Clayton Kershaw is the kind of baseball legend who leaves other baseball legends in awe at all times.
On Sunday, Kershaw made what is expected to be his final regular-season start, and fittingly, he picked up his 223rd win. With 5 1/3 scoreless innings against the Seattle Mariners, he improved his record to 11-2 this year and lowered his ERA to 3.36, more than respectable for an 18th-year veteran.
Still, with a loaded rotation around him, Kershaw is not expected to be named to the Dodgers’ roster for the upcoming National League Wild Card Series, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com. There’s a chance he could see action if LA advances to the next round, but it’s possible Sunday’s gem was the last time he’ll take a major league mound.
So to properly send off Kershaw on Sunday, even in a road game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts decided to trot fellow future Hall of Famer Freddie Freeman out to the mound to remove him from the game in the bottom of the sixth inning.
It was a pitching change unlike any the Dodgers have ever made, and Freeman was honored to be part of the moment.