Kershaw becomes 20th member of the 3,000-strikeout club

LOS ANGELES -- For every crack of the bat after Clayton Kershaw had gotten to a two-strike count, a collective groan went through Dodger Stadium.

Kershaw entered Wednesday night's 5-4 win, a walk-off against the White Sox, needing only three strikeouts to reach 3,000 for his career. When he took the mound in the first inning, the crowd was practically hanging on his every pitch. But despite getting to two strikes on eight of his first 11 hitters, Kershaw did not strike out any of them.

That changed when Miguel Vargas went down swinging on a curveball in the third. Lenyn Sosa followed suit for the final out of the fifth, with Kershaw at 92 pitches. Given the circumstance, manager Dave Roberts seemed likely to send the veteran left-hander out for the sixth, but there was no guarantee.

When Kershaw emerged from the dugout, sitting on 2,999 strikeouts, the Dodger Stadium faithful roared. And they were rewarded when Kershaw got No. 3,000 for the final out of the sixth, freezing White Sox third baseman Vinny Capra with a slider dotted on the outer corner of the plate.

The 3,000-strikeout club is already an exclusive group of 20, and Kershaw is just the fourth left-hander to achieve the feat, joining CC Sabathia, Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton. He achieved the feat with his family in the stands, among the only home crowd he has known in his big league career.

After Kershaw notched the milestone strikeout on his 100th pitch of the game, he walked slowly back toward the dugout as the fans erupted in an ovation that lasted around six minutes. He doffed his cap for the crowd before exchanging handshakes and hugs with his teammates and coaching staff.

"It was overwhelming to feel that," Kershaw said. "I don't have a lot of great words other than that it was just really special."

It was tense. It did not come easily. But Kershaw was nonetheless able to appreciate every bit of it.

"I made it take too long," Kershaw said. "Honestly, didn't pitch that great tonight, and the slider was so bad. But this was such a special night all the way around. It really was. Couldn't have asked for anything more, really. It was so fun to get to be out there."

Capra later tipped his hat to Kershaw and acknowledged his place in the history books.

"He's done it for a long time," Capra said. "He's a really good pitcher, made a really good pitch and it's 3,000. That's an incredible moment for him, and good for him."

Read more

• Kershaw becomes latest in historic 3,000-K club
• 12 facts behind Kershaw's march to 3,000 strikeouts
• 3,000 K's is one of MLB's rarest feats
• 10 moments that define Kershaw's career
• Each team's all-time strikeout king

Kershaw is only the third to strike out 3,000 and spend his entire career with one club, joining Walter Johnson (Senators) and Bob Gibson (Cardinals). The Dodgers have watched Kershaw's journey to this rare achievement from the very beginning.

Kershaw struck out the first Major League hitter he faced when he debuted as a fresh-faced 20-year-old on May 25, 2008. It took a seven-pitch battle, but Kershaw sent the Cardinals' Skip Schumacher down swinging for the first strikeout of his career.

It has been more than 17 years since that day, and Kershaw has since cemented himself as one of the best pitchers of his era. He joins the Giants' Justin Verlander and the Blue Jays' Max Scherzer as the other active members of the 3,000-strikeout club (Scherzer reached the milestone as a member of the Dodgers in 2021).

As Kershaw closed in on the achievement, several around the Dodgers have wondered if he might be the last to reach 3,000 strikeouts. The Braves' Chris Sale (2,528 strikeouts in age-36 season) and the Yankees' Gerrit Cole (2,251 strikeouts, out for his age-34 season due to Tommy John surgery) are the next-closest active pitchers.

In his 18th big league season, Kershaw -- a three-time Cy Young Award winner, the 2014 National League MVP and a two-time World Series champion -- hardly has anything left to prove. Three thousand strikeouts might just be the crowning accomplishment for a decorated career that will see him immortalized in the Hall of Fame one day.

"I think that to get 3,000 strikeouts, that takes a long time," Roberts said, "and a lot of trials, tribulations, surgeries, rehab, frustration, tears. To continue to fight back, come back, show up and post, that's hard to do. … There was a lot of emotion for Clayton. I hope he enjoys this one, and now I think he can even say that every box for him has been checked."

Kershaw has acknowledged that there was a time when he didn't recognize what it meant to spend an entire career with one organization, let alone reach the heights he has with the Dodgers. He has an appreciation for it all now, and it made his milestone night all the more special.

"The Dodgers have stuck with me, too," Kershaw said. "It hasn't been all roses, I know that. … I'm super grateful now, looking back, to get to say that I spent my whole career here and I will spend my whole career here."