Clayton Kershaw revealed Dodgers nearly gave him ultimate send-off in Game 7

With Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 90 feet away from tying Game 7 of the World Series in the bottom of the 11th, Dave Roberts had two relievers warming in his bullpen: Roki Sasaki and Clayton Kershaw.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto had cleaned up the bottom of the ninth for Blake Snell and took down the Blue Jays in order in the 10th, but Guerrero beat him to lead off the 12th with a double. A sacrifice bunt from Isiah Kiner-Falefa moved him to third.

Calling in Kershaw to get the last out of the World Series to close out his 18-year career would've been almost too perfect. As it turns out, Roberts not only toyed with the idea, but got very close to making it a reality.

Kershaw said after Yamamoto got out of the inning himself to win the whole thing, "I've been through it in October, I've had my ups and downs. So for [Roberts] to stick with me and trust me, even tonight had me up for the next batter, it means the world to have your manager trust in you like that."

Clayton Kershaw reveals how close he was to closing out Game 7 of the World Series for Dodgers

There was absolutely a distant world in which Kershaw came in to get the final out, but in that world, the Dodgers scored a lot more runs and gave everyone far less anxiety than they actually did. Yamamoto was the absolute, best possible option, even with fresher arms in the bullpen and a runner on third.

Even if Yamamoto had gotten the Dodgers to two outs after Kiner-Falefa's bunt, calling in Kershaw wouldn't have been the smart move. Poetic, sure, but not very safe.

By leaving Yamamoto out and only letting fans dream about what might've been if Kershaw came in, the Dodgers protected his legacy. Imagine if Clayton Kershaw blew the save in Game 7 of the World Series. Sure, it wouldn't have hurt his Hall of Fame case in the long run, but it would've been the most devastating way for not only the Dodgers' season, but his career to end.

Kershaw got to have his last hurrah when he was part of the bullpen masterclass in Game 3, when he got the Dodgers out of the 12th with the bases loaded in his last appearance at Dodger Stadium (he would've been credited with the win if the Dodgers had walked it off in the 12th). How's that for a legacy?