The vibes are high as the Philadelphia Flyers kicked off their 2025 training camp Thursday, and for good reason. The atmosphere seems to be totally different.
Given the nature of the split-group methodology, there isn't an awful lot to come away with, especially from the first day.
New head coach Rick Tocchet, running his first training camp as the Flyers' bench boss, did offer some insight into his coaching philosophies, though, which will help us identify the things we need to look for during camp.
For example, Tocchet shared Thursday that he likes Scotty Bowman's method of running "pairs" in the forward lines.
"I think Scotty Bowman was a genius behind the bench. He was the pair guy. You have pairs and you can always rotate a guy in and out as the third guy," Tocchet said. "I do like having two guys that work well together. You can always put a third guy in one or two nights, then put another guy.
"We did it, actually, in Pittsburgh a little bit, and it creates energy. As a coach, you got to be careful that you're not doing it too much and pulling the plug all the time."
So, why is this important? For two reasons, actually.
According to Moneypuck, there were 82 forward combinations that played 201 minutes or more together last season, and the Flyers accounted for only two of those.
Those lines were Tyson Foerster, Noah Cates, and Bobby Brink, and Travis Konecny, Sean Couturier, and Matvei Michkov.
Tocchet's Vancouver Canucks did not have a single trio play 201 or more minutes together, and many of the NHL's worst teams (Chicago, Calgary, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Nashville, etc.) had two or fewer such combinations.
In simple terms: finding chemistry is important for finding success in the NHL. Shocker!
During Thursday's practice session, Tocchet enacted this philosophy across the two main groups, Group A and Group B.
Here are some forward line combinations that may pique your interest:
Nikita Grebenkin - Sean Couturier - Matvei Michkov Alex Bump - Trevor Zegras - Travis Konecny Denver Barkey - Christian Dvorak - Tyson Foerster Foerster - Noah Cates - Bobby Brink Owen Tippett - Jett Luchanko - Alexis Gendron
Obviously, some of these lines are incomplete due to the groupings of players, but we can identify a few "pairs" right away.
Couturier and Michkov, Zegras and Konecny, Foerster and Dvorak, and Cates and Brink all stand out. Tippett and Luchanko make a lot of sense, assuming the latter makes the Flyers' NHL roster out of training camp as he did last year.
On defense, Cam York and Helge Grans were paired up, as were Nick Seeler and Jamie Drysdale. Travis Sanheim skated alongside Spencer Gill (placeholder for Rasmus Ristolainen?) while Egor Zamula and Emil Andrae worked with each other.
With the exception of Gill, this should be the Flyers' main defense group going forward.
When I look at players like Andrae and Grans, I recognize that Ristolainen is going to be out until November, most likely. At what point are the Flyers going to find a better time to get a look at these players?
Developing the young players appears to be a priority, so Grans and Andrae should get priority over veterans like Noah Juulsen and Dennis Gilbert, at least in training camp.
If they don't earn their places with the Flyers, that's another thing, but Tocchet's first day indicates he's giving the new guys and the young guys every opportunity to earn a place that suits them and their skills.
It helps, too, that the first day included work on systems and practicing actual hockey rather than skating around in circles all day, hoping that professional athletes indeed showed up to work in shape.
The weekend and the preseason will tell us more, but it's an encouraging start for Tocchet's new-look, good-vibe Flyers in training camp.
The 73-man camp was divided into three groups to begin: the first two groups featured NHL and NHL/AHL bubble players, while the third group included players solely destined for the AHL, ECHL, or their respective junior squads.
Matias Maccelli begins camp on top line
Matias Maccelli stepped out onto the ice at Ford Performance Centre on Thursday, skating alongside Matthew Knies and Auston Matthews. Max Domi was set to start camp on that line, but is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury after tweaking something in the summer skates.
“(Domi) was obviously a guy that I was going to put there [with Matthews and Knies],” Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said on Thursday afternoon. “Max should be back pretty quick, and then we'll go from there.”
