PHOENIX — In case anyone was wondering if Clayton Kershaw could have a change of heart, the answer is no.
Regardless of how much he enjoys playing in the World Baseball Classic or how well he pitches in the two-week tournament, the 37-year-old Kershaw sounded on Monday as if there's absolutely no chance he would ever return to pitch for the Dodgers .
The former Dodgers left-hander has taken to retirement — like, really taken to it.
When he reached the stage of winter when he would normally start his offseason training program, did he think, "Thank God I don't have to do this, or …?"
Kershaw didn't let me finish the question.
"Yes," he said.
"It was so nice," he explained. "It was stress-free. Didn't care if my body hurt. It was amazing. It was a freeing feeling for sure. There are not many things that would make me come back, except for this."
The exception Kershaw made was for the chance to pitch in the WBC for Team USA, which gathered at the Papago Sports Complex.
Kershaw wanted to pitch in the previous edition of the tournament, in 2023, but couldn't secure an insurance policy that would protect the Dodgers in case he was injured.
"You know, it's a bucket-list thing for me," he said. "I've wanted to do this for a while."
Clayton Kershaw fields a ground ball during a workout at Papago Park Sports Complex. Getty Images
He wanted to do it enough to interrupt his new life as a stay-at-home father of five children. Preparing to pitch after thinking he'd never have to do that again was the hardest part, he said.
"I didn't do half the stuff I normally would," he said.
His arm isn't ready to pitch a six-month season, he said, but it should survive a two-week event.
"I'll be good, I'll be ready," he said. "It's not going to be pretty, but my arm feels fine. I've got a lot of bullets. They just might not be quality bullets. If they need me in a pinch, if they need me at all, I'll be ready."
If asked to, could he start?
"I'll pitch whenever they want me to pitch," he said. "I don't care. I just think I'm probably lower on the depth charts than everybody."
Kershaw previously joked that if the United States played Japan in the championship game, he thought there was no chance he would be chosen to pitch to Shohei Ohtani , considering the other options at manager Mark DeRosa's disposal.
Clayton Kershaw celebrates the end of the top of the 12th inning against the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 3 of the World Series. AP
Did practicing with his team get him into a more competitive mindset and make him reconsider?
"I think for our country's sake, it's probably better if I don't," Kershaw said. "But, look, if it's a pinch and they need me, I'll do it."
I reminded Kershaw that Ohtani is hitless against him. When Ohtani was on the Angels, Kershaw pitched to him in four games. Ohtani was 0 for 11.
"It's pitch away, play away," Kershaw said with a chuckle. "Hope he flies out to left. Don't throw it in his barrel."
Two-time American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers was often by Kershaw's side on Monday. Clay Holmes of the New York Mets , Michael Wacha of the Kansas City Royals and Logan Webb of the San Francisco Giants were also part of a small audience that gathered in front of Kershaw before fielding practice.
Such interactions are what Kershaw said he misses.
"I don't miss throwing a ball," he said. "I don't miss spring training. I miss the guys. I miss just being around everybody all the time. I think that's what everybody will miss."
Clayton Kershaw answers questions from reporters during a workout at Papago Park Sports Complex. Getty Images
That was why Kershaw avoided visiting the Dodgers' spring training facility, even though he'd arrived in Arizona two days earlier.
"I haven't been over to CBR," he said. "I just thought about it. I miss it, I miss the guys. So I think it's probably just better, at least this first year, for me, like mentally, to just kind of stay away for a full year, just for spring training. I'll go out to L.A. at some point, for sure. I think just the mental side of it, for me, to really break away, it would be hard to go."
He said he would be at Dodger Stadium for the World Series ring ceremony on Mar. 27.
Once the WBC is over, Kershaw plans to slink back into retirement.
Reminded that he was 11-2 last season and could pitch this season, he replied, "I don't want to. You can't end it better than I did last year. I had a great time last year. I think that's the perfect way to end it. Honestly, I don't even know if I have it in the tank to pitch for a full season again. I'm really at peace with that decision.
"This is kind of a weird one-off type thing."
