July 4, 2025 • 8 mins
Clayton talks about joining the 3,000 strikeout club, being gifted the pitching rubber, and Freddie Freeman's consistency.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
And now an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger
Talking Happy fourth of July and what says fourth of
July more than a man that has spent eighteen fourth
of July's with the Dodgers. That's mister three thousand to himself,
Clayton Kershaw. With this dad bucket hat the players will
be wearing today, thanks a lot for the time. Happy fourth.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
It is kind of like a dad bucket hat.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Huh, yeah, this is very you.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Why just because I'm a dad.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Yeah, you wear these type of things with the rope
on it too.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
I don't know about the rope thing, but it is
definitely a dad hat. So I'll rock it. I'll rock it.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
I did like the Rams hat you were sporting after
the start in Denver.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Yeah, I'm a Rams guy now.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
So ever since Matthew got there, you know, they won
a Super Bowl, so it looks like bandwagon. But yeah,
ever since Matthew got there, I'm a Ram fan.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
I've never heard the connection between you and Stafford before.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Oh you want that story?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Hey? Two days later. Now you've been celebrated so much
around baseball in LA. How does it feel after you've
been able to get through all that.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Oh, it's so special.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
I mean, I think that night, you know, obviously I'd
like to have given up a few less runs and
strike out the guy a little sooner. But you know,
looking back on the whole night and everything that happened,
it was so special, such a great night for my family,
for me, and you know, obviously the fans reaction that
whole night and just how they you know, you kind
of just felt the tension that they had for me
(01:23):
to figure this thing out and to get a strikeout finally,
So just wouldn't have changed it for the world, just
to blast so grateful for the night, And you know,
I think it's slowly starting to move on, get past
it and try to look forward to facing the Brewers
and get that three thousand and first one.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
You don't really show any sort of self importance. Were
you surprised by how much the fans cared about you
reaching that milestone? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I think so.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
I mean, I think, you know, from even just the
warm ups before the game to you know, running back
out for the sixth inning, there it was. It was
definitely more than I I was. It was a very
unique experience.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
It was awesome, awesome, I was doing Dodger talk upstairs
while you came out after the game and the grounds
crew started to dig up the pitching rubber. Was that
on your request or did they do that as a
gift to you?
Speaker 3 (02:15):
No, I didn't know they were doing that, so yeah,
really nice of Jordan and all the guys to dig
that up for me, and thanks heavy man. It's no
small feat to get that thing out. It took them
five hours the next day to put the next one down,
So labor of love for sure, but thankful to have it.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
That's pretty awesome.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
What do you do with the pitching rubber? Where were
you put that in the trophy case?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Great question. I'm not sure yet. I don't know, but
it's a great story, so I'll keep it somewhere. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
Clayton Kershaw is our guest on fourth of July. You know, Clayton,
when you look at this team, you guys have the
best record again by two games over the Tigers. Do
you feel like there's a lot more room to go
as far as playing your best baseball?
Speaker 3 (02:57):
You know, I think it's probably twofold. I think we
are playing good baseball right now, I really do. You know,
we're winning games we're supposed to. We're getting great comebacks
playing like clean baseball. You know, starters are getting some
length into the games and so it kind of sets
up the bullpen to do their role as well, and
guys are getting big hits. But to your point, I mean,
I think when we get some more guys back, you know,
(03:17):
obviously months going down for you know, the six weeks
or whatever is a tough blow. But you know, when
when Snell's back, when glasses back, when trying's back, and
get that pitching staff to one hundred percent or close
to it, it's, uh, we should be able to keep
winning games. And that's uh, that's an exciting thing to
think about.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
The bullpen has already pitched those innings. Is there any
way to compensate in the second half for the load
they have shouldered the first half?
