Clayton Kershaw reflects on long, difficult journey to 3,000 strikeouts

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LOS ANGELES — There was no difference in Clayton Kershaw’s slow, methodical trot off the mound. It was the same walk he’s made back to his Dodger Stadium dugout thousands of times.

Stoicism painted his face, even as a capacity crowd showered him with the kind of raucous applause heard after a World Series win. His manager of a decade, Dave Roberts, pumped his fist, a gleeful grin on his face.

However, Kershaw didn’t acknowledge his feat — 3,000 career strikeouts — until he was about 10 paces from the dugout. There, he stopped, took off his hat and saluted the people who had spent 18 seasons supporting him.

He’d spent all night chasing strikeouts, getting one pitch away and not finishing the job. The bullpen had warmed up twice. His pitch count eclipsed triple digits for the first time in years, and the distinct fear of getting No. 3,000 during his next start in Milwaukee left a pall over the evening.

Then, Kershaw fired a slider over on the outside corner to White Sox infielder Vinny Capra. It wasn’t a good one, Kershaw said. However, as soon as home plate umpire Jim Wolf rung up Capra, that no longer mattered.

“I was pretty desperate to get strikeouts all day,” Kershaw said with a chuckle, letting his guard down after the 5-4 walkoff win, on-field celebration and clubhouse toast.

“I understand the list of what the 3,000 strikeout club is. So I am grateful to be a part of that list. But at the end of the day, individual stuff comes and goes. It’s just the people around you that make it special. I’m so thankful for that.”

It hasn’t been easy for Kershaw to embrace making this about himself, to admit that this moment was as big a deal to him as it was for everyone else. His teammate, Freddie Freeman, has been counting down each strikeout. So has his oldest son.

For a pitcher who has won three Cy Young awards, an MVP, a Gold Glove, garnered 10 All-Star Game invitations and won two World Series, this still meant something. To the 53,536 fans who were there, to all the family and friends who came out. To even the two managers — both of whom he’s faced — this was a celebration of a career as much as it was a milestone.

“To get 3,000 strikeouts, that takes a long time,” Roberts said. “And a lot of trials, tribulations, surgeries, rehabs, frustrations, tears. To continue to fight back, come back, show up and post, that’s hard to do.

“Now, I think he can even say that every box has been checked.”

Dave Roberts and Clayton Kershaw share a moment on Kershaw’s historic night. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

Dodgers fans are often derided for arriving late and leaving early. On Wednesday, the capacity crowd was almost entirely seated by the time Kershaw’s quest began.

For them, it was an emotional roller coaster, disappointment after disappointment, with audible groans even when he recorded outs. Boos abounded when the home plate umpire wouldn’t ring up batters on pitches well off the plate. The 37-year-old produced 13 two-strike counts through the first five innings. Roberts said it was like managing a no-hitter, with the push and pull of when to remove the starter changing with every pitch.

No one was there to watch the Dodgers and the White Sox. They wanted to see Kershaw secure the final 0.1 percent of his all-time milestone. And until it happened, there was no guarantee that it would.

“I honestly didn’t pitch that great tonight. My slider was so bad,” Kershaw said. “It’s a little bit harder when you’re actually trying to strike people out. I’ve never really had to do that before.”

After two innings, Kershaw’s K till was empty. The first 11 batters came and went. Three runs scored — Austin Slater already had a home run and a triple. Fifty pitches in, and nothing to show for it.

This night had been the preordained endpoint, with dozens of Kershaw’s friends and family in attendance. And suddenly, the odds of him finishing it off went from a sure thing to on the verge of perilous.

Then, he got Miguel Vargas, a former teammate, whiffing on a curve off the inside corner in the third. A brief reprieve, then another 11 batters passed before he struck out Lenyn Sosa in the fifth.

When he finally caught Capra staring at his signature slider in the sixth, he’d thrown a season-high 100 pitches. It was his last batter, a must-K situation. And the surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer rose to the occasion.

“He made a really good pitch,” Capra said. “He’s a really good pitcher, and he’s been doing it for a long time.”

It’s a refrain Capra repeated several times after the game. He’d only had a couple of hours to process his place in history, and a few minutes to get over the gut-wrenching walk-off loss.

Cheers, Kersh. pic.twitter.com/qi8egfe9QC

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 3, 2025

It’s been 17 years, one month and eight days since Kershaw recorded his first career strikeout — an up-and-away fastball to Skip Schumaker. A proud hitter who, all these years later, can appreciate his place in Kershaw’s career, even if it came at his own expense.

“Let’s ambush him, welcome him to the big leagues,” Schumaker thought, reflecting on his mindset before the at-bat. “I’m like, first pitch, I’m going for it. I’m gonna welcome this kid to the big leagues.”

By the end of the at-bat, Schumaker said he had a new thought: “Oh boy, this is going to be a long game.”

“I think people would be lying if they told you that they knew. They knew he was going to be an All-Star pitcher. There was no doubt,” said Schumaker, who went on to play for the Dodgers in 2013, and is regularly reminded by Kershaw of the punchout.

“Did I think I was going to be one of 3,000? No. I did not think that. What he’s turned into, I’m just so happy for him.”

After Shumaker, the strikeouts continued. Buster Posey was his 500th strikeout in 2011, then came Yonder Alonso for K No. 1,000 two years later. Drew Stubbs was the 1,500th victim a decade ago, Jonathan Villar marked No. 2,000 in 2017 and Nick Ahmed No. 2,500 on Sept. 3, 2020.

It’s been five long years since the last milestone. Kershaw has been on the IL seven times and has signed three free-agent contracts since then. He’s been beaten up in the playoffs, and at times, looked like his career might be over.

But on Wednesday, he finally crossed the finish line. And as he looked up into the crowd, to his family seated on the first row of the second deck, it all felt worth it.

“We’ve been through it, we have,” Kershaw said. “I’ve been through it, a lot. Ups and downs here. More downs than I care to admit. But the fans tonight, it really meant a lot. It was overwhelming.”

(Top photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)

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