Clayton Kershaw has emotional response to Walker Buehler's Dodgers departure

Walker Buehler was the Los Angeles Dodgers' Game 3 starter in the 2024 World Series, but it was his unlikely heroism in the series-clinching Game 5 against the New York Yankees that would become his postseason legacy in LA.

After using a bullpen game the night before and getting just four outs from starting pitcher Jack Flaherty, manager Dave Roberts entrusted Buehler, a starter, with the final three outs in the Dodgers' dramatic 7-6 Game 5 victory. The rest, as they say, is history.

Buehler's seven-year stint with the Dodgers came to an end after the 2024 campaign, when he became a free agent. He would go on to sign a one-year, $21.05 million contract with the Boston Red Sox in December. But he will be remembered fondly as a two-time World Series champion in Los Angeles, especially by his former Dodgers teammates.

Clayton Kershaw has emotional response to Walker Buehler's Dodgers departure in interview

In a recent interview on AM 570 L.A. Sports, veteran Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw spoke glowingly of Buehler, whose rookie season with Los Angeles in 2017 was Kershaw's 10th.

“You can say whatever you want about Walker, but you can’t deny the way he takes the ball," Kershaw said. "We’re going to miss him around here. He was special in that regard. There was a lot of times when he just kept wanting to take the ball. He’s not afraid."

It was that passion and drive to succeed, Kershaw said, that made Buehler the perfect candidate to take the ball for those final three outs in Game 5 against the Yankees.

"That was a great moment for him," Kershaw said. "Super special, and we needed every pitch that he had. We were pretty much out at that point. For him to come in and close the game like that, it was a really cool way to end his Dodger tenure."

The Dodgers will only have to face Buehler once at the most this season, when they visit Boston for a three-game series on July 25-27.

“I’m happy for him," Kershaw said. "I know Boston is going to be a good setting for him and he can handle that media crowd and be good. I hope he pitches well, just not against us."

Though the Dodgers upgraded with Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki, Buehler was intrinsic to an important period in franchise history, and if not for injury he was on pace for a truly legendary postseason career. Kershaw just wants to make sure the LA faithful don't forget that.

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