Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw opens up about his kids' love for Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Clayton Kershaw has four children with his wife, Ellen. Their youngest two children, both boys, have an affectionate bond with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the 2025 World Series MVP.

While the Japanese pitcher's recent postseason heroics drew many admirers, Kershaw's kids had jumped on the Yamamoto bandwagon long before. Kershaw explained how it happened during his interview with Robe Love on Thursday.

Kershaw, who retired after the Dodgers' World Series triumph, first pointed out that the current season was meaningful for Charley, his firstborn son, because he is old enough to understand what is going on. He then discussed how his other children became attached to Yamamoto.

"My younger two (Cooper Ellis and Chance James), they love Yamamoto," Clayton Kershaw said. "That's their favorite player, long before everybody else saw this October. "And Yama, he's so nice with them, takes pictures, talks with them, it's awesome. So for Yama to have that postseason, they were just so excited. It was a blast."

Kershaw and Yamamoto were teammates for two seasons, 2024 and 2025. The Japanese slugger joined the Dodgers on a 12-year, $325M contract in December 2023. Meanwhile, Kershaw, who played 18 seasons in MLB, is among the greatest pitchers in Dodgers history.

An 11-time MLB All-Star, Kershaw was the NL Cy Young Award winner in 2011, 2013, and 2014. Moreover, he was the NL MVP in 2014.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto aspires to surpass Clayton Kershaw

Many fans and analysts believe that Clayton Kershaw is the greatest ace pitcher of the 21st century. Others often in the discussion are Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.

Many young pitchers see the trio as role models. Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto sees Clayton Kershaw as a role model. Before Game 6 of the World Series against the Blue Jays, Yamamoto opened up about how he sees Kershaw.

"I think from my heart that I want to be an ace pitcher like Kershaw, and I want to do my best to one day surpass my great senior," Yamamoto said.

At the time, the Dodgers were trailing the Blue Jays 3-2 after five games. Yamamoto delivered a strong performance, allowing just one earned run, five hits, and one walk while striking out six in six innings pitched. The Dodgers won the game 3-1.

Earlier, Yamamoto pitched a one-run complete game in Game 2 to tie the series. The Japanese ace also pitched in relief on Game 7 with no days' rest. Coming out of the bullpen, he pitched 2.2 scoreless innings and induced the final out to close out the game.

Edited by Safeer M S