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (03:45):
And no.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
I mean I think, you know, I think with the
opener situation, the bullpen innings get skewed a little bit,
right because the bullpen, you know, the bulk guys are
getting five or six six innings.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
That looks like it's the bullpen innings.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
But you know, the guys that have been healthy for
the whole year, like Tanner, some of these guys, Jack
and Benny, some of the guys that have had big workloads.
I think, I think there's ways to manage it. And
but no, I mean, at the end of the day,
they're gonna throw in big situations because those are our guys.
It's just a matter of, you know, getting a little
more consistency in the starting rotation. And I think you're
(04:17):
starting to see that too. I think guys are going,
you know, six seven innings recently, which has been nice,
and that's the biggest way to reset the pen. It's
just for the guys to get a little bit deeper
in the games.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
How much do we take for granted this offense best
in baseball, but it still feels like there might be
a little bit more, which is kind of scary.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Yeah, best, I think you said it the right way.
I think there's a there's room for let me say
this way. Our offense is doing well and everybody swung
the bat well at times, but I don't know if
everybody swung the bat well at the same time. So
once that happens, that's a scary thing, and that's hard
to do throughout the rhythms of a season. To have
everybody swinging the bats well at the same time, but
(04:57):
you know, once once everybody gets going, which you know
that it will.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
It's it's a scary thing to think about.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
You've taken a lot of pride out of being consistent
in your career. How much do we take for granted
how consistent Freddie Freeman has been for the Dodgers, not
only this year, but in his career. Does he get
lost in the shuffle because he's so consistent?
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Yeah? Maybe so.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
I mean I think you know, at the beginning of
the season, you know, you pencil Freddy in at first
base every day and say, oh, he's going to hit
three hundred, his ops is going to be nine hundred,
He's going to do all this play every day, and
you just kind of pencil that in and expect it,
like you don't realize that that elite level of play
is not easy to do every day. So yeah, I mean,
(05:39):
I think I think you expected out of Freddy, And
that's why the expectations make it seem that like, hey,
this is just kind of home home what he does.
But for him to continue to do it at the
level that he is is it's an elite thing. It's
a special thing that very few people can do in
the game, and so it's nice to have for sure.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Since he was counting down to three that for you,
can I be your sirraho here to help you count
down as far as doubles go, because he's climbed a
lot of Hall of Famers this year, and he's just
four away from passing Lou Garrick for the forty second
most doubles in baseball history. Should I feed you the
double stats as we go through the season.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
And if we start playing that game with hits and
doubles with Freddie, we might be doing that every day
with something. So it's just a testament to him. But
that's a big name, Lou Garriy, that's special.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Clayton Kershaw is our guest. Before I let you go,
I wanted to ask you were you surprised by any
text you got from one person congratulating you.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Uh, so many people reached out, which I was so
thankful for, you know, obviously getting the guys from the
current three thousand club, you know, Sures and JV both
reached out to Sea congrats, which I thought was super cool.
You know, obviously we've kind of I wouldn't say grow
up together, but we've been in the big leagues kind
of the same times, and so you know, us three.
(06:58):
I finally get to join their club with three thousand strikeouts.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Was awesome.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
So those guys a lot of friends and family, but
it was everybody that reached out. It was just it
was really cool to see everybody so happy for me.
I was very thankful for all of it.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Do you remember how how big the number was on
the phone of text after the game.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
I don't know, it sounds I don't know, it sounds weird,
but there was a lot it was.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
It was over five hundred, no, no, over three thousand.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
No, no, no, no, but it was awesome. Awesome.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Hey, Clayton, it's been a pleasure to be with you
for fourteen fourth of July's and just see how much
work you put in. I feel like that's the reason
why everybody was so happy for you, because you respect
the game. You put in so much work, and you
treat everybody really well. So you even treat slubs like
me pretty well on the radio. So thank you.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Well, you forced me to do this one today, so
I had no choice.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Well, you know, it just happened to have this one
hundred and fifty dollars gift card at Travis Matthew Clayton Kershaw.