Maccelli looked timid early on, though his play ramped up as the session continued. The 24-year-old hasn’t been in Toronto for long, so it might take a bit of time for him to get used to everything, from the city, the Maple Leafs staff and his teammates.
“He’s a little spark plug out there,” Anthony Stolarz smiled. “He’s shifty, but he’s actually got a really heavy shot, too. I’m excited to see him work with our top six. I think we got some guys that’ll complement each other really well.”
Bobby McMann gets a look with John Tavares and William Nylander
As much as it might be a surprise to some, Bobby McMann beginning training camp with William Nylander and John Tavares isn’t a shock to me.
The 29-year-old didn’t finish the season the way he wanted to. After tallying his 20th goal of the year on Mar. 25 against the Philadelphia Flyers, McMann went dormant for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs.
He scored three assists in the 13 games, which was his first-ever taste of the NHL postseason. And what caught his eye most in the playoffs was how much the competitiveness ramped up.
“Making sure that even when you're not contributing offensively, there's a lot that you can be doing to contribute. Those are long series, and you can really wear a team down if you're doing the little things right, so just trying to focus on that.”
Despite the Domi injury, which shifted players around, McMann was always going to begin training camp with Tavares and Nylander, Berube said on Thursday.
“I played them last year. They were together for a significant amount of time, and they always did well together, I thought. There's always production,” the head coach added.
“I think Bobby could take another step in his game, doing some things a little bit differently, especially playing with those two guys, getting those guys the puck more, getting to the net more, things like that.
“I like a big guy with those guys to forecheck, get in there and create loose pucks, help out JT in that situation and things like that. Willy's going to do his thing, we all know that. But Bobby, I feel, can take another step in his game. It's going to the net, being hard and physical and just understanding that that's his job and he's going to get points from it because you're playing with two pretty good players that, eventually, the puck's going to get there.”
Calle Jarnkrok left his stamp on opening day
When approaching a new season, there’s always going to be a few players circled to watch for in camp. I’ll admit, Jarnkrok wasn’t one of those I was eager to get an eye on early, but he stood out on day one.
The 33-year-old played just 19 games last year after recovering from sports hernia surgery. And despite returning towards the end of the regular season, Jarnkrok still looked like a player who was a step behind.
His game progressed in the final portion of the year, which was enough to keep him in the lineup for the postseason. He played alongside Scott Laughton and Steven Lorentz on the fourth line, tallying just one assist in 12 games.
However, there were plenty wondering in the summer if Jarnkrok would be a player dealt to make room for a top-six forward. They might need him now more than ever, though.
Looking at the top half of their lineup, there’s really only three players who can play alongside Knies and Matthews: Domi, Maccelli, and I’d put Jarnkrok in that conversation too. After all, Jarnkrok has gotten time alongside Matthews before, and among the three players, he is the most defensively responsible.
It’s only one day of camp, however, I’d look at Jarnkrok being a wildcard to watch out for as the preseason continues.
Easton Cowan looks more comfortable
When remembering back to Toronto’s last training camp, Cowan looked timid. There were glimpses of the player in junior, but for the most part, he struggled against stronger competition.
Just as I mentioned for Jarnkrok, it’s only one day of training camp, so take things with a grain of salt, but there’s a glaring difference in his game from last year to this moment in time.
He’s stronger, more confident in his game, and as he mentioned last week, will be in Toronto for the entire year, which puts him at ease. Cowan dealt with the size and physicality better on Thursday, playing beside Nicolas Roy and Dakota Joshua.
It appears the Maple Leafs are setting him up for success early on.
“I think players will show what they can do in camp and in the exhibition games. If Easton or another player is the best fit for the team and helps the team, then we'll put them in that position,” Berube said on Wednesday.
Other noteworthy early impressions
- Philippe Myers and Marshall Rifai had strong opening days. Both defensemen were physical and didn’t give an inch to any of the players they were going up against. Remember back to this time last year when Matthews mentioned Rifai as a player who stood out.
