Clayton Kershaw Calls Out Critics of Dodgers' Payroll, 'You Can't Buy the Character'

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who is retiring, just capped his surefire Hall of Fame career with his third World Series title.

After the Dodgers' 5-4, 11-inning win in Game 7 of the Fall Classic on Saturday at the Toronto Blue Jays, Kershaw had some remarks about criticism of the team's league-leading payroll, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

"Everyone talks about the Dodgers and how much money we spend and how we're supposed to do this, and all this stuff," Kershaw said. "I tell you what, man. You can't buy the character, the heart and the willingness to do things that other people wouldn't do."

Per Cot's Contracts, the Dodgers had a year-end 40-man payroll of just under $347 million, which led MLB. They also have $1.051 billion in deferred payments to eight players, per the Associated Press.

There's obviously been criticism of the teams' spending, especially this past season. A common refrain was that the Dodgers were "ruining baseball." L.A. has clearly heard the comments, to the point where manager Dave Roberts even referenced it after his team clinched the NL pennant with a four-game sweep over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Of course, the 2024 champion Dodgers entered this season as favorites, especially after reloading this offseason with more talent (e.g. Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, Tanner Scott). It seemed as though the Dodgers could just get whomever they want, and money wasn't an obstacle.

L.A. didn't exactly roll through the season, as injuries piled up and the team needed to hold off the San Diego Padres to win the NL West at 93-69. The Dodgers ended with the No. 3 seed in the playoffs, but making the World Series wasn't a huge challenge, with the team winning seven of eight games against the Philadelphia Phillies and Brewers.

The Toronto Blue Jays were up next, and that proved to be an unbelievable fight to the finish. Both teams showed incredible heart, perseverance and resolve, and in the end, the Dodgers won a game of inches to win the World Series.

L.A. did show great character along the way, especially with the team's backs against the wall multiple times in Game 7. Of most note, Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw 2.2 shutout innings on no days rest after making 96 pitches the day before.

Miguel Rojas came into Game 6 cold, having not gotten a hit since Oct. 1, but he made a huge defensive play to end Game 6 with a 3-1 win, he hit the game-tying home run in the ninth inning of Game 7 and he made a huge stop and throw to home to cut off the potential game-winning run in the bottom of that same frame. Roberts made sure to call him "a great teammate" and "glue guy."

Kershaw wasn't the only player talking about the team's intangibles afterward, with Snell adding some comments.

"The amount of support we give one another, how much we push each other to be great, how much we push our own expectations within the group, is unbelievable," Snell said, per Rosenthal.

In the end, the Dodgers were victorious and became the first team to win back-to-back World Series since 2000, when the New York Yankees capped three straight titles.