Magic Johnson Shares 11-Word Reaction Towards Clayton Kershaw Joining 3,000 Strikeout Club

Clayton Kershaw became the 20th member of the 3,000 strikeout club in MLB as he picked up 3 strikeouts against the White Sox on Wednesday.

Magic Johnson Shares 11-Word Reaction Towards Clayton Kershaw Joining 3,000 Strikeout Club

Magic Johnson and Clayton Kershaw (Image via X/@LegionHoops/Imago)

On Wednesday, Clayton Kershaw scripted MLB history. The Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher joined the 3,000 strikeout club, becoming the 20th pitcher to join this exclusive club. Former Los Angeles Lakers star Earvin “Magic” Johnson would later share an 11-word reaction to this achievement of Kershaw.

Prior to the game on Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox, Kershaw needed just 3 more strikeouts to put his name in an elite club. The southpaw, who has just returned from another long spell of injury, would go 6 innings long.

In the top of the 6th inning, the 37-year-old struck out Vinny Capra on an 85 mph slider. The White Sox’s 3rd baseman would become the 3,000th strikeout of Kershaw, which led to huge cheers from the fans inside the Dodger Stadium as the inning came to an end.

Following this achievement, ex-NBA star Magic Johnson took to his X account to celebrate this milestone. The 5-time NBA champion currently serves as one of the co-owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers. In his tweet, he would congratulate the 3-time Cy Young Award winner for this achievement.

Congratulations to @ClaytonKersh22 for reaching 3,000 career strikeouts with our @Dodgers!

Kershaw ended the day with 6 innings pitched, 9 hits, 4 earned runs, and 3 strikeouts. As the Dodgers were trailing when he left the game, he was facing his first loss of the season. However, the team came back and walked off the White Sox in the 9th inning, which meant Kershaw got a no-decision in this game.

Clayton Kershaw reacts to his milestone moment

Clayton Kershaw finally entered the 3,000 strikeout club on Wednesday. Following his historic moment, the pitcher dubbed the night “special” and “fun” as he became the 20th pitcher to reach this huge mark.

Clayton Kershaw
Clayton Kershaw (Image via X/@BRWalkoff)

Things were not as straightforward as Kershaw had hoped for at the start of the game. The 10-time MLB All-Star gave up several hits and saw his side fall behind to the White Sox. He was required to work hard and went over 100 pitches to get the third strikeout he needed to reach the 3,000 strikeout mark.

Yeah, I made it interesting, for sure. I made it take too long. Honestly, I didn’t pitch that great tonight. The slider was so bad. But this was such a special night all the way around. It really was. Couldn’t have asked for anything more, really. It just was so fun to get to be out there.

The pitcher also expressed his gratitude to be on the list of pitchers with 3,000 strikeouts or more.

Before Kershaw joined this list, Max Scherzer was the last one to join this club. The Toronto Blue Jays star crossed this milestone mark while playing for the Dodgers in September 2021. Before them, Justin Verlander was the one who joined this club in September 2019.

Chicago White Sox send classy message towards Clayton Kershaw following historic night

The Chicago White Sox were involved in another historic moment in MLB. They were the team against whom Clayton Kershaw picked up his 3,000th strikeout in the MLB. Following the game, the team would share a classy message on X, which saw them receiving applause from the fans.

Clayton Kershaw
Clayton Kershaw (Image via X/@MLB)

The White Sox were leading the game 4-2 while entering the bottom of the ninth inning. They ended up losing the game as they conceded 3 runs with Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman coming in clutch for them.

After the game, instead of announcing the final score on X, the White Sox tipped their hat to Kershaw and congratulated him for his achievement.

FINAL: Congratulations to Clayton Kershaw on 3,000 career strikeouts.

It is not the first time that the White Sox have used some words instead of announcing their score. During their massive slump last year, the team would hilariously tweet out sentences instead of normally announcing the final scores.

Speaking of them, the 2025 season has been another down year for them. They currently have the 2nd worst record in the league at 28-58, ahead of the Colorado Rockies, who at 19-67, face the scenario of breaking the most losses in a single season record set by the White Sox last year.

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