Just like (almost) everyone else who has been interviewed by the media (via Zoom) during Spring Training-2, Dodgers ace and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw was asked about playing baseball during the worst pandemic to hit the planet in over a century. And just like (almost) everyone else, he urges people to be responsible and to do the right thing.

“Really, the fact that we’re even here, a few days away from having a season, I think is a win for baseball in and of itself,” Kershaw said during a Zoom press conference on Monday afternoon while referencing the relatively low number of positive COVID-19 tests thus far in Major League Baseball camps across the country.

“Honestly, it’s just kind of scary,” Kershaw told reporters. “You think about, if I go somewhere and get (COVID-19) and give it to my teammates and our season is ruined because of something stupid I did, that’s a bad feeling. Don’t be that guy.

“Just that pressure alone will keep guys from doing the irresponsibility thing,” he added. “That’s not to say some guys won’t get it, obviously, but we will do everything we can to stay as safe as possible.”

The (now) 32-year-old Dallas, TX native and Dodgers first-round draft pick in 2006 out of Highland Park High School in University Park, TX also said that away games are going to be “different” this season.

“We understand that it’s not going to be, hey, you roll into town and find something to eat; it’s just not going to be that way, we know that,” Kershaw said. “We, for the most part, other than going to grab a coffee or something, are going to be confined to the hotel on the road, and that’s OK. I think as long as you’re outside, as long as you’re wearing a mask, that’s safe. We haven’t talked about specific protocols as a team.”

Like the eight-time All-Star, the three-time National League Cy Young award winner, five-time ERA champion, Gold Glove winner, and 2014 NL MVP says:

“Don’t be that guy.”

Play Ball!

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