The storybook ending to any professional sports career is the ability to go out with your team on top. Once Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw revealed that he was retiring after this season, that became the goal. Kershaw has been the anchor in the Dodgers' clubhouse since his arrival in 2008, and his journey ended with the Dodgers' World Series Game 7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday night.
Now, this Dodgers' playoff run was a very different feel for Kershaw. Of course, struggles in October have become a popular narrative when talking about the 37-year-old's career, but no longer was he the pitcher routinely mentioned as a Cy Young Candidate.