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Speaker 1: Major League Baseball's most interesting man. There are several to

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Speaker 1: choose from, but the man of the hour certainly is

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Speaker 1: Clayton Kershaw, announcing his retirement at the end of the

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty five season. He announced it yesterday at Dodger Stadium.

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Speaker 1: Tonight will be Clayton Kershaw's final start at home in

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Speaker 1: the regular season. Hopefully we see some postseason innings from Kersh.

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Speaker 1: Eric and I got to talk about it at length

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Speaker 1: yesterday when we heard the news. But Trevor, I'm interested

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Speaker 1: in your take. I mean, we knew this was coming.

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Speaker 1: You know, he's almost forty years old, eighteen seasons with

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Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Dodgers, but it's still hard to swallow

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Speaker 1: that Clayton Kershaw is not going to be there next

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Speaker 1: year as a player. What do you think about when

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Speaker 1: you think about Kersh?

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Speaker 2: He is.

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Speaker 3: We throw around like once in a generation style, like

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Speaker 3: type players. I'd say he's one of a time. He's

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Speaker 3: top five all time for me. The things the guy

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Speaker 3: has done in the scope of baseball over one hundred

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Speaker 3: and fifty years is absolutely incredible. Three Cy Young's in

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Speaker 3: four years a career two five era. I was happy

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Speaker 3: if I got a two five in a week like

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Speaker 3: that is that's incredible.

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Speaker 4: People don't when people think.

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Speaker 3: Of Clint Kershaw, they don't necessarily think of like big

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Speaker 3: strikeout pitcher. But in terms of strikeouts for nine, he

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Speaker 3: is above Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Hurt Schilling. Like these guys,

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Speaker 3: these are guys we remember punching everybody out and Clayton

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Speaker 3: Kershaw is better than them. That one interesting thing that

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Speaker 3: I love looking at, especially all time players in general,

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Speaker 3: is all of their kind of scure like splits like

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Speaker 3: home away, you know what, inning was the best one

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Speaker 3: thing that strike strikes me but doesn't surprise me about

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Speaker 3: Clayton Kershaw, same exact guy, home and away, like that's

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Speaker 3: usually not how it plays out for guy's full career.

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Speaker 3: He's got like a two five three at home and

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Speaker 3: a two five to five on the road for his

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Speaker 3: whole career, which is incredible. And you know what his

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Speaker 3: best inning is, his most dominant inning for his career,

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Speaker 3: the eighth.

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Speaker 4: The eighth inning when he throws.

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Speaker 3: In the eighth, he was unheittable, untouchable, and he did

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Speaker 3: it like, you know, one hundred and sixty times. So

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Speaker 3: just a few of the little nuggets but if you

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Speaker 3: go and you go on his baseball reference page, you

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Speaker 3: go to the splits thing, You'll be there for twenty

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Speaker 3: four You'll be there for an entire day, just digging around.

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Speaker 3: And then you add in the fact consummate professional does

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Speaker 3: it the right way. Baseball is this guy's north star.

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Speaker 3: He shows up the field, the first one there, he's

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Speaker 3: last one to leave, loves being around, everybody, hangs out

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Speaker 3: with the guys, talks ball. It's just when you think

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Speaker 3: of baseball and how it's supposed to be experienced and

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Speaker 3: lived and what bar or holding yourself to high standards

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Speaker 3: looks like it's Clinton Kershaw. So it is sad that

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Speaker 3: we're coming to the end here and all things do.

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Speaker 3: But you know, I'm glad he's stayed with the same

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Speaker 3: team and didn't have to negotiate that with himself because.

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Speaker 4: It sounds like something he wanted for his whole career.

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Speaker 3: And then he gets to go out on his own terms,

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Speaker 3: all things that anybody who retires hopes they get to do.

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Speaker 3: And I'm a static for him and how he's been

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Speaker 3: able to have his career and then also end it.

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Speaker 1: Very few get to go out on top of the

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Speaker 1: way Clayton Kershaw is doing eric. You heard aj Ellis

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Speaker 1: talk about the fact that Kershaw was so grateful and

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Speaker 1: what mattered to him the most was the amount of

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Speaker 1: innings pitch strike going deep into the game, eating up innings.

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Speaker 1: You heard Trevor talk about it. He was the best

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Speaker 1: in the eighth inning. But you look at the accolades.

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Speaker 1: If we can throw up that graphic once again, what

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Speaker 1: impressed you the most over the course of the eighteen

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Speaker 1: year career. Is it the amount of strikeouts over three thousand?

