Clayton Kershaw, the three-time Cy Young Award winner, will be retiring at the end of this season, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced on Thursday. Kershaw, 37, got his 3,000th strikeout in July. He has a career record of 222-96 and 15 shutouts, which lead active major league players.
Kershaw, the 11-time All-Star and 2014 NL MVP, is currently in his 18th major league season. He has spent all his time with the Dodgers, tying him with Zack Wheat and Bill Russell for most years in the history of the franchise. He also won World Series championships in 2020 and 2024.
Amid the news of him hanging up his boots, here's a look at Clayton Kershaw's wife and family.
Clayton Kershaw family
Kershaw has been married to wife Ellen for almost 15 years. The Dodgers star met his wife, now 37, when they were freshmen at Highland Park High School in Dallas, Texas.
Ellen reportedly recalled the MLB player being the ‘class clown’. During a 2017 interview, Clayton had said about his relationship “We just enjoyed hanging out with each other [in high school]. We kind of ran in the same circles…it was a fun time for us.” The future MLB pitcher said he finally had to work up “some courage” to ask her out. She said yes to the date, and “I went and told all my buddies in the [school] cafeteria. It was a good day.”
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The two tied the knot in 2010, at Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas.
{{/usCountry}}The two tied the knot in 2010, at Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas.
{{/usCountry}}Ellen dreamt of philanthropy when they were dating, eventually leading to the creation of Kershaw’s Challenge – which supports at-risk children all around the world. Speaking of the organization, Ellen reportedly said “The first time you hold a Zambian orphan, your entire life will be changed because it becomes so personal and so real, that overwhelming blanket of poverty is in this one child. And you realize if you can only make a difference in this one person’s life, that may be what the Lord has called you to for your entire existence.”
Clayton and Ellen already have four kids – Cali, 10, and three boys, Charley, 8, Cooper, 5, and Chance, 3. The baseball player has also announced that the couple are expecting a fifth baby and it's a girl.
(With AP inputs)