Ray Hacke: More than a pitcher

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LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Today is Wednesday, October 8th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Lindsay Mast.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Up next, a Major League Baseball superstar is pitching his final innings , as he’s planning to hang up his cleats after the current playoff chase. Here’s WORLD’s Ray Hacke.

RAY HACKE: On September 18th, LA Dodgers fans were shocked when veteran pitcher Clayton Kershaw announced his retirement, after 18 seasons with the ballclub where he started.

KERSHAW: Today, I’m going to keep it short and sweet. Yeah, I’m going to call it…I’m going to retire…

The left-hander then went out and pitched four and a third innings in his final regular-season home game against the San Francisco Giants, one of major league baseball’s oldest rivalries.

BROADCAST AUDIO: What a moment at Dodgers Stadium tonight. It was just sort of thrust on everyone…

Kershaw’s final season isn’t over. The Dodgers won the National League West division title for the 12th time in 13 years and are competing in the playoffs. Kershaw will factor heavily into the Dodgers’ efforts to repeat as the World Series champion for the first time in team history.

POST GAME AUDIO: It’s unbelievable, and what you said, where we’ve come from…

Throughout his tenure in the major leagues, the Dodgers’ all-time strikeout leader has exuded humility, quietly dominating on the mound and letting his numbers and accolades testify to his greatness.

ESPN COVERAGE: Strikeout for Kershaw! The 20th pitcher in major league history…to record 3000 strikeouts…

His accomplishments are indeed quite impressive: Kershaw’s career earned run average is 2.54, meaning he’s been downright stingy when it comes to letting opponents score.

He’ll likely be one of the last pitchers to reach 200 wins and 3,000 strikeouts in his career, that’s not to mention Kershaw’s 11 All-Star selections, three Cy Young Awards, 2014 National League Most Valuable Player award, and two World Series rings.

KERSHAW COURTESY OF CBN: When I think about Jesus, the first word that comes to mind is hope…he’s my hope…

Though Major League Baseball has never had a shortage of Christian ballplayers, Clayton Kershaw stands out from the rest.

KERSHAW COURTESY OF CBN: What anchors you? What gives you hope past this world? For us that’s Jesus. Jesus is our eternal hope.

In post-game interviews, he did much more than thank God for his success on the field. He used the platform his success created to advance the gospel and take a stand for his faith when the situation called for it.

He ended last month’s retirement announcement press conference by quoting his favorite Bible verse.

KERSHAW: ‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as you’re working for the Lord, not for men. That’s Colossians 3:23. That’s what I’ve tried to do—just work at it. Just work at it, and love it.”

Kershaw certainly did that. But it isn’t the only thing that made him a shining example for other Christian ballplayers to follow.

Sometimes, it meant publicly pushing back against his employer: In 2023, the Dodgers honored the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The sisters are an LGBTQ group whose members dress like nuns and openly mock Christian values. The ball-club honored them with a Community Hero Award. Kershaw denounced the decision:

KERSHAW: There’s a little bit more of a culture war these days…and there’s a lot more people with opinions on social media…

At Kershaw’s urging, the Dodgers hosted a Faith and Family Day later that season.

And earlier this year at the Dodgers’ Pride Night in June, Kershaw scrawled Genesis 9:12-16 in white ink to the right of the rainbow-colored version of the Dodgers’ “LA” logo on his cap. He did it to remind fans of what the rainbow truly stands for. Kershaw was truly—in the words of Jesus—as “wise as a serpent, but harmless as a dove.” In the process he avoided the backlash many Christian athletes experience when they refuse to celebrate what the Bible condemns.

I AM SECOND: For me, it’s about the legacy you leave off the field. It’s about how many people I can effect with the platform He gave me…

Off the field, Kershaw used his MLB earnings to support missions work in Africa and transform at-risk children and communities through his charity, Kershaw’s Challenge.

Even in retirement, Kershaw is modeling Christian principles: His focus will be on being a more present father to his five kids—counting the baby he and his wife Ellen now eagerly await.

KERSHAW: I’m excited to not miss another game and watch all the baseball, volleyball, dance, soccer… I’m gonna do that for a while, for sure.

For every ballplayer, there comes a time to move on to his next chapter. Kershaw’s time is now. And while there will never be another Kershaw, I pray there will be another Christian ballplayer in MLB that will follow his example in boldness and humility.

I’m Ray Hacke.

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