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After the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in what will be a World Series that lives on forever, it marked the final game of future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw‘s illustrious career. Amid his 18th season in MLB, Kershaw announced his retirement towards the end of the 2025 campaign. He revealed after the thrilling Game 7 battle that president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is leaving the door open for Kershaw to return to the team, but not as a player. More news: Dodgers World Series Hero Declares Hopes for Next Year as Contract Expires TORONTO, ONTARIO – NOVEMBER 02: Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers (L) celebrates with teammates in the locker room after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in game seven to win the 2025 World Series at Rogers Center on November 02, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) “He mentioned something where I could hang out,” Kershaw said. “That’s good, man. I don’t know what that looks like. But this is a special organization. They don’t need me to win World Series. That’s obvious. But if there’s anything I can do in the future to be part of it, be around it, I hope that’s the case.” As Kershaw moves to the next phase of his life, he noted that there are things more important than baseball that he wants to make time for right now. “I think first and foremost is for me to have this fifth kid and be a dad for a while,” Kershaw said. “I don’t think there’s any full-time jobs in my immediate future.” Although Kershaw knows that it is the end of the road for his playing career, he spoke about it taking place in such a historic event on the grander scale of MLB history. “It’s not a sad ending. It really isn’t,” Kershaw said. “I mean, I will be able to say for the rest of my life that we won Game 7 of the World Series the last game I ever played. You can’t script that. You can’t write it up. Even if I was not throwing 88 (mph), I still would be done. It’s just the perfect way to end it.” Kershaw was seen warming up in the bullpen, but eventual World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto handled the final 2.2 innings of the game on his own (and on zero days’ rest). His final MLB appearance was during a different historic game during this otherworldly World series in the 18-inning Game 3 contest, closing out the 12th inning in a two-out, bases loaded jam. Dodger Stadium erupted after Tommy Edman made a nifty play to flip the final out, and Kershaw delivered what would be the final pitch of his MLB career. More news: Dodgers Star Retires After World Series Win Over Blue Jays For all the latest MLB news and rumors, head over to Newsweek Sports