- I briefly mentioned Joshua earlier, but there’s no doubt he’ll be an intriguing player to watch as camp progresses. What immediately stuck out about the 29-year-old was his ability to use his size to overpower opponents. He’s quicker than I thought, too, and that gives me reason to believe he’ll be an important checking player for Toronto this year.
- Landon Sim isn’t going to make the Maple Leafs as he’s on an AHL deal, but he’s a much-needed body in the top two groups at training camp. He was consistently engaged at the Prospect Showdown and did the same on day one of camp. Sim was going against others — including Cowan, his Knights teammate — as if it were the biggest game of his life, and I’m sure the club was impressed. I’m curious to see if he keeps that energy for the entirety of Maple Leafs camp.
Chisholm and his ownership group take over as the Celtics begin to chart a new path toward Banner 19 while navigating a series of near-term obstacles, including the absence of superstar Jayson Tatum and the talent squeeze put on the roster by a restrictive collective bargaining agreement.
So how can Chisholm and Co. help shepherd the Celtics forward?
For Day 15 of our Ramp to Camp series, and wrapping up our weeklong look at what’s next for key figures on this year’s team, the spotlight falls on Chisholm and the new ownership group.
It’s our belief that it’s not so much what Chisholm can do, it’s what he shouldn’t do. There’s a value in patience. Take Year 1 and be a fan, be a fly on the wall. Obviously, that’s easy for us to say when we’re not the ones cutting billion-dollar checks as part of a $6.1 billion purchase.
But there are simply too many recent instances of new owners trying to immediately put their stamp on a team. And while it’s completely understandable why these billionaires would want to do such, it’s typically set teams back in their championship quest.
Just google “New Owner Syndrome” and you’ll get a full recap of recent missteps. Hit the images tab and you’ll see a whole lot of Mat Ishbia and the Phoenix Suns, who have already pivoted from their initial changes.
From all accounts, Chisholm seems to have embraced maintaining the status quo. Keeping Wyc Grousbeck on as CEO and alternate governor will help preserve continuity from the last ownership group, and help Chisholm learn exactly what made the last group so successful here.
We love Chisholm’s passion. His fandom is clear. Being courtside will show how invested he is in the players and maintaining the winning culture here. Chisholm and his ownership group will have to deal with the uneducated who will pin the summer cost-cutting on them, instead of acknowledging the second apron. But Boston fans are smart and understand that the Celtics needed to reset a bit this offseason. It’s best to ignore the pundits.
The last ownership group was willing to spend whenever the team was in position to truly chase a title. If Chisholm maintains that philosophy, he’ll do just fine. Grousbeck and Co. benefitted from putting smart people in charge and letting them do their jobs. They were rewarded with two banners (with trips to two other NBA Finals along the way).
If the next 22 years are as successful as the previous 22, Chisholm will be revered in this city.
Let’s find out what our panel wants to see from Chisholm:
Darren Hartwell, Managing Editor
Weekly interviews with Chris Forsberg on the Celtics Talk Podcast. (Just kidding … but consider that an open invite, Bill.)
Boston is in very good hands with president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, so Chisholm’s best tactic is to assure fans that Stevens is still calling the roster shots, and that there’s no mandate from on high to cut costs.
If Chisholm can stay out of the personnel fray while conveying his passion for the team, he’ll have very high approval ratings.
Michael Hurley, Web Producer
I think just being visible at the Garden and being around Celtics fans is an important acclimation step.
What made Wyc Grousbeck so beloved was, A) He cared deeply about the Celtics, and B) He was always around. Those aspects also helped Robert Kraft earn plenty of goodwill in New England, while John Henry and Jeremy Jacobs have been dealing with accusations of being “absentee owners.”
It’s difficult to climb out of that hole, so it’s best to simply never get in it.
I want to see Chisholm uphold his commitment to winning in the near- and long-term.
While Jayson Tatum’s injury has caused expectations to soften, crazy things happen in the NBA. So, if the Celtics are approaching the NBA trade deadline in the playoff mix with title aspirations closer in sight than previously expected, I’d like to see the organization operate like it.
And to the contrary, if the Celtics are not in contention for the playoffs ahead of the deadline, I would like to see the organization operate with a long-term outlook.
Josh Canu, Media Editor
Commitment to winning and maintaining Celtics culture.
My main thought here would be just don’t rock the boat. Definitely take the opportunity to put your stamp on the franchise and take ownership of some things. But the Celtics have so much history and culture that I am just hoping for the status quo of success to remain.
Max Lederman, Content Producer
I want to see very little from Bill Chisholm. The Celtics franchise has been one of the best-run in all of American sports over the last 25 years, and I hope he continues to let that happen.
Adam Hart, EP, Content Strategy
A joy for ownership of the team. We were blessed with that from the previous regime, and I hope that shows through despite what will likely be some shrewd moves to keep the team competitive given the CBA.
The trophy for the best regular season record has numerous contenders, which of which have reasons to think they’ll lift it (or not)
Are you a Cup or Shield person? For those who choose the latter, this part of the season is for you. The race to claim the title for best regular-season record is coming to a head with several teams still in serious Supporters’ Shield contention – it’s shaping up to be the wildest finish in recent memory.
As evidence of this: The standings are led by a team who lost their most recent match 7-0. Behind them – by just one point – are an expansion side. Then it’s a team who have won just two of their last six games followed by an outfit on a record-tying nine-game winning streak. And then there’s the team lurking in the shadows, boasting the greatest player of all-time, still within striking distance thanks to games in hand.
It sounds like a great story: Former No. 9 pick of the Mavericks Dennis Smith Jr. returns home to Dallas on a one-year contract. He did sign one, a story first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN. The Mavericks need point guard depth until Kyrie Irving returns from his ACL tear, so the franchise reached out to a trusted old friend.
The reality is less of a fairy tale: This is a non-guaranteed contract. Smith is going to have to earn a roster spot, which will not be easy because the Mavericks already have a full roster of 15 players under contract — Smith is going to have to beat someone out to get that job. The point guard depth chart starts with D'Angelo Russell, followed by Dante Exum, and for the third spot there is Brandon Williams, but he does not have a fully guaranteed contract (a $200,000 buyout). To make the roster, Smith likely has to beat out Williams for the third point guard spot (until Irving returns, then it becomes the fourth PG slot).
Another option for the Mavericks is to trade Jaden Hardy to create a roster spot. That's something the Mavericks considered before waiving and stretching Olivier-Maxence Prosper's contract to bring in Exum. If the Mavericks want to keep Smith and Williams, it's an option.
Smith is a seven-year NBA veteran, but one who was out of the NBA last season. He averaged double-digit points a game for the Mavericks and then the Knicks in the first seasons after he was drafted in 2017 out of NC State, but his production declined from there. Smith has been a high-level defensive guard and in the 2022-23 season in Charlotte averaged 8.8 points and 4.8 assists. He played the 2023-24 season in Brooklyn but was not brought back and sat out last season.
He's got a chance at a roster spot in Dallas, but it's going to be tough to earn it.
By the time day one of Pittsburgh Penguins' training camp concluded, new head coach Dan Muse had nearly lost his voice.
And based on the energy and noise in all three practice sessions on Thursday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, it's not really a surprise.
"I think it was loud," captain Sidney Crosby said. "It was pretty loud out there. There was a lot of stick banging, that sort of thing. I don't think that was just Dan. That was just, I think, the group bringing a lot of energy.
"That's what you want. You want the enthusiasm and passion. I thought the pace of practice was really good, and a lot of competition within that, so that's what you expect from training camp."
Enthusiasm and passion certainly seem to be early themes for the first-year NHL head coach, but perhaps the biggest theme is competition. It's no secret that there is a plethora of competition at camp this season between youth pushing for roster spots and veterans trying to secure their place on the roster.
But that competitiveness is also manifesting in how the coaching staff - and the organization - want to approach the day-to-day with this team. In a period of transition and change, the one constant is that players never lose their desire to win. And, given the crowdedness of the training camp roster, players maintaining a high level of compete is a requirement.
