“I am here in my mold” – The Verve

For the majority of his 37-year life, Clayton Edward Kershaw has been in the mold of an elite baseball pitcher. For the last 18 years, it has been that of a paid professional pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he has struck out over 3,000 batters and pitched to the tune of a 2.54 lifetime ERA – the lowest such in the “live ball era” excluding fellow Dodger and knuckleball pitcher, Hoyt Wilhelm who retired with a 2.52 ERA in 1972. But that long-lasting mold which has produced a lifetime of greatness is about to change for Kershaw as he took to the mound for his final home regular season start last night in Los Angeles (it’s possible he could make another home start or multiple ones depending upon how far the Dodgers advance in the playoffs). Now, other aspiring pitchers of a new generation will and already are trying to fit into the mold Clayton Kershaw is leaving behind.

Kershaw made his major league debut as a 20 year old on May 25, 2008. He was the youngest major leaguer at the time and threw six innings against the St. Louis Cardinals that day giving up two earned runs while striking out seven and walking just one batter on 102 pitches, a very Kershaw-esque statline. He finished last night’s effort by throwing 91 pitches over four and one-third innings while giving up two earned runs and striking out six. He struck out the Giants’ Rafael Devers, and then manager Dave Roberts came and got him.

I was lucky enough to see Kershaw pitch this year. Working his way back from injury, he had a rehab start for the Dodgers’ Double A affiliate, the Tulsa Drillers when they played the NW Arkansas Naturals (Kansas City’s Double A affiliate) just a few miles from my house. It was announced on the day so anyone paying attention could have easily bought a cheap ticket and had a good seat to watch a future hall of famer in action as you can see from these photos I took from about 10-15 rows up on the third base side. There were approximately 3,800 in attendance as Kershaw threw 60 pitches that night over three and two-thirds innings giving up four hits and one earned run while striking out four. He got a standing ovation when the manager pulled him out of the game in the fourth inning. It wasn’t because he pitched great. It was because he’d given over 17 years of his life to being one of the best baseball pitchers of all-time.

“I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down.”

“That’s the cruel thing about baseball is that your career will be gone in an instant and the game keeps going. But that’s also the beautiful thing about it, too, is that this game doesn’t need anybody.” – Clayton Kershaw

A lifetime of memories built around a game. It’s really all that most professional athletes know. It’s what scares them and excites them all at the same time as they finish up their playing careers. It’s what motivates many of them to hang on at the end, many times well past their prime. The athletes need the the game more than the game needs them. Clayton Kershaw understands this better than anyone and has probably been pondering for days, weeks, months, maybe even years what life without pitching at the highest level is going to look like now that the game is finally discarding him like all of the nasty sliders he used in discarding overmatched hitters through the years. Maybe the game doesn’t need him, but the game has rarely had anyone as good as him.

Many lifelong hikers will tell you that the hike and journey in reaching the summit are easier than the descent back down. The time at the summit is very brief, and as Clayton Kershaw sat in the outfield last night during his pregame routine soaking in the sights, the sounds, the smells, all the feels from 18 years of triumph and tribulation, he knew it was time to descend back down the mountain. He may turn back on his way down for a few more glimpses of that summit he spent so many hours and weeks and years getting to as his Dodgers navigate their 2025 playoff path over the next several weeks in search of another World Series title, but as surely as the sun sets below the horizon so will Clayton Kershaw’s magnificent career. A one of one mold.

“Cause it’s a bitter sweet symphony, that’s life.”

Known for his consistent, precise routines throughout the week and especially on days he pitched, the road of Kershaw’s 18-year major league pitching routine are about to be replaced with something new and something different.

This song by The Verve was being played by the organist in Dodger Stadium as Kershaw made his way off the mound to a standing ovation in a place where memories have spun and dipped like the devastating slider he’s known for throwing to hitters over the last 18 seasons. It was an apropos song, as you would expect, contrasting the beauty of life with the harshness of reality.

Hitting the charts in 1997, The Verve became a household name in the States with this lead single from their album, “Urban Hymns.” It reached #2 in their home country and #12 in the U.S.

Sampling from an orchestral version of 1965’s Rolling Stones song “The Last Time” (a whole different story in itself), here is the unique sound of lead singer Richard Ashcroft and his band The Verve with their Grammy-nominated song and highly regarded video filmed in London and which helped define the “Britpop” era of the 90’s, “Bitter Sweet Symphony”…

Thanks for the soundtrack, Richard, and thanks for the memories, Clayton.

sincerely,

the80s