Clayton Kershaw Excitedly Reflected on 'Favorite Opening Day'

April 1, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp (27) pours a bucket of ice water on starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) as he is being interviewed by Fox Sports West Jim Watson after the game against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. Dodgers won 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Clayton Kershaw is in his first year of retirement after 18 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he was still heavily involved with the start of the 2026 campaign.

Kershaw made his broadcasting debut with NBC Sports on Opening Day, which included joining host Bob Costas for a portion of their pregame show live from Dodger Stadium. That was followed by Kershaw taking a seat next to the Dodgers' dugout and working as a reporter alongside a broadcast booth of Jason Benetti, Orel Hershiser and Luis Gonzalez.

Clayton Kershaw picks favorite Opening Day

In addition to providing tremendous insight and analysis throughout the game, Kershaw also had an opportunity to reflect on one of the favorite moments of his career.

"That was a fun day. Look at that thing!" Kershaw exclaimed as NBC/Peacock showed the highlight of his home run against the San Francisco Giants from Opening Day at Dodger Stadium on April 1, 2013.

"That was kind of a nuke, don't you think? Center field."

Kershaw became the first pitcher to hit a home run on Opening Day since Joe Magrane did so for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1988. He was the first Dodgers pitcher to accomplish the feat since Don Drysdale in 1965.

"Thank you guys. Thanks for letting me see that on Opening Day. That was my favorite Opening Day right there. That was pretty special," Kershaw said. "That was my only homer, so I'll keep that.

"Did you see how fast I was running? I couldn't even run that fast now if I tried. I had no idea. I thought it was probably a lineout to center field. Opening Day adrenaline and all that, I mustard one out over the fence. A really fun day."

Kershaw's home run in the eighth inning broke a scoreless tie and helped unseal some offensive production for the Dodgers in their eventual 4-0 win. He pitched a complete-game shutout, limiting the Giants to just four hits and finishing with seven strikeouts without issuing a walk.

Kershaw became the first pitcher to throw a shutout and hit a homer on Opening Day since Bob Lemon for Cleveland in 1953.

The Dodgers' Opening Day game in 2013 was part Kershaw's streak of starting eight season openers in a row from 2011-18. This year Yoshinobu Yamamoto became the Dodgers' first pitcher to repeat as an Opening Day starter since Kershaw's streak.