"You could feel it. The energy is through the roof," Kris Letang said. "Obviously, we're a team. We're in a situation where every spot is [up] for grabs. The young guys are ready. They want to battle. They want to make a name for themselves. You kind of see the emphasis on what we're trying to do out there, is battle and play a game situation in every single drill. So, it was pretty intense out there. It was pretty hard."
Muse emphasized that the staff wants this team to be "competitive in nature."
"I think everybody's competitiveness is going to look a little bit different," Muse said. "There's got to be purpose to what you're doing. This isn't just a run-around, anything like that, and I don't think that was the case if you look at the three practices. I think there was purpose to what guys were doing, and we're asking guys to show the best version of their compete, whatever that is. And that's not going to change."
The players were certainly cognizant about the emphasis on competition and the importance of establishing good habits early on, too.
"Practice was great. I think it was about establishing an identity and a work ethic," Bryan Rust said. "You saw the battle drills out there, a lot of competing. Keeping score pretty much every drill, just kinda trying to get that mindset that we're going to compete every day.
"And I think the energy out there was great. It was contagious. [The coaches] were all very vocal, they were all banging their sticks, they were all trying to motivate guys, trying to get guys going. I think everybody out there - from the old guys like me to the young guys - were out there working hard."
Muse, 43, is in his first season as an NHL head coach. He previously had stints as an assistant with the Nashville Predators and New York Rangers, and although former Predator Philip Tomasino's NHL stint didn't exactly align with Muse's time there - Muse's stint ran from 2017-20 - he had a positive experience with Muse through some conversations during his time with the organization.
"A first-class individual, first and foremost," Tomasino said. "Same goes for the whole coaching staff as well. But I just really like his attitidue towards everything. He always seems to find a way to push guys to be their best, so I'm really happy. He's been awesome so far, and I'm really looking forward to getting a chance to work with him for much longer here, hopefully."
Tomasino, like pretty much everyone else, echoed sentiment about the level of competition that Muse has brought to camp. But it's not a one-way street. Muse marveled at the competitive nature of all of the guys in the room, whether they're a 20-year veteran or a player entering his first camp.
"I love competition. I think everybody loves competition. It just drives things," Muse said. "I believe in it. I think these are all competitive guys. It's all of them. They want to win, and I've always found it to be just awesome seeing it at this level, how it doesn't matter what's on the line. If something's there, if it's, like, one push-up, they'd be all-in to not have to do that one push-up. This group here, I think if I put, like, a cold cheeseburger for the winner, they would be all-in to get that cold cheesebuger. Like, everything, they'd be all in. That's in the nature.
"You never know until you're actually there. It's the hope that you're going to see the group be all-in, but I wasn't surprised they were all in there on the competition. I think it's a big part of it, though. It's a big part of what our coaching staff believes in."
Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia reacts after the final out of a 2-1 win over the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium on Thursday night. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Which meant, even though he pitched 5⅓ scoreless innings against the San Francisco Giants, he left the fate of the game to the Dodgers’ shaky bullpen.
So often on nights like these recently, such a scenario would be a recipe for disaster. Given the way things have been going for the Dodgers’ unreliable relief corps — which entered the night with a 5.65 ERA in September — anything more than a few innings has felt like a big ask.
This time, however, the Dodgers’ relievers found a way to grind things out.
But when they needed to most, the Dodgers' relievers executed pitches. In a 2-1 win at Dodger Stadium, they did enough to stretch the team’s National League West division lead to three games.
Yamamoto did not make their life easy.
Though he yielded only one hit, the recently streaking right-hander fell back into a bad habit with his command. He set a career-high with six walks. He found the zone on only 60 of 108 pitches. And though manager Dave Roberts tried to push him through the sixth inning, his pitch count got too high.
On a night the Dodgers managed only two runs off Giants ace Logan Webb — both of which came in a sixth-inning rally keyed by a Shohei Ohtani double and Freddie Freddie RBI single — the bullpen was forced to pick up the slack.
