PHOENIX — Clayton Kershaw, his shirt off, cap on his head, beer dripping off his body and champagne stinging his eyes, stood in front of his locker in the celebratory Los Angeles Dodgers clubhouse, wanting to soak in every last moment.
Let his younger teammates wear protective goggles and T-shirts.
Not Kershaw.
Not on this day, the 14th time he has celebrated the NL West Division championship.
“I want to feel the burn,’’ Kershaw said. “I don’t want goggles. I don’t want a shirt. I hardly want pants.’’
The pants stayed on.
Nothing else did.
Kershaw, remembering 2013 when the Dodgers celebrated their division title at Chase Field in Phoenix by jumping into the pool beyond the center-field fence, didn’t have any desire for an encore. He stayed put, along with the rest of his teammates, after drawing the ire of the Arizona Diamondbacks, along with U.S. Senator John McCain, who called them “a bunch of overpaid, immature, arrogant, spoiled brats.’’
“I remember that, it was a lot of fun,’’ Kershaw said. “I think we rubbed too many people the wrong way on that one. Getting to celebrate in here, is just fine.’’
Call ‘em want you want now, but the Dodgers are NL West champions for the 12th time in the last 13 years, vying to win their third World Series title in the past six years and send Kershaw out a champion.
“This is what I’m going to miss,’’ Kershaw said. “Pitching, and all of that stuff is great, but doing this with this group of guys, all working on the same collective goal, this is what you miss. The camaraderie, the bonding, and everybody going through something hard and coming out the other side, that’s really special.
“You don’t get that anywhere else. There’s no other jobs for 37-year-olds on teams to get to do that, you know? That’s what I’m going to miss. I had a great run.’’
The Dodgers’ division title celebration was rather tame Thursday, with the exception of several younger players diving head-first on the beer-drenched plastic wrap on the floor. The party started the moment the game ended at 3:14 p.m., and for the most part ended just 38 minutes later with the plastic covering lifted up, no longer protecting their lockers.
“There’s nothing better than celebrating with your teammates at the end of the year,’’ Kershaw said. “It never gets old. That’s why we play the game. It’s been a weird year. Obviously, we got a lot more to accomplish, but we’re going to enjoy the moment and have a ton of fun.’’
This was a team that was supposed to ruin baseball with its $400 million payroll, with predictions that they could break the modern-day record with 117 victories, especially after their 8-0 start. The reality was that they had to overcome a litany of injuries, 27 blown saves, underperforming individual seasons, and wound up with only 90 victories with three remaining games.
“Nothing matters anymore,’’ said Kershaw, the three-time Cy Young winner with a date in Cooperstown awaiting. “We won. We’re in the postseason. We won our division like we’re supposed to do.
“So, it doesn’t really matter what happened to this point. We did it. And we move on.’’
The Dodgers will tell you that they’d love to win the World Series for Kershaw, knowing what he means to the organization, the legacy he leaves behind, and his relentlessness in trying to bring World Series titles to Los Angeles.
Now, it’s their turn to do something for him, while also trying to savor every moment with him.
“I’m going to take pictures with him all of the time,’’ Dodgers starter Blake Snell said. “He’s going to get annoyed at me. I’ll be asking as many questions as I can without annoying him.
“But he’s the best. It couldn’t happen to a better guy. So hopefully, we can end this the right way with a World Series and send him out that way.’’
Kershaw will make the final regular-season start of his career Sunday against the Seattle Mariners, and then it’s off to the bullpen. He’ll be on the postseason roster, but will be used out of the pen, particularly in the first two rounds where only three starters are needed.
Kershaw doesn’t mind, and told the Dodgers whatever role he’s needed in, he’ll be there.
But for now, well, that’s one clubhouse party down. And a few more to go, with perhaps one last parade to cap it all off.
“It’s great, Clayton has earned it,’’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s celebrated many times over. He’s the face of the franchise. He really is. Shohei (Ohtani) is going to get his time, but you look at what Clayton’s done for 18 years, how he goes about things, how he’s so unselfish, it just kind of raises the level of expectation for all of us, including myself.
“And what better way to finish his career than winning another championship.’’
So, did Kershaw address the team in his final division title celebration, or at least raise a glass of champagne in a toast?
“No,’’ Roberts said. “We’ll save that one for after the World Series.’’
Follow Bob Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale.