Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw could not have had a more perfect reaction to winning the World Series…finally.
Dodgers fans have been waiting 32 years for another World Series — and is it any wonder that their erstwhile ace Clayton Kershaw is also 32 years old?!
Kershaw’s championship drought has been as ballyhooed as the franchise’s, with his many October failures somehow burning brighter than his ridiculous Hall of Fame career. The narrative on Kershaw has always been that he’s a different guy when the calendar hits fall, and he’s been sprinting away from his own reputation every year, while finding new ways to fail.
But not in 2020.
This time around, Kershaw’s World Series consisted of two efficient and shorter-than-usual starts, and he won Games 1 and 5 of the series en route to a six-game world championship. And when young lefty Julio Urias closed things out and the final out was miraculously recorded, Kershaw’s long, slow jog from the bullpen to the mound began.
Chills.
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This Dodgers run has felt a bit blessed every step of the way, from down 3-1 in the NLCS to two consecutive wins following the madness of Game 4. And Kershaw, entering a World Series that was suddenly tied 2-2 after being seconds away from a 3-1 lead, had a mission unlike any other in Game 5.
Who doubted him? Come on, we want to see those hands!
Against all odds, Kershaw quieted the world, exited in the sixth inning and got to watch with peace and serenity the next night. The job was DONE. Seriously. Done.
If the rest of the baseball world could get off this Hall of Famer’s back now, that’d be great.
They won’t. The next time he slips up, they’ll be right back after it.
But we’ll know. Kershaw, who deserved this more than anyone else, gets to celebrate with his beautiful family tonight. His resume is completed. No more thinking about the cheaters in Houston and Boston. Re-lax, kid.
Buck Showalter reminds Dodgers fans Boston cheated Clayton Kershaw too
MLB Network's Buck Showalter became the first commentator we can remember to acknowledge both the Astros and Red Sox cheated Clayton Kershaw.