Things started well with Jack Dreyer, who inherited a runner from Yamamoto with one out in the sixth and stranded it in the span of 11 pitches.
The seventh inning, however, quickly became an adventure, with two of the Dodgers most veteran relief arms putting themselves in a world of danger.
It started with Kopech, and his continued struggles to locate the ball since returning from a midseason knee injury. The hard-throwing right-hander walked his first two batters, with a (very, very) wild pitch in between. He bounced back to strike out Drew Gilbert for the inning’s first out. But by that point, he had issued eight total walks over his last four outings, recording only eight outs in that span while throwing 50 balls to 45 strikes.
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers during the third inning against the Giants on Thursday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Thus, Roberts went back to the mound, bringing Treinen in to try and put out the fire.
Like Kopech, Treinen has battled uncharacteristic inconsistencies lately. He was the culprit when the Dodgers squandered Yamamoto’s near no-hitter in Baltimore earlier this month. He gave up a game-ending, three-run homer to the Philadelphia Phillies’ backup catcher two nights prior.
At first, the right-hander seemed poised to blow another lead.
He also walked his first two batters, loading the bases on the first and forcing home a run with the next (when home plate umpire Ryan Wills squeezed him on a full-count cutter at the top of the zone). The count went full against Willy Adames in the following at-bat, leaving Treinen one ball away from another disaster.
Treinen dotted a sinker on the outside corner to Adames to strike him out looking. He snapped off his trademark sweeper to fan Matt Chapman and retire the side.
In recent days, Roberts has emphasized the need for his bullpen to cling to whatever moments of confidence they can find. Given that the team’s 2-1 lead was preserved in the seventh, the otherwise ugly inning still qualified.
After that, the Dodgers recorded the final six outs with ease.
Anthony Banda went 1-2-3 in the eighth inning. Alex Vesia picked up the save with a clean frame in the ninth.
Dodgers baserunner Ben Rortvedt slides safely into home plate after Giants catcher Patrick Bailey loses the ball. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 miles up the Pacific Coast, the team saw positive signs from another potential bullpen option, with Roki Sasaki pitching a scoreless inning of relief in triple-A Oklahoma City’s game in Tacoma, Wash., retiring three of the four batters he faced with two strikeouts, one walk and a fastball that topped out at 100.1 mph.
That was a reminder that, between now and the end of the regular season, the Dodgers could have relief reinforcements on the way. Sasaki, the rookie phenom who struggled in a starting role before going down with a shoulder injury at the start of the year, could be primed for a big league call-up. Trade deadline acquisition Brock Stewart is also on his way back from a shoulder injury; although he followed Sasaki in OKC’s game on Thursday by giving up four unearned runs on a single, walk and hit-by-pitch in ⅔ of an inning.
At this stage, the relief unit remains the Dodgers’ biggest unanswered question. Their lineup is finally manufacturing runs. Their rotation has continued its late-season surge since getting healthy. And for one night at Chavez Ravine, the bullpen overcame some shaky moments to preserve a win that strengthened the team’s place in the standings.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw sits on the field at Dodger Stadium with his son Charlie before Thursday's game against the San Francisco Giants. Kershaw is retiring at the end of the season. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Clayton Kershaw took a deep breath, grasped the microphone with his left hand, then chuckled as he scanned the room around him.
“This,” he said, “is weird.”
Over his 18 seasons with the Dodgers, Kershaw was always wary of putting the spotlight on himself. Now, dozens of teammates, coaches, executives, staffers and media members, as well as his wife, Ellen, and their four kids, all sat before him — witness to his official announcement that he was ending his illustrious playing career.
"I'm going to call it,” Kershaw said. “I'm going to retire.”
After years of grappling with the decision, and ultimately returning to play for the Dodgers into his age-37 season, the future Hall of Fame left-hander made his decision to finally walk away sound simple.
He felt it was time, and could do so pitching well.
“Going into the season, we kind of knew that this was going to be it, so didn’t want to say anything in case I changed my mind,” he said. “But over the course of the season, just how grateful I am to have been healthy and be out on the mound and be able to pitch, I think it just made it obvious that this was a good sending-off point. And it is. I’ve had the best time this year. It’s been a blast.”
