SCOTTSDALE, AZ — He is the only retired pitcher on the USA’s World Baseball Classic roster.
He’s also the only one with three Cy Young awards, three World Series championships, and 11 All-Star appearances.
And is the lone WBC pitcher who can already make reservations for his Hall of Fame induction in five years.
Clayton Kershaw, who could have stayed home in Dallas after retiring on top of the world with back-to-back World Series titles with the Los Angeles Dodgers, strolled to the mound Wednesday one last time in a spring-training game.
The moment the public address announcer at Salt River Fields called out his name as he walked to the mound, he received a thunderous standing ovation by the sellout crowd of 11,803.
“That was so cool, I had chills out there with the standing O they gave that man,’’ USA teammate and Yankees three-time MVP Aaron Judge said after the USA’s 14-4 victory against the Colorado Rockies. “The crowd went crazy for him out there pitching. Just to see him back out there and get a chance to share a clubhouse with a guy like that, and so respected around the game. He’s accomplished everything in his career.
“It was pretty special.’’
The results weren’t pretty. Kershaw gave up a home run on the third pitch he thew, walked a batter, threw a wild pitch, didn’t throw harder than 87.2 mph, and struggled with his control, throwing just six of his 13 pitches for strikes.
Yet, just wearing the red, white and blue, and considering his arm and body still felt perfectly fine in his first outing since Game 3 of the World Series, he was ecstatic.
“It was so cool,’’ Kershaw said. “I played against Colorado and Arizona a lot, so to hear that was special. … Just being on this team was a bucket list for me from the beginning, and so getting to do that, it was really cool.
“Obviously, I thought I was never going to throw a baseball again, so to get to do that with Team USA across your chest, and come back to that dugout, that team is really special.’’
Really, his USA teammates were more thrilled than Kershaw watching him in uniform for the final time before they open the World Baseball Classic on Friday against Brazil in Houston.
“It was awesome,’’ said Paul Goldschmidt, the seven-time All-Star and former MVP, who faced Kershaw 67 times in his career. “I’ve been looking forward to playing with this guy instead of against him my whole career.
“He’s had the most amazing career anyone could imagine. It’s just awesome that he’s coming back and doing this.’’
Said two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal: “That was so awesome seeing that. … That’s a big reason why I wanted to be part of this, to be with teammates like Clayton Kershaw.’’
Kershaw, who considers himself the emergency pitcher for Team USA, said that if his outing Wednesday was the last time he steps on the mound, “it was worth it.’’
Sorry, but USA manager Mark DeRosa isn’t going to let him sail off into the sunset of his magnificent career with his last outing being against the Rockies in a meaningless spring-training setting. Kershaw will definitely pitch sometime in the tournament when they play four pool games in five days in Houston, DeRosa says, even if it’s just in a mop-role to eat innings.
Kershaw, 37, deserves a send-off that is fitting for one of the greatest left-handed pitchers in baseball history, and pitching in a WBC game will be the perfect ending.
“I wouldn’t put on a uniform,’’ Kershaw said, “for anything else.’’
Kershaw, who spent his entire 18-year career with the Dodgers, badly wanted to pitch in the 2023 WBC. Yet, the WBC insurance wouldn’t cover him with his array of injuries, forcing him to miss the tournament.
Now, with his family getting to see him pitch one last time in Houston, this could be the perfect farewell.
“I was pretty much mentally shut down,’’ Kershaw said. “(DeRosa) called and I thought about it for a minute, and I was like, ‘it’s not going to be fun to pick up a baseball again, but it’s worth it to be part of this group. …’
“It’s a great group. It’s been a lot of fun to get to know them.’’
And even as sensational as a Hollywood script it would be, Kershaw is already putting a stop to the idea he could be the one pitching the final out against former teammate Shohei Ohtani of Team Japan.
“I think for our country’s sake,’’ Kershaw said, “it’s probably better if I don’t.
“If they need me, I’ll be ready. It’s not going to be pretty, but I’ve got a lot of bullets. They just might not be quality bullets.’’
While Kershaw rules out any possibility of a future comeback after the WBC, he does have one more baseball stop before his career officially comes to an end.
He’ll be at Dodger Stadium on March 27.
He’s got a World Series ring to collect.
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