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Speaker 1: Is it the cy Young's Is it the MVP? Is

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Speaker 1: it the era title? What impresses you the most on

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Speaker 1: a list of really unbelievable accomplishments.

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Speaker 5: Besides a person that he is, I mean him and

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Speaker 5: aj shared not just a field, but their faith and

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Speaker 5: the fact that he's raised his family in this game.

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Speaker 5: That's always first and foremost the most impressive thing for me.

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Speaker 5: But if you're gonna pick like one type of like

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Speaker 5: era of Clayton Kershall his entire career, Guy's always doubted

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Speaker 5: him and it's like you're gonna see some regression from him.

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Speaker 5: He's gonna start struggling. He never did that. But the

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Speaker 5: most impressive thing for me when he was hitting free agency.

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Speaker 5: I think it was twenty thirteen to fifteen somewhere. I

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Speaker 5: think he hit it in fourteen was free agency. I

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Speaker 5: saw somebody wrote an article about and obviously this is

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Speaker 5: eleven years ago, about how his first six years in

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Speaker 5: the big leagues were the most dominant first six years

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Speaker 5: of anybody in baseball history, anybody ever. So we talk

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Speaker 5: about arbitration, we talk about all that stuff like you're

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Speaker 5: always compared to the guys of the past. When you

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Speaker 5: look at that first six years of work that he

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Speaker 5: put in, he was the most dominant. That really encapsulates

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Speaker 5: what he was as a pitcher during that time. And

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Speaker 5: that's so impressive to me.

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Speaker 1: Trevor. Where does Clayton Kershaw rank on the Dodgers in

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Speaker 1: the Dodgers lore? Where is he? It's been a lot

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Speaker 1: of great players go through those doors.

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Speaker 3: It's a long, storied franchise as well, so that's a

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Speaker 3: lot of people and broadcasters included.

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Speaker 4: They can go up on that Mount Rushmore.

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Speaker 3: But for this generation, for anyone who has watched Dodgers

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Speaker 3: baseball for the last twenty years, Clayton Kershaw's is the

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Speaker 3: guy at the head.

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Speaker 4: For them, and I think that puts him up on

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Speaker 4: that mountain. Top five.

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Speaker 3: I think that, especially if we're taking all the generations,

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Speaker 3: everyone's got theirs, and he is this generation's Sandy Kofax.

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Speaker 3: A lot of similarities also, interestingly enough, so absolutely top

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Speaker 3: five for me all time.

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Speaker 1: Is he the top since they moved to LA in

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Speaker 1: nineteen fifty.

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Speaker 4: Eight, that's an interesting question. I think he's got some.

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Speaker 3: Maybe some competition with the broadcaster or maybe in being

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Speaker 3: the most recognizable, maybe Vin Scully. But like in terms

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Speaker 3: of guys playing on the field, I think he's the

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Speaker 3: I think he's the guy that if you're putting up

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Speaker 3: a history of the Dodgers banner somewhere, he might be

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Speaker 3: the guy right in the middle.

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Speaker 1: Oh so you met Vin Scully, not me? Okay, Good

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Speaker 1: glad for the clarification on that in terms of the whoop,

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Speaker 1: In terms of the mount rushmore of Dodgers lore, great career,

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Speaker 1: unbelievable person. Congratulations to Clayton and Ellen Kershaw on what

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Speaker 1: has been an unbelievable ride. Hopefully another ring is in

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Speaker 1: his future, but certainly hopefully some postseason innings. Much more

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Speaker 1: to come on foult seratory look at baby face kersh

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Speaker 1: That was after he got drafted the first time he

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Speaker 1: came to Dodgers Stadium. So, my goodness, who would have

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Speaker 1: thought the amount of innings that young man was going

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Speaker 1: to pitch at that very stadium that we would be

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Speaker 1: talking about his retirement eighteen years actually more than eighteen years,

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Speaker 1: because that's when he got drafted, so twenty years later.

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Speaker 1: Ajlis is kind enough to take time away from his

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Speaker 1: duties with the San Diego Padres they are in Chicago,

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Speaker 1: to be with us to talk about and reflect on

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Speaker 1: a career of his very good friend, Clayton Kershat. Aj

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Speaker 1: Elis is probably one of the only people that when

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Speaker 1: he got traded away, I was actually emotionally bummed about

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Speaker 1: it when he left Los Angeles. Aj welcome. What was

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Speaker 1: your immediate reaction to Clayton's announcement that he will, in

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Speaker 1: fact retire at the end of the season.

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Speaker 2: It's gonna see Ilana. It's been a long time, miss year.