Indeed, while Kershaw acknowledged that going out on his “own terms is a weird thing to say,” that’s exactly what this season has offered to the three-time Cy Young Award and former MVP winner.
“Not a lot of people get this opportunity,” he said. “Being able to pitch, and not pitch terribly ... has been super special.”
Kershaw, of course, has been much more than “not terrible” in what will be his final big-league campaign.
Entering what was suddenly the final regular-season home start of his career Friday, the left-hander was 10-2 with a 3.53 ERA, ranking second on the team in victories and third in innings pitched.
It didn’t matter that he missed the opening month and a half recovering from offseason foot and knee surgeries. Or that his diminished fastball has failed to average even 90 mph.
In Year 18, Kershaw has found success “just on guile and heart,” as manager Dave Roberts described it. He has used every bit of his veteran wisdom to navigate opposing lineups with his trademark combination of fastballs, curveballs and sliders (as well as a newly incorporated splitter to change speeds).
“Guys that get to first base still go, ‘I cannot see the slider,’ and then he throws a 71-, 72-mph curveball,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “I know he’s not throwing 94, 95, like when I was facing him [in the prime of his career] anymore. But he still knows how to pitch. He’s the best to ever do it.”
It’s been a year of milestones for Kershaw, none bigger than when he became the 20th member of MLB’s 3,000 career strikeout club in July. But it’s also been a campaign of fulfillment, giving the 11-time All-Star one last chance to help lead a World Series chase.
“I’m telling you, this guy — you can never count him out,” Roberts said. “We certainly wouldn’t be in this position in the standings if it weren’t for him. I’m certain of that.”
That’s why, on Thursday, Kershaw kept referencing this season as the best ending he could have imagined. He isn’t injured, instead feeling as good as he has in years thanks to changes in his training routine. He isn’t struggling like last season when he posted a 4.50 ERA over just seven starts between shoulder and foot/knee surgeries.
While his postseason status remains to be determined — Roberts said Kershaw likely will have a role in the playoffs, perhaps as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen, but is still not a roster certainty given the team’s starting rotation depth — his impact on the club’s championship aspirations has already been profound.
“We still have a lot to accomplish, obviously, this month, and the last thing I want to do is be a distraction to anybody for accomplishing our ultimate goal, to win in the last game of the season,” Kershaw said. “So we're going to get through this today and then we're going to win the rest of the games and be good.”
But first, however, he had a few thank-yous to give.
Kershaw referenced Dodgers owners Mark Walter and Todd Boehly, a front office staff led by president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Brandon Gomes, team president Stan Kasten and chief marketing officer Lon Rosen, and of course Roberts with the rest of his coaching and training staff.
“I know I'm a pain sometimes, so thank you for putting up with me,” Kershaw joked. “Thank you for helping me get this carcass out on the field every fifth day.”
From beneath his sweat-stained L.A. cap, his easy smile disappeared once he began to address his teammates. His voice cracked. Tears welled in his eyes.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw gets emotional as he points toward his teammates during his retirement announcement news conference Thursday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“The hardest one is the teammates, so I'm not even going to look at you guys,” Kershaw said. “Just you guys sitting in this room, you mean so much to me. We have so much fun. I'm going to miss it. I'm going to miss working out Day 1 in the weight room, listening to crazy music with you guys. Shirtless Sundays, I'm going to miss all of that.
“The game in and of itself, I'm going to miss a lot, but I'll be OK without that,” he added. “I think the hard part is the feeling after a win, celebrating with you guys. That's pretty special.
“All right,” he continued while trying to gather himself. “I'm done with that.”
Next, Kershaw turned toward his four children, and his wife who is currently pregnant with their fifth. He shared a message from Ellen, and how she experienced Kershaw’s 18 years from her so-called perch in the stands.
“She's cried over some really hard losses and some really incredible milestones,” he said. “She's watched our kids fall in love with the game, with the players and watching me pitch.”
