“He’ll rip your f****** head off” - When Kike Hernandez warned Kyle Farmer of Clayton Kershaw’s demeanor

Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw has been one of the best pitchers the MLB has seen. A contributing factor to his success can be traced to his demeanor. One example of the same could be seen in the player's biography.

Last year, a biography on Kershaw titled The Last of His Kind: Clayton Kershaw and the Burden of Greatness by Andy McCullough was published. An excerpt of this book details the pitcher's mindset on the days he was scheduled to pitch. The excerpt in question also also involves baseball infielder Kyle Farmer and utility player Kike Hernandez.

When Farmer was a rookie with the Dodgers in 2018, he sat beside Kershaw at his locker on a day the latter was scheduled to pitch. While Farmer also tried to initiate a conversation with Kershaw, he did not receive the response he might have expected. Hernandez later advised him against speaking to the pitcher.

The excerpt details the interaction as:

“What’s up, Kersh?” Farmer said. Kershaw grunted, stood up, and left.

Hernández walked over. “Don’t talk to him,” Hernández warned.

“What?” Farmer said.

“He will rip your f—ing head off if you talk to him,” Hernández said.

You can check Kershaw's career strikeout reel below:

Kershaw and Farmer were teammates for one season only. After spending two seasons with the Dodgers between 2017 and 2018, Farmer moved to the Cincinnati Reds. He later played for the Minnesota Twins between 2023 and 2024, and is currently playing for the Colorado Rockies.

MLB veteran claims Clayton Kershaw deserves a statue outside Dodger Stadium

Clayton Kershaw made history by joining the 3,000 strikeout club in Wednesday's game between the Dodgers and the Chicago White Sox. However, moments before he could achieve this feat, MLB veteran Skip Schumaker said Kershaw deserves a statue of himself outside Dodger Stadium.

During a conversation with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, Schumaker said:

“Clayton Kershaw is the most dominant pitcher I’ve ever played against in my career. I’ve never seen anybody like him ... If anybody deserves a statue outside Dodger Stadium it’s Clayton Kershaw. How cool is it for him to have just one uniform, especially in LA, and then have a statue of him in front of that stadium?”

You can check the moment Clayton Kershaw achieved 3000 strikeouts below:

Kershaw has been with the Dodgers since 2008. During his time with the team, the legendary southpaw has earned 10 All-Star selections, won two World Series and one MVP award.

About the author

Varun is a Golf and MLB journalist for Sportskeeda with over 4 years of work experience in his bag. Currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, he worked for many sites, including EssentiallySports, FanSided, Khel Now, Get Football, and a few others.

Varun is a fan of golfer Scottie Scheffler due to the latter’s mindset, and he admires Aaron Judge and his ability to keep being consistent. As a purist golf fan, he would love to compete at the Masters if given the opportunity, but is also happy with LIV Golf driving more eyeballs towards the sport. If he gets the chance to play for an MLB team, he would love to play for the New York Yankees.

Varun’s mantra for writing factually correct feature articles is thorough verification. Another key element in his writing is staying updated with both sports through the official websites of pro wrestling and Golf. He has had the privilege of interviewing MMA legend Greg Jackson in his career so far.

Varun likes to spend his free time reading or writing poetry and fiction. He also plans to learn and play golf in his spare time.

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Edited by Krutik Jain