Visit Travis matthew dot com and received twenty percent off
your first order when you sign up for emails. We'll
do that later. I'll sign you up, all right, Happy
for Dave
And now an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger
Talking Happy fourth of July and what says fourth of
July more than a man that has spent eighteen fourth
of July's with the Dodgers. That's mister three thousand to himself,
Clayton Kershaw. With this dad bucket hat the players will
be wearing today, thanks a lot for the time. Happy fourth.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
It is kind of like a dad bucket hat.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Huh, yeah, this is very you.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Why just because I'm a dad.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Yeah, you wear these type of things with the rope
on it too.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
I don't know about the rope thing, but it is
definitely a dad hat. So I'll rock it. I'll rock it.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
I did like the Rams hat you were sporting after
the start in Denver.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Yeah, I'm a Rams guy now.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
So ever since Matthew got there, you know, they won
a Super Bowl, so it looks like bandwagon. But yeah,
ever since Matthew got there, I'm a Ram fan.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
I've never heard the connection between you and Stafford before.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Oh you want that story?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Hey? Two days later. Now you've been celebrated so much
around baseball in LA. How does it feel after you've
been able to get through all that.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Oh, it's so special.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
I mean, I think that night, you know, obviously I'd
like to have given up a few less runs and
strike out the guy a little sooner. But you know,
looking back on the whole night and everything that happened,
it was so special, such a great night for my family,
for me, and you know, obviously the fans reaction that
whole night and just how they you know, you kind
of just felt the tension that they had for me
(01:23):
to figure this thing out and to get a strikeout finally,
So just wouldn't have changed it for the world, just
to blast so grateful for the night, And you know,
I think it's slowly starting to move on, get past
it and try to look forward to facing the Brewers
and get that three thousand and first one.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
You don't really show any sort of self importance. Were
you surprised by how much the fans cared about you
reaching that milestone? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I think so.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
I mean, I think, you know, from even just the
warm ups before the game to you know, running back
out for the sixth inning, there it was. It was
definitely more than I I was. It was a very
unique experience.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
It was awesome, awesome, I was doing Dodger talk upstairs
while you came out after the game and the grounds
crew started to dig up the pitching rubber. Was that
on your request or did they do that as a
gift to you?
Speaker 3 (02:15):
No, I didn't know they were doing that, so yeah,
really nice of Jordan and all the guys to dig
that up for me, and thanks heavy man. It's no
small feat to get that thing out. It took them
five hours the next day to put the next one down,
So labor of love for sure, but thankful to have it.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
That's pretty awesome.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
What do you do with the pitching rubber? Where were
you put that in the trophy case?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Great question. I'm not sure yet. I don't know, but
it's a great story, so I'll keep it somewhere. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
Clayton Kershaw is our guest on fourth of July. You know, Clayton,
when you look at this team, you guys have the
best record again by two games over the Tigers. Do
you feel like there's a lot more room to go
as far as playing your best baseball?
Speaker 3 (02:57):
You know, I think it's probably twofold. I think we
are playing good baseball right now, I really do. You know,
we're winning games we're supposed to. We're getting great comebacks
playing like clean baseball. You know, starters are getting some
length into the games and so it kind of sets
up the bullpen to do their role as well, and
guys are getting big hits. But to your point, I mean,
I think when we get some more guys back, you know,
(03:17):
obviously months going down for you know, the six weeks
or whatever is a tough blow. But you know, when
when Snell's back, when glasses back, when trying's back, and
get that pitching staff to one hundred percent or close
to it, it's, uh, we should be able to keep
winning games. And that's uh, that's an exciting thing to
think about.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
The bullpen has already pitched those innings. Is there any
way to compensate in the second half for the load
they have shouldered the first half?
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (03:45):
And no.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
I mean I think, you know, I think with the
opener situation, the bullpen innings get skewed a little bit,
right because the bullpen, you know, the bulk guys are
getting five or six six innings.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
That looks like it's the bullpen innings.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
But you know, the guys that have been healthy for
the whole year, like Tanner, some of these guys, Jack
and Benny, some of the guys that have had big workloads.
