In an All-Star Game ruled by youth, Clayton Kershaw receives touching tribute
Clayton Kershaw, in his 11th All-Star Game appearance, took over for Pittsburgh Pirates flamethrower Paul Skenes in the second inning Tuesday night at Truist Park. The National League beat the American League in a swing-off after the ninth inning ended in a 6-6 tie, but what could be the final All-Star Game for a living legend dominated nearly every conversation in press conferences from players across the league.
Advertisement
Kershaw, who recently became the fourth left-handed pitcher to amass 3,000 strikeouts, made quick work of Cal Raleigh and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for his first two outs before NL manager Dave Roberts pulled him from the game.
Kershaw — 4-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 10 starts this season — was at this game because he was a so-called legend pick from the commissioner's office. Before Tuesday, he felt strange about being the recipient of such an honor.
'My initial response was just, you don't ever want to take somebody's spot or you don't ever want to be a sideshow,' Kershaw said. 'You just want to be a part of it because you deserve it.'
By the end, Kershaw said he was glad he was there. As he walked back into the dugout after striking out Guerrero, Kershaw received a standing ovation from the Truist Park crowd. He blew kisses to his family in the stands.
Jason Adam, a reliever on the rival San Diego Padres and admirer of Kershaw, replaced the left-hander in the game. Adam retired Ryan O'Hearn to end the inning.
'I told Clayton afterwards, I said, 'That was one of the coolest experiences of my career,'' Adam said. 'Getting to come after him, thankful he didn't leave anyone on base for me.'
Hours before he pitched in an All-Star game for the eighth time in his career, Kershaw had talked about the crop of dominant young pitchers who rule today's game.
Skenes and American League starter Tarik Skubal have become dominant forces. Jacob Misiorowski was among the big subjects of All-Star week. Garrett Crochet and Mackenzie Gore are among other left-handers thriving. Kershaw sees the talent and the game's evolution.
'I never threw that hard,' he joked.
Kershaw represents a different breed. In an era where pitchers are often injured and their innings protected like never before, Kershaw could be the last pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts anytime soon. He is a three-time Cy Young winner with 216 wins to his name. Pitchers like Skubal — who was a bit starstruck when he met Kershaw this year at Dodger Stadium — grew up viewing him as a titan of the game. Skenes relished talking with Kershaw on Tuesday.
'He's such a class act,' Skenes said. 'It's just so impressive, obviously what he's done in the game but the human that he is.'
Before Tuesday's All-Star Game, Roberts had Kershaw speak to the NL team in a pregame meeting. Kershaw talked about the honor of the All-Star Game and thanked players for making the effort to be on site. Kershaw is tied with Mike Trout for the most All-Star selections of any active player.
Advertisement
'The All-Star Game, it can be hard at times for players,' Kershaw said. 'It's a lot of travel. It's a lot of stress, chaos, family, all the stuff, but it's meaningful. It's impactful for the game. It's important for the game. We have the best All-Star Game of any sport. We do have the best product. So to be here, to realize your responsibility in the sport, is important.'
Adam called Kershaw 'the best in the game,' and showed his appreciation for Kershaw doing exactly that, giving up his break to be there. '(To) come here and do this for the game of baseball and be here with us and lead us was really special.'
After speaking to media members after his outing, Kershaw exited the Truist Park interview room.
That's when part of the generation before added another link to chain that connects players across time.
Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez stopped Kershaw and told him, 'I'll see you in Cooperstown, bro.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Can WNBA get even more eyes on Caitlin Clark? Yep, host a game at Lucas Oil or Wrigley Field
One of the buzzwords often heard in sports media today is 'eventize.' But the word is far from new. For instance, a 2004 New York Times Magazine piece on the explosion of DVDs as a marketing play reveals that 'eventize' is a word the writer has been hearing a lot around Los Angeles. From the piece: 'As in, 'We really need to eventize the hell out of this release. For the 'Star Wars' debut on DVD, that meant parties, paparazzi, robots and a red-carpet treatment that mimicked in miniature the fanfare accompanying a big-screen theatrical opening. A boffo event, in short.' The word pops up frequently these days when discussing Netflix's sports ambitions or a broadcaster's desire to make something feel big. The sports content marketplace is crowded and one way to separate yourself is making a broadcast feel like an event. That will be case this weekend in Indianapolis as the WNBA descends on the city for All-Star Weekend, even without Caitlin Clark participating in the event because of injury. The league made a smart move by anointing Napheesa Collier and Caitlin Clark team captains and having them select teams. That mini-event delivered a ton of earned media, which is always a bigger win than a paid marketing campaign. The most successful sports leagues steal ideas from other leagues — or simply use their might to swipe them — and here is where the WNBA should swipe from the NFL, NHL, MLB, college football and other leagues. The WNBA needs to 'eventize' more regular-season games, and a priority for the 2026 season should be using the popularity of Caitlin Clark by scheduling the Fever to play a game at either Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the Colts in Indianapolis, or a unique outdoor venue in the Midwest, such as Wrigley Field. (Clark is a lifelong Cubs fan.) The proof of concept already exists in a number of forms for women's sports: The Crossover at Kinnick (Stadium) was a preseason exhibition in 2023 between Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes and DePaul at the home stadium of Iowa football. The game set the global women's basketball single-game attendance record of 55,646. Two months earlier, Nebraska women's volleyball drew 92,003 fans to Memorial Stadium— home of the Cornhuskers' football team — to set the U.S. attendance record at a women's sporting event. When I interviewed former Iowa women's basketbal coach Lisa Bluder last March, she used the word 'magical' to describe being part of the The Crossover. 