"Young guys coming up are throwing 103mph" - Clayton Kershaw's wife opens up about Dodgers icon managing success and failures of the sport

Clayton Kershaw has spent his entire 17-year MLB career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, the three-time National League Cy Young winner is on the free agent market and is uncertain whether he will return to the Dodgers or any team in the major leagues this year.

Clayton Kershaw's wife, Ellen, feels that experience has taught the couple to deal with the ups and downs of his glittering career. Ellen said that they learned to understand that the younger group of players will eventually take over the stats and records of the older generation. She said knowing that her husband's achievements don't fully define him as a person helps her cope with the challenges in his professional life.

Ellen Kershaw, on the A League of Her Own podcast earlier this week, explained how she and her husband, Clayton Kershaw, understood that there would be tough times even when he's at the top of his game. [31:00 - 34:20]

"Someday, someone is going to come along and blow all your records out of the water, because that's how the game is," Ellen said. "These young guys are coming up and they're now throwing 103 mph, and are doing things that feel so ridiculous and unattainable. So, let's make sure that we've got this bigger perspective that when your career is over, you're leaving behind something far longer than what any record or stat will be able to hold.

"Just having a bigger perspective of, like, "This is not my identity. This is not who I am. These are just incredible experiences and accomplishments,"" she added. "I've got to step away sometimes and make sure I've got a healthy head on my shoulders when it comes to the successes and failures of the sport."

Clayton Kershaw is regarded as one of the greatest pitchers of his generation. He's a 10-time All-Star and was named the 2014 NL MVP.

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Clayton Kershaw's wife feels having kids helped her deal with the pressures of her husband's career

Clayton Kershaw has spent his entire MLB career with the Dodgers (Image Source: Imagn)

Ellen Kershaw said that having children and starting a family allowed her to stay composed and navigate through the peaks and valleys of Clayton Kershaw's career. Ellen said that faith also played a role in calming her as a person.

"It's such a rollercoaster, and I think before I had kids, it was very easy for me to live and breathe the highs and lows of this sport," she said. "If you're holding so tightly to those highs and lows, and the success and the failures, that it's going to be crippling with anxiety. And we saw that.

"There were lots of failures for Clayton for quite some time in the postseason. And then injuries started happening," she added. "You just feel like you're in this volatile, out-of-control position. You see your heart on the line out there, and there's very little you can do. So, prayer came into my life in a very incredible way."

Clayton Kershaw had signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers at the start of the 2024 season. However, he only made seven starts during the regular season and was ruled out of their postseason roster due to a torn meniscus on his left knee. The veteran southpaw believes he's ready for the 2025 season.