“I don’t want a shirt, I hardly want pants” - Clayton Kershaw savors champagne showers in final Dodgers division title celebration

Clayton Kershaw is a division winner for the last time in his career after the Los Angeles Dodgers shut out the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-0 to clinch the National League West.

After an intense battle, that witnessed San Diego Padres pushing the Dodgers down to the wire, the Dodgers triumphed to win their 12th division title in the last 13 seasons.

Following their achievement, Kershaw celebrated with his teammates in the locker room as Dodgers teammates Max Muncy and Blake Snell doused him with champagne and beer.

When SportsNet LA's David Vassegh asked Kershaw if he needed his shirt back during the celebration, he said:

“No, I don’t want my shirt back. I don’t want goggles. I don’t want a shirt. I hardly want pants, Dave.”

Kershaw, a two-time World Series winner, has celebrated the division title more than any active Dodgers player. The veteran ace, who is retiring after the season, said he going to miss the celebrations the most.

"Pitching, all that stuff is great,” Kershaw said. “I love that, too. But getting to do this with a group of guys that all are working towards a collective goal for as long as we are, that’s what you miss.

"The camaraderie, the bonding, everybody going through something hard and coming out on the other side. That’s really special. You don’t get that anywhere else. There’s no other jobs for 37-year-olds on teams to get to do that. That’s what I’m going to miss.”

Clayton Kershaw rallies behind team after intense battle for NL West title

It wasn't a straightforward ride for the Dodgers as they were plagued by injuries to their pitching staff and were dethroned by the Padres and San Francisco Giants a few times at the top of the NL West this season.

However, Clayton Kershaw said it doesn't matter how he got there but they need to make it count.

“Nothing matters anymore,” Kershaw said. “We won. We’re in the postseason. We won our division like we were supposed to do. So doesn’t really matter what happened to this point, how we got here. We did it, and now we move on.”

While Kershaw will be aiming for a third World Series ring in October, the Dodgers will try to become the first team in more than two decades to defend their title.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

Know More

Edited by Chaitanya Prakash