I think, I think there's ways to manage it. And
but no, I mean, at the end of the day,
they're gonna throw in big situations because those are our guys.
It's just a matter of, you know, getting a little
more consistency in the starting rotation. And I think you're
(04:17):
starting to see that too. I think guys are going,
you know, six seven innings recently, which has been nice,
and that's the biggest way to reset the pen. It's
just for the guys to get a little bit deeper
in the games.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
How much do we take for granted this offense best
in baseball, but it still feels like there might be
a little bit more, which is kind of scary.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Yeah, best, I think you said it the right way.
I think there's a there's room for let me say
this way. Our offense is doing well and everybody swung
the bat well at times, but I don't know if
everybody swung the bat well at the same time. So
once that happens, that's a scary thing, and that's hard
to do throughout the rhythms of a season. To have
everybody swinging the bats well at the same time, but
(04:57):
you know, once once everybody gets going, which you know
that it will.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
It's it's a scary thing to think about.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
You've taken a lot of pride out of being consistent
in your career. How much do we take for granted
how consistent Freddie Freeman has been for the Dodgers, not
only this year, but in his career. Does he get
lost in the shuffle because he's so consistent?
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Yeah? Maybe so.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
I mean I think you know, at the beginning of
the season, you know, you pencil Freddy in at first
base every day and say, oh, he's going to hit
three hundred, his ops is going to be nine hundred,
He's going to do all this play every day, and
you just kind of pencil that in and expect it,
like you don't realize that that elite level of play
is not easy to do every day. So yeah, I mean,
(05:39):
I think I think you expected out of Freddy, And
that's why the expectations make it seem that like, hey,
this is just kind of home home what he does.
But for him to continue to do it at the
level that he is is it's an elite thing. It's
a special thing that very few people can do in
the game, and so it's nice to have for sure.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Since he was counting down to three that for you,
can I be your sirraho here to help you count
down as far as doubles go, because he's climbed a
lot of Hall of Famers this year, and he's just
four away from passing Lou Garrick for the forty second
most doubles in baseball history. Should I feed you the
double stats as we go through the season.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
And if we start playing that game with hits and
doubles with Freddie, we might be doing that every day
with something. So it's just a testament to him. But
that's a big name, Lou Garriy, that's special.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Clayton Kershaw is our guest. Before I let you go,
I wanted to ask you were you surprised by any
text you got from one person congratulating you.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Uh, so many people reached out, which I was so
thankful for, you know, obviously getting the guys from the
current three thousand club, you know, Sures and JV both
reached out to Sea congrats, which I thought was super cool.
You know, obviously we've kind of I wouldn't say grow
up together, but we've been in the big leagues kind
of the same times, and so you know, us three.
(06:58):
I finally get to join their club with three thousand strikeouts.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Was awesome.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
So those guys a lot of friends and family, but
it was everybody that reached out. It was just it
was really cool to see everybody so happy for me.
I was very thankful for all of it.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Do you remember how how big the number was on
the phone of text after the game.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
I don't know, it sounds I don't know, it sounds weird,
but there was a lot it was.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
It was over five hundred, no, no, over three thousand.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
No, no, no, no, but it was awesome. Awesome.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Hey, Clayton, it's been a pleasure to be with you
for fourteen fourth of July's and just see how much
work you put in. I feel like that's the reason
why everybody was so happy for you, because you respect
the game. You put in so much work, and you
treat everybody really well. So you even treat slubs like
me pretty well on the radio. So thank you.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Well, you forced me to do this one today, so
I had no choice.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Well, you know, it just happened to have this one
hundred and fifty dollars gift card at Travis Matthew Clayton Kershaw.
Visit Travis matthew dot com and received twenty percent off
your first order when you sign up for emails. We'll
do that later. I'll sign you up, all right, Happy
for Dave
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