'We had 55,646 people show up, and there were women crying in the stands because this had been done for women's athletics,' Bluder said. 'Some of these women never got to play sports. They didn't have the opportunity. They were so excited and so emotional to see this happen for women.' These were creative ideas from people at those colleges, and they became unforgettable events. Are there issues that come with playing basketball outside? Of course. The weather needs to come through. But history suggests the positives outweigh the negatives if you can get scale, even if the game itself isn't great. Such an event will guarantee a new WNBA attendance record. The current one was set last September, when 20,711 watched the Fever and Mystics at Capital One Arena. If the Fever want to keep the game close to home, Lucas Oil Stadium has proven multiple times it can set up a basketball venue. The facility hosted the 2025 Midwest Regionals for the men's NCAA Tournament and will host the 2026 men's Final Four. (The Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board operates several facilities, including Lucas Oil Stadium, Bankers Life Fieldhouse and the Indiana Convention Center). In an email, CIB Executive Director Andy Mallon said that Lucas Oil Stadium can host approximately 72,000 for basketball depending upon the setup. 'We have more than 350 days when we are not hosting Indianapolis Colts home football games, so we offer ample opportunities to host non-NFL events,' Mallon said. To be clear, individual franchises are going to have to drive this idea. Per a league source, WNBA franchises can bring such venue ideas to the league for review, and approval is based on a number of factors including venue requirements. The WNBA can advocate for such an idea but ultimately two teams would have to be on board with everything that comes with such an event (travel, logistics, tickets, etc.) to get it done. Clark has proven to be a catalyst for teams changing arenas. We saw this again last week when the Dallas Wings announced they will move the Aug. 1 game against the Fever to American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas. The game that was initially scheduled for College Park Center. The Across The Timeline website tracks WNBA data, and the Fever far and away outpace the rest of the league when it comes to away attendance. Any Fever opponent would obviously need incentivizing to play in an NFL or MLB stadium, but it would be massive publicity for both teams. Every one of the WNBA's media rights-holder partners would want the game, and it would easily have a shot at being the most-watched regular-season game of the year. 'I like the idea,' said ESPN WNBA analyst Rebecca Lobo. 'The W actually did something similar in 2008 when the Liberty played the Fever at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It would be pretty spectacular to see a massive venue full of W fans watching the Fever play. I think they could get a crowd close to what the game at Kinnick drew. Chicago or Dallas would be attractive opponents since Angel (Reese) and Paige (Bueckers) are big draws as well, especially against Caitlin. It would be a rare WNBA tailgating opportunity as well.' Lobo is correct, and as she notes, the history of 'eventized' WNBA games already includes the Fever: The Liberty and Fever played a regular-season outdoor game on July 19, 2008, at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the first non-tennis sporting event to take place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. (Game-time temperature was a steamy 87 degrees.) The game drew 19,393 to the then-23,226-seat stadium. Two years later, Los Angeles hosted Seattle at the 8,000-seat Home Depot Center's tennis stadium in Carson, Calif. (That game had some air quality issues given a fire at an auto scrap yard about six miles south of the Home Depot Center.) If you ask people within the sports business industry, most would jump on board with the idea because they understand eventizing is the currency of the moment. 'There is a whole concept in sports of creating bigger events and more spectacles,' said John Kosner, the former ESPN executive vice president for digital media, who now advises sports media and tech start-ups. 'Why is the NFL so big? Because it's weekly spectacle. What makes NASCAR unique? It's a spectacle.' Ed Desser, a former NBA media executive and the president of the consulting firm Desser Sports Media, said he would advise the WNBA to go beyond Indianapolis and Lucas Oil Stadium to take advantage of the Clark brand. 'I don't know that a regular-season game at Lucas Oil Stadium reaches the level needed to make it a spectacle,' Desser said. 'There are going to be lots of chances for those Indiana fans to to watch the Fever during the course of the season in Indianapolis, so is playing at the football stadium enough in order to be a bona fide spectacle, to make it really special? I think of the outdoor game the NHL did in Lake Tahoe. You just had this pristine, gorgeous backdrop. Now that made it a special occasion.' Clark and Aliyah Boston running a pick-and-roll at the Edgewood Tahoe Resort would be lovely but unlikely to happen. Lucas Oil Stadium, though, is very doable. When asked last Wednesday by The Indianapolis-based 'The Fan Morning Show' if the Fever would ever play a game at Lucas Oil Stadium — my colleague at The Athletic, James Boyd, who co-hosts the sports radio show and made the ask for this piece — Joey Graziano, the executive vice president of strategy and new business ventures at Pacers Sports & Entertainment, said: 'I'm really excited about bringing the Fever around the world. We've seen interest from Asia. We've seen interest from Australia. Teams wanting to make sure that the Fever have an opportunity to play in their market. Obviously, this year we played in Iowa. I think what we've seen from our team is that they're excited to be able to use the platform to get into new places. So, I wouldn't put anything past us.' Asked specifically about the prospect of hosting a WNBA game at Lucas Oil Stadium, the CIB's Mallon understandably was diplomatic. 