Clayton Kershaw returns to Dodgers as a Special Assistant
Los Angeles Dodgers former player Clayton Kershaw (22) during the World Series ring ceremony before the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium. LOS ANGELES – There was a time when Clayton Kershaw controlled the tempo of a game with a slow walk to the mound and a glance in for the sign. On Thursday night, just steps from that same dugout he once owned, he controlled something else entirely — the conversation.
Kershaw made his broadcasting debut on NBC and Peacock as the Los Angeles Dodgers handled the Arizona Diamondbacks, 8–2. The headset looked natural on him. So did the perspective.
“I had a good time, it was fun doing it,” Kershaw said, sounding less like a future Hall of Famer trying something new and more like a veteran already comfortable in his second act. That second act, as it turns out, will have layers. Kershaw isn’t disappearing into retirement.
Not fully. Not from this organization. Not from this game.
While his NBC appearance was a one-off — at least until August — it offered a glimpse into one lane of his post-playing life. The other became official just a day later: Kershaw is returning to the Dodgers as a special assistant to the front office, working alongside president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Brandon Gomes. “I think I'll be involved somehow,” Kershaw said.