Clayton Kershaw got his first official turn in a SportsNet LA booth this week, and by his own account, the debut went smoothly.
Kershaw was with the Dodgers on Tuesday night at the start of their road trip, joining Joe Davis for the network’s broadcast of the series opener against the Atlanta Braves. It marked his first time serving as a SportsNet LA analyst in an official role, even though he had already appeared on the network before through in-game interviews at different points during his 18-year career.
The new assignment clearly came with a little pressure at first. But once the game settled in, Kershaw said the job felt natural.
“Honestly, the whole experience, I really had a good time with it,” Kershaw told the California Post on Wednesday morning. “It was really fun.”
He said the nerves faded as the conversation turned into what he knows best: watching baseball and talking about it.
“But then, when you’re just watching a baseball game and talking about it, that’s what I love to do,” he said. “I love watching baseball and talking baseball, especially when it’s not about me. That’s the stuff that I really, really enjoyed, and felt like as the game went on, I got a little more comfortable with that.”
Kershaw spent most of the night in the chair usually occupied by Orel Hershiser, who had already made it clear the spot was open to him.
“When you want to do this broadcasting thing, you can borrow my seat next to Joe anytime you want,” Hershiser said during his speech for the unveiling of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “You want to get ready for that national job.”
Kershaw’s work in broadcasting is still a fairly new chapter. Months after retiring, he was hired as an analyst for NBC Sports’ return to MLB coverage.
He was part of the network’s Opening Day broadcast when the Dodgers played the Arizona Diamondbacks, with Hershiser alongside him, and he later appeared on an NBC broadcast on Aug. 2 for a game against the Boston Red Sox. In both of those assignments, he worked as the third voice and sat near the Dodgers’ dugout rather than in the booth.
Along with his television work, the Dodgers also brought Kershaw into the organization as a special assistant in the front office.
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