Clayton Kershaw is the All-Star among All-Stars as NL defeats AL

ATLANTA — In a week where so much of the focus was on players who weren’t playing in the All-Star Game, and those who were selected who weren’t seen as deserving, it was the player who had been in more Midsummer Classics than anyone else who delivered the most profound reminder.

Before the start of Major League Baseball’s 95th All-Star Game at Truist Park in Atlanta, National League manager Dave Roberts called upon longtime Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw to speak in the clubhouse.

And in an impromptu pregame speech as the team’s elder statesman, Kershaw imparted the most important lesson he’s learned from his 11 All-Star Games.

“The All-Star Game, it can be hard at times for the players,” Kershaw recounted when asked about his message to the team. “It’s a lot of travel, it’s a lot of stress, chaos, family, all this stuff.”

“But,” the 37-year-old future Hall of Famer added, “it’s meaningful, it’s impactful for the game, it’s important for the game. We have the best All-Star Game of any sport. We do have the best product. So to be here, to realize your responsibility to the sport is important … And I just said I was super honored to be part of it.”

Kershaw, admittedly, was picked for this year’s game for more sentimental reasons than anything.

After making only 10 starts in the first half of the year following offseason foot and knee surgeries, the future Hall of Famer was shoehorned in as a “Legend Pick” by commissioner Rob Manfred, getting the nod a week after becoming the 20th pitcher in MLB with 3,000 strikeouts.

The honor made Kershaw feel awkward, with the three-time Cy Young Award winner repeatedly joking that he hadn’t really deserved to return to the All-Star Game for the first time since 2023, despite his 4-1 record and 3.38 ERA so far this season.

At first, he acknowledged, he even had a little hesitancy about participating in this week’s festivities in Atlanta.

“My initial response was just, you don’t ever want to take somebody’s spot,” he said. “You don’t ever want to be a side show.”

A side show, however, Kershaw was not.

Instead, as the man with the most All-Star selections of anyone in this year’s game (and the fourth-most by a pitcher), Kershaw was at the center of one of the most memorable moments from the National League’s win on a tiebreaking home run derby after a 6-6 tie. Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber hit three home runs in the swing-off to lift the NL to victory and claim game MVP honors.

Upon entering the game at the start of the second inning, Kershaw retired the first two batters he faced; the latter, a strikeout looking of Toronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He then turned to the dugout to see Roberts coming to get him, ending what could very well be his final appearance in the Midsummer Classic (even though, he has made a point of noting, he has not made any decision on retirement after the season).

And as he exited the mound, he was serenaded with one of the night’s loudest ovations, waving a hand in appreciation before blowing a kiss to his family in the stands.

“I didn’t anticipate to be here. I definitely didn’t anticipate to pitch,” Kershaw said. “So it was awesome. So thankful for it now.”

Many others in Atlanta felt the same way about sharing the week with Kershaw.

NL starter Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates had the locker next to Kershaw in the Truist Park clubhouse, and joked his only hope was that veteran left-hander wouldn’t get sick of him by the end of the event.

“He’s such a class act, it’s just so impressive,” Skenes said. “We were in the waiting room before the red carpet today, and he had all his kids, and watching him as dad too, it was a cool experience.”

San Francisco Giants ace Logan Webb recalled his memories of watching Kershaw while growing up in Northern California.

“I just respect him so much, watching him pitch,” Webb said. “You could’ve asked me five years ago, and you could’ve said Clayton Kershaw was a legend already. He is a legend. I’m just happy I’m able to share a clubhouse with him.”

Kershaw’s lighter side was on display Tuesday, as well, with the pitcher mic’d up with the Fox broadcast team for his brief outing.

“I’m gonna try to throw some cheese real quick, hold on,” he joked while unleashing an 89-mph fastball to Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, which turned into a lineout in left thanks to a diving effort from Kyle Tucker of the Chicago Cubs.

“Hey!” Kershaw exclaimed. “That was sick.”

On his first pitch to Guerrero, Kershaw threw another fastball that the Blue Jays’ star took for a strike.

“Right down the middle,” Kershaw said. “I’m so glad he didn’t swing.”

When Guerrero got to a 1-and-1 count after a curveball in the dirt, Kershaw contemplated his next pitch.

“I think I probably gotta go slider,” he said. “Let’s see what Will thinks.”

Behind the plate, teammate Will Smith instead called for a curveball.

“Nope, he wants curveball again,” Kershaw laughed. “All right, fine.”

Guerrero swung through it — “Oh, got him,” he said — before freezing on a slider two pitches later for a called third strike.

“I’m getting blown up by former teammates saying, ‘Wow, you’ve changed so much,’ and they’re right,” Kershaw joked afterward, acknowledging his once-fiery demeanor never would have allowed him to embrace an in-game interview like that. “I don’t think I would’ve ever done that [in the past]. But it was actually kind of fun.”

Really, that was the theme of Kershaw’s whole week.

Reluctantly accepting his stature as one of the game’s most decorated players. Accepting an invitation designed to honor his career accomplishments. And providing a reminder of the All-Star Game’s meaning, in what will perhaps be his last time on such a stage.

“It’s a very awesome, special thing to get to come to All-Star Games,” he said. “I remember the first one, how special that was. And I don’t think a lot has changed for me over the years to get to come to these things. So I don’t take that for granted. I think it’s really awesome. I mean, I shouldn’t be here anyway, so it’s very possible this could be my last one. So it was just a very awesome night, special.”