Series that Kershaw would be out for the rest of the season.
Kershaw was battling more. His left knee was hurt. He will get meniscus surgery and foot surgery both on Wednesday, joking it’s a “two-for-one special.”
The left-handed pitcher said on stage: “I didn’t have anything to do with this championship, but it feels like I have the best feeling in the world.”
“This was the coolest thing I’ve ever been a part of,” Kershaw said after the event. “I can’t say enough. I really can’t. I’m just so thankful to every single fan that came out. I’m so thankful to how well they’ve treated me and my family for all these years. We’ve been through it, you know, we’ve been through some stuff. So to be able to see them as happy as they were, and be able to celebrate with us, it means the world to me.”
Roberts said it was a priority for Kershaw to speak to the fans during the event. Kershaw and the entire 2020 team won the World Series in Arlington, Texas in baseball’s COVID-protected bubble. Their version of a fan celebration was done virtually on Nov. 11, 2020, where players popped on screen via Zoom.
“It’s certainly made up for 2020,” Roberts said of the 2024 celebration. “But obviously there’s a lot of players in 2020 that didn’t get to appreciate and experience what we experienced. But this is for them too, and that’s why, for me, I really wanted to highlight Clayton, because of what he’s meant for the Dodgers and these fans for so many years.”
Hernández, on the other hand, built a quick connection with fans in one year. He signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers in the offseason. One of the top position players on the market, the veteran outfielder decided to come to Los Angeles to chase a championship. And he openly said many times this season how much he enjoys playing for the Dodgers and in this city.
So after winning it all, Hernández said the Dodgers made his dream come true of winning a World Series. He was traded in-season by the Astros to the Blue Jays in 2017, thus making the 2024 World Series the first of his career.
He said his tears were a deep feeling coming out.
“That’s how much I care, how much I appreciate everything that this organization, these fans have given to me,” Hernández said. “When I show that kind of emotion, that’s when I truly feel it. I’ve been blessed to be here.”
Hernández hit a career-high 33 home runs, had an .840 OPS and was an All-Star and the Home Run Derby champion during the regular season. He hit three home runs in the postseason and was 7-for-20 with a home run and four RBI in the World Series.
He is a free agent.
“The Dodgers are the priority,” he said.
Roberts was full of emotion throughout the ceremony as well. Fired up, he danced on stage while legendary rapper Ice Cube opened the show. Then he took over an emcee role to announce his players on stage.
Things haven’t slowed down for him yet. He said he has been able to steal a few hours of sleep here and there since Wednesday’s 7–6 victory in Game 5 against the Yankees in New York. The legendary comeback victory included the Dodgers erasing five-run and one-run deficits in the game and saw the Dodgers empty out their bullpen, ultimately using starting pitcher Walker Buehler to record the final three outs.
“On the outside, it looked like it was still and calm, but my heart was beating out of my chest,” Roberts said.
Roberts said he hasn’t shed a tear … yet.
“There were a lot of emotions on the plane (back to LA),” Roberts said. “Just kind of as the dust settled you kind of think to yourself, ‘I can’t believe we finally crossed the finish line.’ And sort of what it means for me, the Dodgers, the fans — this a big deal.”
World Series Champs: For some Dodgers, a parade brings tears of joy was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.