On Thursday, LA Dodgers southpaw Clayton Kershaw will make his most-awaited season debut against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. To make the occasion memorable, Kershaw’s children designed a custom cleat for him to showcase on the mound.
The cleats are from Sketchers, and it is an homage to Kershaw and his family. At the side of the heel, the family has been named starting with Dad and Mom and then followed up with their four kids, namely Cali, Charlie, Cooper and Chance.
At the back heel of the right cleats, “We are so proud of you, Dad” is engraved. While at the back heel of the left cleats, Clayton Kershaw’s attributes were mentioned: “Brave, Nice, Fun, Coach,” and finally “You Did It” in the backdrop of the mountain to suggest the struggles and hardship Kershaw has overcome in his career.
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Clayton Kershaw tied the knot with her high school love, Ellen, in December 2010. The couple first became proud parents to their daughter, Cali Ann, born in Jan. 2015. Thereafter, the couple welcomed three more children, namely Charlie Clayton (November 2016), Cooper Elis (January 2020) and Chance James (December 2021).
Clayton Kershaw is excited to return to the mound
Clayton Kershaw, with his custom cleats, will try to bring stability to the Dodgers rotation, which has been hit with injuries to key names such as Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler.
“I’m excited to get back,” Kershaw said. ”It’s been a long time. Longest time I’ve ever spent not pitching in a big league game. Obviously, once you get back out there you’ve just got to perform.”
Kershaw is returning from a shoulder surgery. Before coming up in the majors, Kershaw started three games in the minors. In his last outing for Triple-A Oklahoma City, the three-time Cy Young winner threw four innings, allowing three runs and six hits with two strikeouts and, as usual, no walks.
As the Dodgers look forward to a World Series-winning postseason run, Kershaw’s outing will serve as an important checkpoint for manager Dave Roberts.
Edited by Chaitanya Prakash
