Even in his first year of retirement, Clayton Kershaw isn’t missing out on October baseball.
This week, the future Hall of Fame Dodgers star-turned-NBC television broadcaster will be on assignment for the network’s coverage of MLB’s first-round wild-card playoff series, drawing none other than the San Diego Padres’ clash with the Chicago Cubs at Petco Park beginning on Tuesday.
A rookie broadcaster following a decorated 18-year career on the mound, Kershaw has made a positive impression in his television debut this year, which has included sideline work on NBC’s Sunday Night Baseball package as well as a cameo as the primary color analyst on a SportsNet LA Dodgers game last month.
Now, he will step onto an even bigger stage to kick off the playoffs, serving as a field-side “Inside the Pitch” analyst alongside play-by-play man Dave Flemming and game analysts Jim Deshaies and Mark Grant (a member of the Padres’ regular-season broadcast team) in the booth, and sideline reporter John Fanta.
A new October role, in what will be familiar postseason surroundings.
As a player, of course, Kershaw was a key figure in the recent explosion of the Dodgers’ and Padres’ National League West rivalry. Three times in the back half of his career, the two clubs met in memorable playoff matchups, with the Dodgers sweeping San Diego in the National League Division Series en route to their 2020 title, getting eliminated in a stunning upset during the 2022 NLDS, then exacting revenge in a five-game epic in the 2024 NLDS (the lone series of the three Kershaw missed because of an injury).
This year, the two teams can’t cross paths until the NL Championship Series, with the second-seeded Dodgers (who got a bye for the wild-card series this week) sitting on the opposite side of the bracket from the fourth-seeded Padres.
For now, however, their respective focus is on their more immediate task, with the Padres trying to avenge their wild-card elimination to the Cubs last year, and the Dodgers preparing to face either the Braves or Phillies in next week’s NLDS.
The same goes for Kershaw, who will be capping off his first year of TV work during this week’s best-of-three series (since NBC doesn’t have the rights to any further rounds of the playoffs).
As the 38-year-old told the California Post last month, he is still undecided on whether TV will be a full-time gig for him in retirement. This year, he has worked only a handful of games while also serving as a special assistant to the Dodgers’ front office.
For the next three days, at least, he’ll get behind the mic one more time.
He might not be playing October baseball this year. But he won’t be missing out on it, either.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
