He has won three Cy Young Awards and been named to nine All-Star teams.
He is a five-time ERA champion and a former MVP.
He has started 388 career regular season games, and 23 in the postseason.
And on Tuesday night, in the only big league ballpark he's ever called home, he'll add one more start — and one more accolade — to his future Hall of Fame career.
Clayton Kershaw will be the starting pitcher for the National League in this year's All-Star Game, Major League Baseball announced during a Monday morning news conference at Dodger Stadium, giving the Dodgers left-hander his first career start in a midsummer classic.
"Now that it's finally here and I get to start that game tomorrow night, it means a lot," Kershaw said, adding with a laugh: "Hopefully I don't screw it up too bad."
It was a choice many around baseball saw coming for weeks, especially as Kershaw finished his injury-abbreviated first half on a tear that included seven perfect innings in his last start Friday against the Angels.
Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker, who is managing the National League team the Braves won the National League pennant last year, came to the same conclusion this week.
"Clayton's name just kept coming to the forefront," Snitker said. "What he's meant to the game of baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers, I think it's just perfect that he starts this game."
Kershaw didn't have the most complete resume among all NL starters. While his 2.13 ERA ranked third among NL pitchers with at least 70 innings, it wasn't even the best on his team, trailing Tony Gonsolin's 2.02 mark.
Kershaw didn't have the workload of most other candidates, either. He missed a month with a back injury. He had barely half as many innings as Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara, who accumulated the most wins above replacement of all pitchers in the league, according to Fangraphs.
"[Other] guys have better numbers than I do," Kershaw said. "They should be starting this game."
However, the 34-year-old left-hander was the most fitting selection, making his first All-Star start in the first All-Star Game to be staged at Dodger Stadium in 42 years.
And even for a pitcher known for his stoicism throughout his career, the sentimental significance wasn't lost on Kershaw.
Kershaw said, "Because it's at Dodger Stadium, there was a little more of like, 'Man, it'd be really cool to get to do.'"
Kershaw had come close to being the All-Star Game starter several times before.
During Kershaw's first All-Star-caliber and Cy Young-winning season in 2011, Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies got the nod. For the 2013 game hosted by the New York Mets, the host team's ace, Matt Harvey, was picked over him.
In his 2014 MVP season, Kershaw was second in line again, following Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals. And since then, he's twice seen teammates get the honor, with Zach Greinke starting in 2015 and Hyun-Jin Ryu in 2019.
This year, however, was finally different, with Kershaw now set to achieve one more milestone at the mound in Dodger Stadium.
"Honestly, the All-Star Games I've been a part of in the past, just being a part of them has been so great," Kershaw said. "But this time, for me specifically to be here at home and things like that, it meant a lot more."
Shane McClanahan of the Tampa Bay Rays will start on the mound for the American League.