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Speaker 2: It's what a career it's been. Being able to watch

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Speaker 2: him in my post playing career, watch his starts, watch

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Speaker 2: the way he's battled through, the resiliency he's shown. I've

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Speaker 2: just been in all of him and I'm glad that

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Speaker 2: you know, he and Ellen and the family and he's.

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Speaker 6: In the Dodger organization have a chemists realization.

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Speaker 2: I've seen some people thinking, and I saw Freddy's quotes

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Speaker 2: that you know, he thought, you know, Clayton would just

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Speaker 2: just stop showing up.

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Speaker 6: You know, he's just that kind of guy he is.

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Speaker 6: But Baseball, the.

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Speaker 2: Dodger fans, we all deserve the chance to honor him

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Speaker 2: and celebrate him tonight and to me, a special day.

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Speaker 2: I did just hear the news about Apple TV cut

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Speaker 2: in the game, and it's a bummer. So I actually

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Speaker 2: think because of that, he should actually come back and

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Speaker 2: pitch in twenty twenty six.

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Speaker 5: And then you'd have to do a whole nother day

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Speaker 5: of retirement speeches for him. Look, you're gonna go on

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Speaker 5: like one hundred different shows, tell us something because this

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Speaker 5: is a player to play or show. Tell us something

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Speaker 5: that we don't know about Clayton that you're not going

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Speaker 5: to talk about when you ask when people ask, oh,

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Speaker 5: what's his favorite color? When you go on the.

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Speaker 6: Other shows, Oh man, that's what's going Eric.

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Speaker 2: Uh, you know, I don't know what's what stays in

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Speaker 2: the clubhouse and what's what's what's able for publican supts

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Speaker 2: And but uh no, you know it's in a in

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Speaker 2: a world where you knows as a former player yourself

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Speaker 2: and Trevor, you'll you'll you'll understand this as well. Baseball

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Speaker 2: the grind is relentless, and we all have that time

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Speaker 2: where day game after a night game. Uh, maybe he

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Speaker 2: got a little over served the night before on the

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Speaker 2: team plane, not feeling great, had a great had a

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Speaker 2: tough morning with the kids at the house. Clayton's consistency

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Speaker 2: and his inability to ever take the out when we

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Speaker 2: all take it, we all turned that three setter into

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Speaker 2: a two setter. We all turned that forty five pitch

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Speaker 2: bullpen into a twenty pitch bullpen because I'm just not

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Speaker 2: feeling he never cut a corner and that consistency that

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Speaker 2: he showed was like, it's just that model that he had.

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Speaker 6: I wasn't all on that.

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Speaker 2: I think all his teammates are in all on that,

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Speaker 2: and it's something that is is what you know, stood

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Speaker 2: the test of time for his his ability to be

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Speaker 2: consistent and to dominate on the field.

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Speaker 5: Was there ever a point where you just because he

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Speaker 5: was dominant, dominant like when kids go back and look

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Speaker 5: at his baseball reference, he was dominant, dominant. Was there

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Speaker 5: ever a point where you're like, I know, he should

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Speaker 5: throw a fastball here or throw his curveball, but I

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Speaker 5: just want to see if he's this good. We got

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Speaker 5: two run lead. I want to see if I can

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Speaker 5: just throw this. Was there ever a point where you

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Speaker 5: were like, kind of like a heat check.

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Speaker 2: No. You know what's funny is everything with him was

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Speaker 2: so scripted out, like in our pregame meetings, and like

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Speaker 2: he you know, I said earlier today when chatting a

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Speaker 2: little bit, I think both of us were so fortunate

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Speaker 2: to come up with you know, Rick hunting Cutting, Brad Ostmas,

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Speaker 2: who really taught us. You know, you know what it

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Speaker 2: was like to prepare, what it was like the game plan,

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Speaker 2: and you know, Clayton took at the heart and so

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Speaker 2: you know his ability to prepare and get ready for

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Speaker 2: you know, an opponent. In that conversation we'd have two

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Speaker 2: hours before that first start. He was so detailed with

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Speaker 2: what he wanted to do on the mound. Uh, it

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Speaker 2: didn't waiver and it was not the scoreboard did not matter,

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Speaker 2: the score of the game did not It was his

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Speaker 2: get outs as fast as he possibly could. His job

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Speaker 2: was to throw innings, go deep in the game, and uh,

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Speaker 2: you know that was his goal every season's every single

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Speaker 2: season he took took the mound, was the lead the

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Speaker 2: National League Indians pitch.

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Speaker 6: That's all you wanted to do was lead the league

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Speaker 6: in his.

