Clayton Kershaw
If I can make a kid smile playing baseball, that's pretty awesome.Collection: Smile
They say baseball's a game of failure. Well, that's only true on the offensive side.Collection: Failure
My changeup needs to be better. Until I feel comfortable throwing that pitch - or any pitch - in any count, I've got stuff to work on.
I'm a big Taylor Swift fan. I really like her song 'Mean.'
On a day I start, I have a turkey sandwich for lunch. I don't consider it a ritual, but I'm anxious on those days.
I've been fortunate my whole career because I've had great guys to learn from.
Sandy Koufax is a great teacher. He just talks about competitiveness and being aggressive - about stride length, power, how to spin the breaking ball. The way he explains pitching is simple, which is something you don't see a lot.
I watch all the pitchers I admire. I love watching Cliff Lee. It looks easy for him when he's on the mound; he's almost like an artist. He knows exactly how to get guys out.
Bases loaded and nobody out is a pretty impossible situation.
No matter how long you play this game, you struggle and your confidence will go here and there at times.
Your career goes fast, just a blink of an eye and you're an ex-baseball player, longer than you are a baseball player. I try not to think about it too much, but it seems like it does go fast.
I don't really watch video of myself. Yeah, I don't really - I never really have.
If we have a good day and we win, I'll celebrate and enjoy it. If I have a bad day and I lose, I'll be disappointed and then come back the next day and think about the next team.
Yeah, strikeouts just kind of happen. It's not something I'm trying to do, I'm just trying to get outs as fast as possible.
Yeah, my faith is very important to me.
Getting to say you're going to the World Series is a pretty special thing.
When the butterflies in my stomach, when those leave, then I know it's probably time to retire.
People make a big deal about celebrations and what's appropriate and what's not. But just talking with some veteran guys, I think anytime you get a chance to celebrate with your team, regardless if it's winning the division or winning a series, whatever it is, you take advantage of that.
The playoffs is ‑ I think I took it for granted a little bit. My first two years I kind of just thought that always happened, I guess.
Anytime a pitcher hasn't faced a hitter, I feel the pitcher has the advantage. The more times the hitter sees somebody, the more the advantage goes to the hitter.
I don't know, I think everybody deals with nerves and adrenaline a little bit differently.
Just try to live in moment as much as you can each pitch, not worry about what happened after the past has happened.
You can't compare regular season to postseason.
The goal is always a complete game.
You can't have your bullpen throwing three or four innings every night. Just not fair to them.
I firmly believe that you are supposed to love everybody. That is God's one boldest commandment.
We don't own anything that we have. It is all a gift from God and we are just trying to be good stewards of what He gives us.
When you're out there in the heat of the moment and you're pitching, and it's a big situation, you're saying 'Don't throw a ball, don't give up a hit, don't walk this guy.' But the harder you want to control something the more it gets out of your control.
The more you try to grip control of your life the more God's gonna untangle that from you. He's going to make things go where you have to rely on Him.
If you're playing baseball, why are you playing baseball? Is it to have success on the field and be a Hall-of-Famer or whatever it is? Sure, that's everyone's goal. But then what? For me, it's about the legacy you leave off the field.
It's just amazing the providence God had in my life. God was there the whole time, I just didn't bother to look.
When you win the Cy Young, it's like, well, you're a baseball player, that's what you're supposed to do. When you win the Clemente Award, you don't do it to get recognized for your work, but it means so much more than baseball.
You play baseball. You play a lot of games. You win a lot of stuff. You win a World Series. But if that's all you've done, what have you got to show for it?
I know I didn't deserve this, but God has given me this baseball ability. So I've got to do whatever I can to honor him.
Ultimately, baseball is just a game. It's not so much how you play, but how you represent him why you're playing.
I've always kind of had a deal with my wife where, in the off-season, I'm kind of clean-shaven, and during the season just kind of let it go.
As a pitcher, you're supposed to succeed, and you're not supposed to give up a hit.
Hitting's the hardest thing to do in sports.
I'm a good hitter for a pitcher.
I learned the slider out of desperation.
Watching guys win the World Series looks like a lot of fun. I'd kind of like to do that.
A line drive to the warning track on one pitch, I'll take that over a strikeout any day.
Whatever God has given us, we are just the vessel for it.
Baseball is just a game, obviously, but it means a lot to a lot of different people.
Any time first time out, you just want to make sure you can get hitters out again.
I grew up a Dodger and got drafted by the Dodgers.
Baseball is so performance-based. It's what have you done for me lately. I can get a lot of pressure and you can feel that, but if your life is given to God and your into Jesus there's really no pressure because at the end of the day your life is in His control and you surrender to that.
There's a responsibility to the coaches, to the organization, to the front office, to the owners, to everybody who believes in you enough to give you what you've gotten, to the fans that show up every day and pay to watch you play - all those things combined. It's not fair to take a day off.
I'm a big sports fan even outside of baseball. I love watching guys that are supposed to be great, and are great, live up to the expectations. So I really appreciate consistency.
You can't control the talents He gives you, no doubt about that. But you can control the effort you put forth with those talents.