Clayton Kershaw: I Won't Take Pitching at Dodger Stadium 'For Granted' After Injury

After making his season debut Thursday, longtime Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw expressed how grateful he was to be back on the mound at Dodger Stadium.

Speaking to reporters after the team's 6-4 home win over the rival San Francisco Giants, Kershaw said:

"To be able to get back out there at Dodger Stadium is something I've thought about for a long time. It meant a lot. It meant a lot. [My wife] Ellen and the kids were here too. They were so excited. There's a lot of people in here that spent a lot of time with me to help me get back, and people back home as well to help. This was really cool, that a lot of people cared so much to help me. And for me personally to go back out and pitch here at Dodger Stadium definitely—not that I ever did before, but I'm not going to take that for granted again."

Kershaw was on a pitch count after missing the first four months of the season while recovering from shoulder surgery, but he gave the Dodgers four solid innings, allowing six hits, two walks and two earned runs while striking out six.

During the offseason, the Dodgers made some significant improvements to their starting rotation, signing Yoshinobu Yamamoto and acquiring Tyler Glasnow in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays.

L.A. also signed two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani to the biggest contract in Major League Baseball history. Although he is focusing only on hitting this season after undergoing elbow surgery, he figures to be part of the rotation in 2025 and beyond.

Because of all that, it was unclear if the Dodgers would bring the 36-year-old Kershaw back into the fold, but they ultimately signed him to a two-year, $10 million deal in February.

His return comes at a key time for the Dodgers, who have been ravaged by injuries, particularly in their starting rotation.

Yamamoto, Walker Buehler and Michael Grove are all on the IL, while Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Emmet Sheehan are out for the season.

It remains to be seen how much of a workload Kershaw will be able to handle down the stretch, but he has proven in recent years that he can still be dominant when healthy.

The 10-time All-Star, three-time National League Cy Young Award winner, one-time NL MVP and one-time World Series champion went 12-3 with a 2.28 ERA in 22 starts in 2022, followed by going 13-5 with a 2.46 ERA in 24 starts last season.

Kershaw has already done it all and is likely going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer by virtue of his 210-92 career record with a 2.48 ERA and 1.01 WHIP.

However, adding another World Series title to his résumé would take his career to the next level, and the Dodgers are undoubtedly capable of going the distance if they can continue to get healthier.