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Speaker 2: Pitch because that was the marked of effectiveness and so uh,

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Speaker 2: having a game plan, having a scouting port, having a competitiveness,

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Speaker 2: having an ability to game manage all played into that

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Speaker 2: ability to really become, you know, the ace that he

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Speaker 2: that he was for for such a long period of time.

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Speaker 1: There's a couple of images that are just emblazoned in

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Speaker 1: my brain. One is very doctored. It's you and Clayton

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Speaker 1: coming out of the bullpen before a Clayton start. But

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Speaker 1: it's like behind you, guys, was just this wall of

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Speaker 1: fire because it was such an unbelievable battery and the

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Speaker 1: relationship that you two had was second to none. And

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Speaker 1: I'll also never forget when Clayton threw his arms up

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Speaker 1: in the air.

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Speaker 6: You were caught, you know, you caught the no hitter.

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Speaker 1: You embraced You guys had such a special relationship. And

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Speaker 1: I said at the top of this that I was.

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Speaker 1: I was so emotionally upset when they traded you, but

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Speaker 1: so was Clayton. And I remember the interview after the

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Speaker 1: AJLS trade and Clayton was emotional. And Clayton does not

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Speaker 1: show his emotions to the public often. Can you speak

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Speaker 1: to his relationship and what you guys meant to each other?

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Speaker 2: Well, Yeah, to be able to be sixty feet away

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Speaker 2: in your workplace from you know, the most dominant you know,

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Speaker 2: picture of a generation, someone who's at the top of

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Speaker 2: the world in what their their craft is, and that

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Speaker 2: for that person also be your best friend. I don't

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Speaker 2: know of anyone else who can can have that experience.

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Speaker 2: And you know, we we came up in the Dodger

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Speaker 2: system together. You know, I was a couple of years

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Speaker 2: ahead of him in the draft, but he flew past

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Speaker 2: me along the minor league away and player development as

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Speaker 2: he you know, on the the trajector he was on.

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Speaker 2: And but by the time we caught back up, you know,

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Speaker 2: it was you know, we were just we were just connected.

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Speaker 2: You know, we were in a cab together every morning,

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Speaker 2: we're every day.

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Speaker 6: To the ballpark. You know, we were we were just

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Speaker 6: on the rail together. Hanging out.

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Speaker 2: You know, at the time I was, I was not

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Speaker 2: the everyday catcher. We had some really talented guys in

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Speaker 2: Russ Martin, Rod Barajas and others. Uh so I was,

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Speaker 2: you know, my job was to catch his bullpens, to

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Speaker 2: be out and do his conditioning with him, just to

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Speaker 2: kind of give him a partner to to train with.

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Speaker 6: And in the midst of that time spent.

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Speaker 2: Together, we we built a bond, and we we built

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Speaker 2: some common so we had to we share some common

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Speaker 2: interests with with with faith, and with our family, and

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Speaker 2: our competitiveness and our desire for for teams success to

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Speaker 2: surpass individual success. And you know, it's it's it's what's

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Speaker 2: kind of kept us connected. It's what's kept us together

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Speaker 2: for so long. And you know, it's been wonderful in

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Speaker 2: my post playing career, even in my role with the Padres,

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Speaker 2: to to continue to be a sounding board for him

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Speaker 2: and to just to help walk through you know this,

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Speaker 2: this this final act of his career with him, and

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Speaker 2: you know, our friendship is beyond special to me compared

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Speaker 2: to what it was to be his teammate. And I'm

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Speaker 2: glad they we'll continue to be you know, great lifelong friends,

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Speaker 2: you know, following his career, did.

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Speaker 5: He discuss with you signing back with the with the Dodgers,

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Speaker 5: And if he did, how close was he actually too

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Speaker 5: because you said he's kind of a you're a confident

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Speaker 5: for him somebody can talk to. Was there a sense

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Speaker 5: he would have been for the Rangers.

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Speaker 2: No, I think it's you know, fair to say, and

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Speaker 2: Clayton even admitted that that's that's definitely something that had

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Speaker 2: always you know, been you know, on the radar as

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Speaker 2: a potential you know, final type of uh, you know,

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Speaker 2: a final destination for his career, to get back home,

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Speaker 2: to wake up every day, take his kids to school.

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Speaker 2: I think there was a lot of attractiveness to that,

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Speaker 2: but I think there was even but the poll towards

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Speaker 2: being a one uniform guy, the poll towards you know,

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Speaker 2: continue to just to play in post seasons and compete

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Speaker 2: for that, it was was too strong.

