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Los Angeles Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw announced in September that he will retire after this season.
Kershaw, 37, recorded a career 2.53 ERA over 18 seasons, which is the lowest by any MLB pitcher in the live-ball era (since 1920) with at least 1,000 innings.
Tom « Flash » Gordon, a former MLB star, told Fox News Digital that Kershaw should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
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Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw waves his cap as he leaves during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners. The game took place in Seattle, Washington, on Sept. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
« I’ll tell you this, if he’s not a first ballot Hall of Famer, then you know, I didn’t play 21 years in the league, and me and you are not talking today. And I know that’s what we’re doing right now, » Gordon told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
Gordon watched a lot of Kershaw because his son, Dee Strange-Gordon, played with the Dodgers for four seasons.
« I watched a lot of Clayton because, you know, of course Dee was there, but just the way the man went about it, the way the man got out there on the mound after taking care of the things before pitching to me, » Gordon said.
« He’s an elite athlete, but he exemplified that by the way he took the ball, the way he put the Dodgers in the playoffs and he put ’em on his back for years. »
Kershaw joined the illustrious 3,000-strikeout club earlier this season and is one of 11 pitchers to ever win the Cy Young Award three times. He led the National League in ERA five times.
Gordon said that Kershaw elevated his teammates with his performance.
« I’ve always learned, and I learned this from (being) around Roger Clemens and (Bret) Saberhagen as a pitcher, that when you have a guy like that, everything else you does. You can learn how to play, pitch, become a better player because that guy is gonna guarantee you for the most part, that the bullpen is not gonna be extended, » Gordon said.
EX-MLB STAR TOM GORDON TALKS BECOMING SUBJECT OF STEPHEN KING NOVEL
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw waves as he leaves during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners. The game took place in Seattle, Washington, on Sept. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
« That’s how Pedro Martinez was, that’s what I look at Kershaw as. A Pedro Martinez caliber, Roger Clemens caliber, Bret Saberhagen caliber, even better. »
Kershaw won the World Series with the Dodgers in 2020 and 2024, and Gordon wants the left-handed pitcher to end his career a champion.
« If they play well enough to do well enough, that way he can, he can get one more playoff World Series championship. I mean, it’d be, it’d be amazing, it’d be icing on the cake, » Gordon said.
The Dodgers are up 2-0 on the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS, and Kershaw has not yet pitched this postseason. He is available out of the bullpen.
Kershaw appeared in 23 games this season and posted an 11-2 record with a 3.36 ERA.
Game 3 of the NLDS is at 9:08 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Gordon’s son, Dee-Strange Gordon, played 11 seasons in the majors. He made two All-Star teams in his career, and had a career batting average of .286, while playing strong defense at shortstop and second base.
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Former Boston Red Sox right-handed pitcher Tom « Flash » Gordon is honored on the field during a pregame ceremony before a Triple-A Minor League Baseball game between the Lehigh Valley IronPigs and the Worcester Red Sox at Polar Park in Worcester, Massachusetts, on May 18, 2023. (Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Tom Gordon is now heavily involved with Perfect Game, the world’s largest and most comprehensive scouting organization. He has a podcast, « Innings of Life, » that will be debuting shortly.
Gordon traveled the country in an RV, built with a custom podcast studio, where he interviews current and former baseball players, managers, and executives.
Gordon played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball, was a three-time All-Star, and recorded 54 consecutive saves, which set an MLB record at the time.
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