Even though he retired from Major League Baseball at the end of the 2025 World Series, Clayton Kershaw is on Team USA’s World Baseball Classic roster for 2026. After his brief cameo on Wednesday, many fans were wondering why.
Kershaw was brought into Team USA’s WBC warmup game against the Colorado Rockies and promptly allowed a home run to Mickey Moniak, the first batter he faced. He wound up allowing two runs in two-thirds of an inning with a hit and a walk.
The brief appearance was enough to make many fans wonder what Kershaw was even doing on the team.
Kershaw, just be a coach dawg
— oh hi there (@TheTrollMiester) March 4, 2026
pic.twitter.com/h9DvJ946Gj
That's enough of Clayton Kershaw for the entirety of the WBC, thank you
— Anthony Nash (@_anthonynash) March 4, 2026
Clayton Kershaw on the USA WBC Team pic.twitter.com/0vttxGMgXG
— Mannie. (@PremierVee) March 4, 2026
Kershaw is a legend and a future Hall-of-Famer. He also turns 38 later this month and was merely decent for the Dodgers in his final season, posting a 3.36 ERA. His inclusion is more of a reward for his accomplishments and an acknowledgement that he has never taken part in the WBC before.
Even Kershaw seems to know that he should not be pitching in key situations in the tournament. This was only a warm-up game, and it would be a surprise if he takes the mound during meaningful action.
