Retiring Dodgers’ legend Clayton Kershaw could be last of the 3000K club

Transcript

00:00Yeah, I'm going to call it. I'm going to retire.

00:02With that short statement, Clayton Kershaw marked the end of an era for the Los Angeles Dodgers and perhaps Major League Baseball.

00:10The 37-year-old lefty is the greatest pitcher of his generation and one of the best of all time.

00:16Friday night, he'll make the final start of his 18-year career.

00:22Kershaw became a member of one of the most exclusive clubs in sports on July 2nd.

00:27He reached 3,000 strikeouts.

00:30It was a milestone that likely made his decision Thursday that much easier.

00:34His resume includes 221 wins, three Cy Young Awards, 11 All-Star appearances, and two World Series championships.

00:43But 3,000 strikeouts is a milestone that few others will ever achieve.

00:48Only three active players are on the list. All will likely be Hall of Famers.

00:52After Kershaw, Chris Sale has the best chance to join the club with less than 500 strikeouts to go.

01:00And possibly Garrett Cole, if they can stay healthy.

01:03After those names, age and durability are the key factors.

01:07Two players to keep an eye on are Freddy Peralta and the reigning AL Cy Young winner, Tarek Skubal.

01:13But they'll need to stay on a 200 strikeout per year pace or it'll be an uphill climb.

01:18Kershaw can add to his 3,039 strikeout total Friday night.

01:22His recent appearances have kept the Dodgers atop the NL West.

01:26He posted a 5-0 record with an ERA of 1.88 in August.

01:32Kershaw was asked Thursday why he's hanging it up now when he can still compete.

01:36He said simply, you never want to pitch bad.

01:39You know, obviously we have another month to play and, you know, we have a lot of great pitchers.

01:44So everybody's role is kind of up in the air at this point.

01:47So I just didn't want this opportunity to pass by and it just kind of felt like the right thing to do.

01:54Kershaw is well aware of the fact that the Dodgers have four starters ahead of him in the pecking order for the playoffs.

01:59And barring an injury to one of those guys, he'll likely come out of the bullpen in the playoffs.

02:04Which is why he wanted to say goodbye to the fans now.

02:08It's been a wild ride, you know, and they've been behind us every step of the way.

02:13And it hasn't been a smooth ride.

02:14You know, we've had our ups and downs for sure.

02:16So I'm just, I'm super grateful to every single Dodger fan that's come through.

02:21There will be a full house at Chavez Ravine Friday night.

02:25At last check, tickets on StubHub to see Kershaw's final start range from a high of $4,000 down to $200 just to get in the door.

02:33For Straight Arrow News, I'm Chris Francis.