The players who announced their retirement after this season are Miguel Cabrera (Detroit) and Adam Wainwright (St. Louis). In addition, Jack Greinke (Kansas City), Rich Hill (Pittsburgh), Corey Kluber (Boston), and Joey Votto (Cincinnati) have no choice but to take off their uniforms if their contracts are not renewed.
No one can stop the flow of time. As the second half of the season kicks off, there is another player who is attracting attention in relation to retirement. That is Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw.
Kershaw is wearing a Dodgers uniform with a one-year free agent contract last year and this year. He gets an annual salary of $20 million this year, up from $17 million last year. When he finishes this season, he will be eligible for free agency again. He entered the 2006 draft with the 7th overall pick in the first round and debuted in the major leagues in 2008, so this year is his 18th year with the Dodgers and his 16th year in the big leagues.
Kershaw won the National League (NL) Cy Young Award three times in 2011 and 2013-2014. He has won 5 earned run average titles and 3 strikeout titles, and is marking a career record of 207 wins and 91 losses, an ERA of 2.48 and 2912 strikeouts. He was booked into the Hall of Fame.
After this season, he contemplates retiring again. In a recent interview with USA Today, Kershaw said, “I have a wife and four children. When talking about baseball, there are many factors to consider.” “The time has come. We’re looking at a lot of things. It may be several months before we make a final decision after the season.”
Kershaw first contemplated retirement after the 2021 season. That year, he struggled with elbow and arm injuries and went 10-8 with a 3.55 earned run average in 22 games. He went to the free agent market for the first time, but there was no team willing to call him. At the time, there were three options. Renewed contract with Dodgers, transferred to hometown Texas Rangers, retired. As the offseason lockout lasted longer that year, he finally chose to stay with the Dodgers in March of the following year after much consideration.
And last year, despite being on the injured list twice with a pelvis and back, he had a good fight with 12 wins and 3 losses and an average ERA of 2.28, and was in his second heyday.
“If I had won the World Series last year, I would have taken off my uniform without any regrets,” Kershaw said. “So the decision to come back this year was very easy. I honestly don’t know what will happen when the year is over.”
Born in March 1988, Kershaw will turn 36 next year. He is old enough to play for a few more years, but considering his physical strain and frequent injuries in recent years, we have no choice but to seriously consider his retirement. He played an ace throughout the first half of this season as well, and was put on the injured list at the end of June due to a bad shoulder. He has only one goal left. Another World Series victory after 2020.
Can the Dodgers really make it to the World Series stage this year? As of the 17th, the Dodgers are leading the NL West with 53 wins and 39 losses. They are 1.5 games and 2 games ahead of the second-place San Francisco Giants and the third-place Arizona Diamondbacks, respectively. Advancing to the postseason for 11 consecutive years is an established fact.해외안전놀이터 추천
In addition, Kershaw is challenging the Cy Young Award for the fourth time this year. As of this day, he is 10-4, ERA 2.55, 105 strikeouts, WHIP 1.05, and batting average 0.216, and is ranked 1st in NL average ERA, tied for 4th in wins, and 1st in WHIP. He is scheduled to return in early August. The remaining 10 appearances of the season are possible. It is enough time to solidify Cy Young.
“I still want to play active, but I can’t play full-time healthy. That’s the worst for me,” Kershaw said. “If I play next year, I need to be healthy. It must be in such a state that I can firmly hold my position and pay the ransom.”
In the end, it means that he will think about three variables: health, family, and victory. Of course, if the Dodgers win this year, retirement is a given.