'Gainbridge Fieldhouse is a premiere professional basketball venue — I would argue that it's the best in the country — and the Indiana Fever and their fans love being there,' Mallon said. 'While Lucas Oil Stadium has a terrific basketball resume with success hosting past Final Fours and 2024's NBA All-Star Saturday night, and we've been tapped to host the 2026 and 2029 men's Final Fours, we tip our hat to Gainbridge Fieldhouse when it comes to hosting Indiana's game.' History is a valuable tour guide, and Bluder said it herself: The Iowa Crossover was a magical day and one of the highlights of her five decades coaching career. Opportunity is knocking here for the WNBA and its franchises. Let's hope they grab it in 2026. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Indiana Fever, NFL, WNBA, Sports Business, Opinion, Culture 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Who will win the 2025 WNBA championship? Players make their predictions
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has emphasized rivalries as a method of growing the game almost from the moment she assumed her role, sometimes to her detriment. Regardless, the league and its media partners rely on rivalries to package games and generate excitement about particular matchups. Look no further than a July 8 broadcast between the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces that featured a complete introductory sequence of Breanna Stewart and A'ja Wilson's battles through the years, along with highlights from the teams' 2023 and 2024 playoff series. Rivalries are also why Indiana and Chicago are one of two pairings to meet five times this season — Atlanta-Connecticut is the other — while many teams meet each other only three times. Whether they're manufactured or the result of repeat postseason meetings, rivalries pervade the WNBA. We asked players to identify which rivalry they thought was the best in the league. We also asked players for their title pick. With any luck, the WNBA Finals could produce another installment of a great rivalry. We've also asked players to share their thoughts on a range of topics within the league, including who they believe is the league's best player, where expansion should occur, who they consider the face of the league and which franchises they think are the best and worst. Our reporters spoke to nearly 40 players from the start of the 2025 season. All 13 teams are represented, but none of the 30 rookies on rosters are included as the survey attempted to gather veterans' perspectives. The pool of players represents approximately one-third of the non-rookies in the league. Players were granted anonymity to speak freely. They were also permitted to skip individual questions; as a result, each question shows the total number of responses for complete transparency. Some recency bias was evident in these answers. After meeting in the 2024 WNBA Finals, New York and Minnesota were voted as the league's best rivalry, despite the two teams not having a postseason history before last year. Nevertheless, players believed that the competitiveness of that five-game series, combined with the Liberty and Lynx both starting this season 9-0, would produce worthy antagonists. New York also factored into the second-place rivalry: Liberty versus Aces. The teams met in the 2023 Commissioner's Cup championship, the 2023 finals and in the second playoff round in 2024. Collectively, they have won the last three titles. There is also a longer rivalry at play between Stewart and Wilson, who have combined to win five of the previous seven titles (including Stewart's two in Seattle) and the last five MVP awards. Even after Stewart switched teams, the individual rivalry persists. That individual rivalry is what the WNBA hopes to stoke between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese after they famously faced off in the 2023 NCAA championship game. However, only four players named that as the league's best rivalry. The Las Vegas-Los Angeles matchup was the other one receiving multiple votes, given the teams' geographic proximity and the growing number of All-Stars who have played for both squads, including Candace Parker, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby. In their words '(Minnesota vs. New York because) of the finals last year.' 'After last year, they've got a rivalry.' 'Before, I would've said L.A.-Minnesota, but that was a while ago. Recently, New York-Vegas.' Although this was a more straightforward question than most, several players refused to answer because they didn't want to speak another team's success into existence. Those who responded overwhelmingly favored the two teams in last year's final. However, the majority picked Minnesota to win after it came up just short in 2024. The only other team to earn a mention was Phoenix. The Mercury enter the All-Star break third in the league standings, with wins over the Lynx and the Liberty. '(The Lynx) are just trending well, and they have the league's best player.' 'Since they finished runner-up, I think they'll figure it out and not be the runner-up again. They should win.' 'I think they'll be driven and motivated from last year. Losing in the finals gives people a different kind of fire for the following season. We saw that with New York before.' '(New York) because of (Jonquel Jones). She remains one of the league's most underrated players.' — The Athletic. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Minnesota Lynx, New York Liberty, Seattle Storm, Los Angeles Sparks, Washington Mystics, Atlanta Dream, Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun, Indiana Fever, Dallas Wings, Las Vegas Aces, Phoenix Mercury, Golden State Valkyries, WNBA 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Bryan Braman, former Eagles and Texans linebacker, dies after cancer battle
Bryan Braman, a former Houston Texans and Eagles linebacker who won the Super Bowl with Philadelphia in 2018, has died after a battle with a rare, aggressive form of cancer, his agent Sean Stellato confirmed Thursday.
