When the World Series kicks off at Dodger Stadium on Friday night, Clayton Kershaw will be cheering from the dugout instead of pitching. A stubborn bone spur in his left big toe has kept him off the field since August 30. Despite trying to make a comeback for the playoffs, his efforts were thwarted by persistent pain, leading to a shutdown for 2024 as of October 5.
“It was getting pretty mentally exhausting to continue to try to pitch,” Kershaw admitted after being sidelined. “It just kept hurting, so I got another MRI. I made it worse (by trying to pitch), so there’s no point at this point to keep going. It’s unfortunate. Obviously, super frustrated. That’s really it. It’s not getting better, so I can’t pitch.” His attempt in NLDS Game 1 against the Diamondbacks last October didn’t go well either—six runs with only one out led to shoulder surgery right after their series loss.
Kershaw returned from surgery on July 25 and managed seven starts this year with a 4.50 ERA before his toe flared up again during his final game (three runs in one inning). This marks his fourth World Series appearance but first time not starting Game 1 or pitching at all; he previously opened against Astros in 2017 and Rays in 2020 successfully but struggled versus Red Sox in 2018.
Header Text: Dodgers’ World Series Challenges
At age 36, Kershaw plans on returning next season despite injuries plaguing him and others like Chris Sale and Justin Verlander who missed postseason action too—fans might wonder if he’ll get another shot at playing in such high-stakes games again given how tough reaching them can be! The Dodgers have been here four times over eight years but need more reliable starters now; they’ve had three bullpen games already due largely because seven pitchers are injured including Kershaw himself!
The old guard of ace pitchers is fading away: Scherzer’s Rangers missed playoffs entirely while Zack Greinke only threw ceremonial pitches recently instead of competing seriously anymore… Yet Yu Darvish shone brightly against LA earlier this month showing there’s still hope among veterans alongside younger talents bridging eras between past legends like Hunter Greene or Paul Skenes emerging today alongside established names such as Gerrit Cole set start Yankees’ upcoming opening match-up soon enough too!
This postseason marks an end-of-era moment without familiar faces dominating mounds everywhere since before even some readers were born perhaps back around when dinosaurs roamed earth—or maybe just feels that long ago sometimes doesn’t it? What do you think about these changes happening within baseball world lately?
