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Ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw announced his retirement at the end of the season

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

VIN SCULLY: And the one-two pitch, Kershaw's fastball, got him swinging.

(CHEERING)

SCULLY: They take the ball and send it over to the Dodger dugout to commemorate his first Big League strikeout.

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

That's sound from Clayton Kershaw's first game, striking out his very first batter with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008.

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

The legendary pitcher will be stepping onto the mound again tonight, but it will be bittersweet for Dodgers fans. This week, after almost two decades, he announced that he will be retiring after this season.

SHAPIRO: Kershaw, a lefty, has had more than 3,000 strikeouts, hundreds of wins, two World Series championships and a trophy case full of MLB awards - all with one team.

CHANG: The Dodgers are facing their rival, the San Francisco Giants, in a soldout game where fans will watch a curtain call in Los Angeles for one of the greatest pitchers of all time in baseball. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Gabriel J. Sánchez
Gabriel J. Sánchez is a producer for NPR's All Things Considered. Sánchez identifies stories, books guests, and produces what you hear on air. Sánchez also directs All Things Considered on Saturdays and Sundays.
John Ketchum