The Last of His Kind: Clayton Kershaw and the Burden of Greatness

Andy McCullough. Hachette, $32 (368p) ISBN 978-0-306-83259-8

Athletic writer McCullough debuts with a commanding biography of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ ace pitcher. According to McCullough, Kershaw was profoundly influenced by his high school sweetheart, Ellen Melson, whom he married in 2010. Early on in their relationship, Ellen, a devout Presbyterian, encouraged Kershaw to see God at work in his life, leading him to view his burgeoning athletic talent as a divine gift and to double down on his dedication to baseball. McCullough offers a granular account of how Kershaw navigated the scouting process (the Florida Marlins “chided him for wearing shorts and a T-shirt” to a meeting), traces the pitcher’s rise to the top of the pros after getting drafted by the Dodgers in 2006, and recreates the highs and lows of Kershaw’s quest for a World Series title, which he attained in 2020 after a near miss in 2017. (That year, the Dodgers lost the series to the Houston Astros, who were later found to have engaged in illegal sign-stealing.) McCullough enriches his narrative with humanizing detail (Kershaw once rebuffed Samuel L. Jackson for upsetting his rigid game-day routine with a visit to the Dodgers locker room), offering an intimate portrait of an athlete who understands that to stay on top, “he could never stay satisfied” yet “could also never lose what made him special.” Dodgers fans should consider this a must. Agent: David Black, David Black Agency. (May)