Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher Clayton Kershaw seems to have it all: the love of several million baseball fans, some of the highest awards in baseball, and a future place in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Hall of Fame. He also earns tens of millions of dollars annually. But he will be the first to tell people that baseball isn’t the most important part of his life. Jesus Christ is.

Kershaw — who has announced he will retire at the end of the 2025 season – has said he loves baseball, but he understands it is a platform to use for God’s purposes. The star pitcher admits it might be easy to make baseball the center of his life, but says, “You just can’t make it your No. 1…. You just have to keep Christ in the center of what you are doing.”

He strives to keep his priorities where they belong. “When you live in a country like ours with so much excess, you can try to buy your happiness, try other avenues to find your happiness.” But life doesn’t work that way, he says. “I truly believe that with Jesus in your heart, you can truly be happy no matter what your circumstances are.”

Clayton Kershaw prays before he pitches a game, but does not believe God cares whether he wins or loses. Rather than asking God to lead him to victory, he asks for God’s presence and guidance in his life.

Kershaw sees his talent as a gift from God and understands, “I didn’t do anything to deserve it.”

The left-hander played baseball in high school and became one of the nation’s best pitchers at that level. He was drafted by the Dodgers in the first round of the 2006 MLB draft and reached the major leagues after one season in the minors. He has spent his entire career with the Dodgers.

Kershaw’s win-loss record is 222-96. He is a three-time winner of the Cy Young Award, which goes to the best pitchers in the National League (NL) and American League (AL) each season. He was named the NL’s Most Valuable Player in 2014 and a World Series winner in 2020. And he is one of 20 pitchers who have pitched more than 3,000 strikeouts.

He also won baseball’s Pitching Triple Crown in 2011. That award goes to the pitcher who leads his league in wins, strikeouts and earned run average (ERA). He is an 11-time All-Star player, recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award for exemplifying baseball, sportsmanship, community and contributions to his team, and winner of the Gold Glove Award for fielding performance. He is a five-time ERA leader, three-time NL wins leader and three-time NL strikeout leader. He also pitched a no-hitter on June 18, 2014.

Kershaw grew up in Highland Park, Texas, and graduated from high school in 2006. He married his long-time girlfriend, Ellen Melson, in 2010, and the couple now has four children. During the baseball season, they live in Los Angeles, and in the off-season, they make their home in University Park, Texas.

The couple’s mission in life is to help other people and to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. They traveled to Africa with the mission-based organization Arise Africa before the 2011 baseball season. The trip inspired them to write a book about their experiences in the mission field, Arise: Live Out Your Faith and Dreams on Whatever Field You Find Yourself, which is geared toward young adults who want to live their faith and make a difference.

Also, that year, the couple created Kershaw’s Challenge, a faith-based organization that helps at-risk children. “We want to empower people to use their spheres of influence to impact communities positively and to expand God’s Kingdom,” they say. “We believe that God can transform at-risk children and neighborhoods through the benevolence and impact of others.”

They measure the success of Kershaw’s Challenge in the number of lives the organization helps. Since 2011, it has raised more than $23 million to support at-risk children and families worldwide. It has also worked with 27 organizations since its inception and focuses its efforts on Dallas, where the couple grew up, Los Angeles, Africa and the Dominican Republic.

Kershaw’s Challenge began with one child, a nine-year-old orphan from Zambia named Hope. The little girl lived on the streets and had battled HIV throughout her young life. She was sick, malnourished and abused when Ellen Kershaw first met her.

The two immediately connected, and Ellen and Clayton committed to helping create a better life for Hope. The couple has, among other things, established an orphanage that they have named Hope’s Home.

People are constantly tempted to take an easy path in life, according to the baseball star. “The battle to maintain a Christ-centered identity is the most worthy fight we will face…. I want every pitch and every batter faced to be about something more than a game.”