Moments later, as Kershaw was reading a Bible verse about working “with all your heart,” his voice began to quiver again.
“I’m really not sad, I’m really not,” he insisted. “I’m really at peace with this. It’s just emotional. I tried to hold it together.”
Kershaw was his more witty self as he opened the floor to field reporters’ questions.
He thanked the assembled media for “putting up with me” and his often (though less so recently) terse answers in postgame availabilities.
He reiterated that retirement now was the "right call" because, as he bluntly put it, “you don’t ever wanna pitch bad.”
When asked what he expected from his final regular-season home start on Friday, he deadpanned, “I anticipate pitching good” — noting that the first-place Dodgers (and their Friday opponent, the wild-card-chasing San Francisco Giants) are still playing meaningful games.
“[The atmosphere will] be heightened, I’m sure, but I’ve got a job to do, so I need to go out there and do my job,” he said.
Clayton Kershaw's family and Dodgers players listen to Kershaw speak during his retirement announcement news conference Thursday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
When asked once more what has made this season so special, however, Kershaw let himself get sentimental again.
“It’s just a great group of guys — look, everybody’s here today, that means a lot — and I think we all have each other’s back,” he said. “It’s not always gonna go great for everybody all the time, and the only people that understand that are the people in the clubhouse. Baseball’s a hard game. It’s not easy to play. So I think to have a group of guys in it together, and kind of understanding that and being together, being able to have a ton of fun all the time, is really important. The older I’ve gotten, the more important it is.”
Kershaw then tried to shift his focus back to the remainder of the season, saying he’s “thankful we’re gonna have another month or so to play.”
After that, his future plans will be straightforward, his days set to be occupied by Little League practices and dance recitals and all of his kids’ other activities back home in Texas.
“I’m gonna do that for a while, for sure,” he said.
But first, he wants his storybook final season to have a storybook final chapter; hoping to not only go out on his own terms, but do so with one more championship ring.
“I don’t know if we need any more inspiration,” third baseman and longtime teammate Max Muncy said. “But obviously, it would be really nice to get another one on his way out.”
The Yankees have won six of their past seven series, and they started this weekend's four-game set at the Baltimore Orioles with a 7-0 win in which Max Fried lived up to his ace billing.
He tied a career-high 13 strikeouts and showed what type of pitcher the team has as New York (86-67) trails the Toronto Blue Jays by three games in the AL East and owns the first wild card.
Fried's MLB-leading 18th win saw him throw 59 strikes on 87 pitches while allowing three hits and one walk in seven scoreless innings as the Yankees began the first of their final three series on a dominant note.
"Feel like he's in a really good spot, throwing the ball well," said New York manager Aaron Boone. "Went through a little lull there in the middle of the season or whenever that was and kind of dug himself out of that and, hopefully, going through stuff like that, you learn things and it allows you to make adjustments that you need to make and he's done that and I feel like he's obviously going out there with a lot of confidence right now."
Fried (18-5, 2.92 ERA) appears to be all the way back from struggling in parts of July and August, rounding into October form with a September where he is 4-0 in all four of his starts this month with a 2.05 ERA and 28 strikeouts to seven walks in 26.1 IP.
"We're playing some pretty good baseball right now, and that's when you want to really hit your stride," Fried said. "So, going into the last week or so, we're excited and want to go out there and finish strong -- go into the playoffs strong. And for me, personally, wins are a team stat. So, I can't give my teammates enough credit for putting me in a position to be able to get there."
If the playoffs started today, the Yankees would face the Houston Astros (second in the wild card) for a best-of-three series with the winner advancing to the ALDS against the Blue Jays.
New York has a chance to catch Toronto (89-64) with three regular-season games remaining, but feels good about its situation regardless of where it ends up.
"We know how important pitching is in October and the whole year," said Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. "It's going to take a team effort, but to be able to do something like that, it's tough. All of these opponents are tough. They're going to be preparing for our pitchers, just like we're going to be preparing for them if we get that opportunity, and we'll be ready to go."
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