‘Super excited’: Clayton Kershaw’s teammates thrilled he re-signed with the Dodgers

As information started to trickle out Friday afternoon, a wave of emotion swept by way of the Dodgers group.

Clayton Kershaw, in any case, remains to be the face of the franchise, the heartbeat of the group. So when his first foray into free company ended with him again in Los Angeles, the 34-year-old agreeing to a one-year deal that extends his Dodgers profession to fifteen seasons, folks within the group felt a communal burst of pleasure — and likewise shared a long-awaited sigh of aid.

“It’s Kersh, he’s the man,” mentioned infielder Max Muncy. “He’s one of many best pitchers of all-time. And for him to have one other 12 months with the Dodgers, I feel it’s solely becoming.”

Muncy’s telephone started buzzing nonstop because the signing turned public, flooding with texts from fellow Dodger gamers ecstatic to have their longest-tenured teammate again.

“Everybody was tremendous enthusiastic about it,” Muncy mentioned. “Our group chat was going loopy.”

Those that arrived to spring coaching early at Camelback Ranch additionally reveled in Kershaw’s return, which has but to be introduced publicly by the group however was confirmed by the pitcher in an Instagram submit Friday night time.

“As quickly as that was introduced yesterday, the few guys who have been already trickling in, the grins I noticed,” mentioned former Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt, who has helped out the group’s pitching growth employees this spring. “I noticed [Brusdar] Graterol, and he was like, ‘The large man is again!’ … That’s the respect they’ve for him. They know he’s a part of them.”

Honeycutt has seen nearly each step of Kershaw’s evolution — from his growth as a promising younger prospect, to his emergence as one of many sport’s preeminent superstars, to the best way he has turn into interwoven with the material of the group.

Honeycutt nonetheless vividly remembers his first impression of the tall Texas left-hander throughout a spring coaching recreation in opposition to the Boston Crimson Sox forward of the 2008 marketing campaign.

That night time, Kershaw gave up a house run to the primary batter he confronted, however then struck out the facet — mowing by way of bonafide huge leaguers together with David Ortiz.

“He comes again in [the dugout] and he sits down subsequent to me and simply goes, ‘Man, that was enjoyable,’” Honeycutt mentioned with amusing. “To me, it was identical to, the joy of what the sport must be to anyone. The expertise, the end result and the enjoyment he had of attending to compete.”

That’s the steadiness Honeycutt believes Kershaw has perfected over his profession, matching a stoic façade and fierce aggressive nature with an infectious vitality.

It’s why, whilst he turned a future Corridor of Fame pitcher, successful three Cy Younger Awards and an MVP award, teammates proceed to gravitate towards his presence, discovering motivation in his demanding demeanor as a substitute of being pushed away.

Former Dodgers basic supervisor Ned Colletti, who has spent the final a number of seasons as an analyst on SportsNet LA, described it with two traits: “The dependability and reliability of who he’s,” he mentioned, “I discover that to be exceptional.”

“There was not at some point in my time because the GM or my time since that I’ve ever anxious or doubted who he’s, what he’s about and his starvation and relentless pursuit,” Colletti added. “He has all the time, all the time — when the expectations have been basic, exceeded them by miles, and once they acquired to be enormous, exceeded them once more.”

Everybody across the membership is aware of that, at some point, that fixed presence might be gone, that Kershaw days in a Dodgers uniform will come to an finish.

The thought made Colletti choke up whereas on the SNLA set close to the tip of final season, when he watched Kershaw stroll off the mound at Dodger Stadium with a season-ending elbow damage — the pitcher holding the ball gripped tightly in his hand after what was probably his remaining recreation at Chavez Ravine.

When supervisor Dave Roberts talked to reporters earlier than the information of Kershaw’s signing Friday, he additionally acknowledged the considered Kershaw’s potential departure as being “very unusual.”

“It’s going to be an adjustment for everybody,” Roberts mentioned.

Simply not an adjustment they’ll should make but.

“It’s particular to be round him, particular to have him again,” Muncy mentioned, including with conviction: “The man wants to finish his profession as a Dodger. So hopefully there’s a pair extra years in there.”