The Players’ Tribune

In his final game, Clayton Kershaw is a champion once again. His kids couldn’t be prouder. Hear the full message: playerstribu.ne/KershawVM

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s daughter, Vlaimel, leaves her dad an adoring voicemail that tugs on the heartstrings: “You’re gonna be the best one there. You’re gonna win!”

In 2023, Lars Nootbaar recounted his first time meeting Shohei Ohtani: “Look, I know you’ve read and heard a lot about Shohei by this point. You’ve seen him play. You know what he can do. You get it. I get it.⁠ ⁠ But I’m here to tell you that Shohei Ohtani is an even better person than he is a baseball player. And I’ve never met anyone who is as comfortable in his own skin as Shohei. None of it is a show, either. You can absolutely tell.⁠ ⁠ The first time I met him I was in the clubhouse, feeling a bit on my own — didn’t know anyone, didn’t speak the language, nerves all over the place. I’m fumbling around trying to put stuff away in my locker, and I turn around and … Shohei and Ippei are standing there looking at me. And I’m not too proud to say that I was starstruck right then. But Shohei, he just gives me this huge smile, and, in English, he says: ‘Hey, Lars. How’s your family?’ It immediately put me at ease.⁠ ⁠ And all throughout the tournament, he was just one of the boys. In Japan, age and respect are everything. But with Shohei, even though he was a little older than some of the players on that team, he was always telling us: ‘Treat me like I’m the same age as you! Talk to me as an equal!’ He was always wanting to just be one of the guys.⁠ ⁠ So to be that talented, and then, at the same time, that humble and kind? It really was inspiring to me. I can’t say enough good things about him. And now, I’m so proud to call him my friend.” Read the full story: playerstribu.ne/Nootbaar 📸: Getty Images

Ahead of the World Series and his retirement, Clayton Kershaw’s kids leave special messages for their dad: “You’re like the best player like in the world. I can’t believe I have this dad.” 🎥: Los Angeles Dodgers

VJ Edgecombe went off in his NBA debut, dropping 34 points. The Philadelphia 76ers rookie is proud to play for Philly: “My family used to live off a generator. Now I play for the Philadelphia 76ers.... There was a time when I didn’t think any of this was possible. I’ve heard it all before. ‘You can’t do this, you can’t do that.’ I had to learn how to block it out and not let it bother me. To any kids facing those doubts, if you’re reading this — don’t believe what they tell you. Let it motivate you to keep trying harder. They will ALWAYS say, You can’t, you can’t, you can’t. They will be wrong.” Read the full story: playerstribu.ne/VJ

When George Springer said these words back in 2022, he meant it. 💙 The Blue Jays are World Series bound. Read his story here: playerstribu.ne/Springer

As The Players’ Tribune enters year 11, we are humbled and enthused to remain the most trusted platform for athletes with the same mission we’ve had since day one — giving players a safe space to tell their own stories, on their own time and in their own ways. Thanks to all of the athletes, fans, teams and leagues who’ve joined us on this journey over the last decade — here’s to the next 10! Read more from our very own Sean Patrick Conboy and Jenna Hackerman Klein below. Front Office Sports: ”Derek Jeter made waves when he founded The Players’ Tribune 11 years ago. The move earned Jeter headlines about his entrepreneurial turn, and it kick-started a slew of athlete-driven media start-ups.... The Players’ Tribune is still here — under different ownership, but in most other ways the same site that first grabbed so much attention when it debuted.” https://lnkd.in/eeHQyQ6g

George Russell on how his father helped him achieve his dream of becoming an F1 driver: “It’s only when I got older that I fully recognised the amount of stress he must have been under. I can look back now, putting myself in his shoes, and think like, if I’m working from seven in the morning till nine at night, and all of the money I’ve earned that week has gone straight into racing on the weekends … And I see my son isn’t taking it seriously or he’s messing around or he made a silly mistake or whatever, of course I’d be upset. He was putting everything on the line. Everything. Growing up, we were comfortable enough to live a good life, which I’m very grateful for. But just being honest, we were not wealthy enough to have a career in racing. Altogether, my father probably spent over a million pounds on my racing career. That’s a hell of a lot of money. Sadly in motorsport though, that doesn’t even get you halfway to F1. And that’s basically everything we had. He was just so deeply invested in the dream. We all were. Me, Dad, Mum, Benji, and Cara. But that’s just what it was. All the chips were pushed in on me. One day, I asked myself a question. Would I rather have had this ‘pat me on the head and tell me everything is great’ relationship with my dad growing up knowing what I know now, which is that the toughness he put on me has set me up for life? No, my dad didn’t give me all the traditional childhood cradling in the world.… But he put his hand in his pocket and gave me every available penny he had. He sold his business to fund my racing. And sacrificed something even more valuable. Time. Every waking second, he sacrificed for my dream. And that means the world to me.” Read the full story: playerstribu.ne/George

Chris Boucher shared a special message to the Toronto Raptors: “To be able to win a title in Toronto, and then to be fortunate enough to play for seven amazing seasons in Canada is something that’s very meaningful to me. I think that’s where I finally got my Disney ending lol. It also wasn’t easy, though — I started as a Summer League invite (and got DNPs my first two games of Summer League), worked my way to a training camp invite, from there got a two-way deal, was the first ever G League MVP and Defensive Player of the year in the same season, and then FINALLY signed my first standard NBA deal. And just kept working, working, working. I’m incredibly grateful to the entire Raptors organization for giving me that chance — for believing in me one more time, when I thought no one else might. From Masai and Bobby, to the staff, coaches, trainers, security guards, ushers, EVERYONE in the organization. They treated me like one of their own and embraced me. That’s special, and something I’ll always be incredibly grateful for. It hasn’t been easy for me since I came over from St. Lucia, but I love Canada so much. The people of this country have always shown me love and support, and I would not be the person that I am today if it wasn’t for all different people from all over Canada supporting me over the years. I have to say: One of the things that I love most about Canadians is that... I don’t know what it is, but lots of them ... they are just naturally ... optimistic. They can always see the positive side of things. They believe that, no matter how bad things may seem at any one moment, something good is bound to be right around the corner. It has to be. They roll with the punches. That’s dope! I definitely feel like that perspective is a huge part of who I am, and made it so I kept pushing forward despite all the uncertainty and instability that were such a big part of my life when I was younger. Since I was little, I have always been grateful for anything at all that I had. Even when I had almost nothing. I never stopped smiling. Never stopped believing that things would turn around for me. Not once.” Read the full story: playerstribu.ne/Boucher