Burden lifted, Kershaw talks fatherhood, his future with Dodgers

DALLAS — Clayton Kershaw pushed the weighted sled 70 feet through the well-tended grass of his home’s side yard, his legs churning as he passed the plastic kiddie slide. He then stepped toward the open gate to survey the playground across the street.

“What time is it?” he asked.

It was 9:43.

“I bet Cali is out there,” he said.

He looked and looked until he realized his 6-year-old daughter wasn’t there.

Cali is the oldest of Kershaw’s three children. She’s in kindergarten, and Kershaw knows her schedule inside and out. He walks her to school. He picks her up. He’s a member of the school’s dads club and volunteers twice a month for three-hour cafeteria shifts. And he knows Cali is at recess at 9:43 a.m.

“Sometimes she doesn’t go to that playground, though,” he said, turning back to the sled with 45-pound weights mounted on each side.

It’s the most exhausting segment of his two-hour lower-body workout. Once the one-minute rest interval expired, he shoved the sled a third time, up a slight incline. He was panting when he reached the other side. Seven more to go.

Kershaw was enduring the workout because he was weeks from reporting to spring training for his 14th — and perhaps final — season with the Dodgers. He’ll turn 33 next month. He’s one of the old guys in the clubhouse, and time doesn’t treat the best any better.

So he has worked out six days a week to complement his offseason throwing regimen. Monday and Thursday are lower body, Tuesday and Friday upper body. Wednesday and Saturday are cardio.

He sees a physical therapist twice a week and throws with a small group of professional pitchers at Highland Park High, where he