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Speaker 6: And you know, I think, you know, he doesn't like

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Speaker 6: to talk legacy.

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Speaker 2: He doesn't like to talk about his place in history,

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Speaker 2: but he's also aware of it, and he's also aware

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Speaker 2: of what he means to the Dodger fan base, what

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Speaker 2: he means in the legacy of Sandy Kofax and Fernando

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Speaker 2: Venezuela and then Clayton Kershaw. You know, he's left handed,

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Speaker 2: you know, you know, generational people, talents and who have

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Speaker 2: transcended Dodger Baseball, transcended and become Southern California icons. And

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Speaker 2: it's just, you know, I think he realized, you know,

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Speaker 2: a few years back, that you know, whenever it was

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Speaker 2: time to conclude his Dodger career, that was also going

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Speaker 2: to coincide at the end of his baseball career.

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Speaker 3: Clayton and you just locked it in for me, He's

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Speaker 3: always seemed like a guy who's pretty understated and doesn't

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Speaker 3: love the spotlight, even though he has had so many

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Speaker 3: moments in that spotlight. And for catching him being a

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Speaker 3: friend for so long, what's a what's a quintessential behind

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Speaker 3: the scenes like conversation moments, something that may seem understated

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Speaker 3: in the moment, but that just demonstrates what type of

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Speaker 3: pitcher and athlete and competitor that Clinton Kirsh ees.

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Speaker 2: So you guys have beitt in the dugout during no

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Speaker 2: hitters before and the game starts getting deeper and deeper

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Speaker 2: in the game. We've all seen the scene where the

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Speaker 2: starting pitcher is sitting alone and no one is talking

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Speaker 2: to him, and everybody's kind of allowing him to.

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Speaker 6: You know, no one wants to go and.

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Speaker 2: Break the concentration or jinx the no hitter and talk

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Speaker 2: to the starting pitcher, and you know, they're in his

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Speaker 2: no hitter. In twenty fourteen against their Rockies, we're getting

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Speaker 2: towards the later and ings of the game and no

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Speaker 2: one's talking, and uh.

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Speaker 6: But we're getting towards the bottom of the lineup, and

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Speaker 6: we we.

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Speaker 2: We realized the you know, if the Rockies are definitely

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Speaker 2: gonna start deploying some right handed hitters, they have a

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Speaker 2: pitcher spot coming up, there's gonna be some pinch hitters

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Speaker 2: coming up. And so Rick Honey cutting myself were over

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Speaker 2: there kind of staring at the lineup car kind of

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Speaker 2: talking through what's gonna happen, and Clayton all of a sudden,

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Speaker 2: we feel this this present sneak up behind us. It's

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Speaker 2: between both and Clayton says, who they gonna pitch it?

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Speaker 2: And neither Rick or I want to talk. But neither

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Speaker 2: Rick and I want to say a word to Clayton

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Speaker 2: in this moment, and it's like, uh, and before we

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Speaker 2: say thing, he goes, I think it's gonna be Colberson.

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Speaker 2: I think Colberson's gonna pinch it. We're just gonna pitch

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Speaker 2: the strengths, right, pitch of strengths. And I think I

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Speaker 2: just said, yeah, pitch of strengths. And you turn around

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Speaker 2: and Rick huney Get said you talked.

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Speaker 6: You just ruined it, and I was like, oh God,

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Speaker 6: did I just screw this up?

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Speaker 2: Well, thank god, Charlie swung in the first pitch fastball

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Speaker 2: and popped up the Yassio Puig who made the only

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Speaker 2: two hands catch in the history of his career. He

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Speaker 2: was able to get that out uh to close off

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Speaker 2: the uh, the second out of the.

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Speaker 6: Ninth in UH.

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Speaker 1: It should have been a perfect game.

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Speaker 6: AJ, I don't want to go there on.

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Speaker 1: All right, all right, I'll go there.

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Speaker 6: I'll go there.

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Speaker 4: A j Ellis.

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Speaker 1: It is a pleasure. Thank you for taking the time.

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Speaker 1: You were so kind to do it last minute for us.

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Speaker 1: We knew it was coming. It doesn't seem real, but

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Speaker 1: a lot of unbelievable innings thrown with you behind the dish.

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Speaker 1: Thanks my friend, see you soon.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, great to see you guys.

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Speaker 2: And we all get to celebrate tonight, and yeah, I

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Speaker 2: hope he gets another playoff moment as well, then we

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Speaker 2: celebrate that as well.

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Speaker 6: It's be great, so thank you guys,