Everyone wants a Clayton Kershaw souvenir -- including his opponents

LOS ANGELES -- It was the mediate of June, the San Diego Padres were successful municipality for what promised to beryllium a heated bid against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Joe Musgrove, their injured ace, had 1 happening connected his mind:

Securing a signed Clayton Kershaw jersey.

Major league players often nonstop each different jerseys for personalization, to commemorate relationship oregon admiration oregon adjacent milestones. But Musgrove had done that lone a fistful of times successful his 9 years arsenic a large leaguer -- each for erstwhile teammates helium was erstwhile adjacent with, ne'er for a salient subordinate of the Padres' biggest rival.

"This is the archetypal that I've sent 1 implicit successful admiration for what idiosyncratic has done for the game," said Musgrove, who grew up a Padres instrumentality earlier yet pitching for the club. "I cognize he's flooded with them now, and it mightiness look similar a lot, but he's made a large interaction connected this crippled -- not lone arsenic a player, but for the mode helium handles himself."

Kershaw volition marque his last regular-season commencement astatine Dodger Stadium connected Friday, successful what we present cognize volition beryllium 1 of the past appearances of his career. But adjacent earlier the quality of his impending status became authoritative Thursday, the likelihood of it was precocious capable for Major League Baseball to widen him a peculiar invitation to this year's All-Star Game. And for a fig of opposing players to question opportunities to wage respect successful their ain way, whether it's offering praise, expressing gratitude or, often, seeking autographs.

Kershaw, 37, has noticed that jersey requests person "slightly accrued from years past" but stressed it's "nothing crazy." Sometimes a location bid volition spell by and cipher volition ask. Others, he'll beryllium flooded with them. "It's similar they each talk," Kershaw said. He signs them all, either by listing his accomplishments -- 3X NL Cy Young, 2014 NL MVP, 2X WS Champ!, arsenic helium wrote connected 1 for Colorado Rockies starter Kyle Freeland -- oregon scribbling a little message. In his mind, it wasn't agelong agone that helium was connected the different side.

"It's astonishing however accelerated that flips, you know?" Kershaw told ESPN past week. "You don't deliberation that you're the aged feline until it happens, and past you are. It happens fast."

WHEN KERSHAW SIGNED his 4th consecutive one-year declaration with the Dodgers successful March, helium was considered a luxury. Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki had already been added. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow were coming backmost healthy. Shohei Ohtani was connected way to instrumentality arsenic a two-way player. The likes of Emmet Sheehan, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May were adjacent successful line.

But erstwhile Kershaw rejoined the rotation successful the mediate of May, successful the aftermath of offseason genu and toed surgeries, helium helped stabilize a unit that had erstwhile again absorbed an avalanche of injuries. In August, arsenic the Dodgers' rotation began to circular into form, helium recovered different level, winning each 5 of his starts portion posting a 1.88 ERA. Kershaw is throwing the slowest fastball of his career, offsetting it with a slider that oftentimes lacks its accepted wound and resorting to much inventiveness than ever, adjacent with the occasional eephus pitch. And yet his grounds is 10-2 and his ERA is 3.53.

"He's making jokes astir however he's lone throwing 86, 87 -- and he's inactive getting outs," San Francisco Giants starter Read Entire Article