Dodgers News: Austin Barnes Talks Return of Clayton Kershaw for Year 16 in LA

Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes talks about why he's happy to have star pitcher Clayton Kershaw returning for a 16th season in Los Angeles.

Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes has been teammates with future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw for eight years, ever since Barnes was a 25-year-old rookie in 2015. He's caught 71 of Kershaw's 189 starts in that time, second-most of any catcher behind only AJ Ellis. He's had an up-close-and-personal view of Kershaw's greatness over the years.

Barnes was on Access Sportsnet on Wednesday, and the topic turned to Kershaw's decision to come back for a 16th season in Dodger blue.

“Obviously I’m glad he’s back. He’s our leader, he’s our captain. He’s the Dodger organization. He’s just an ultra hard-worker. But me and him, I think we understand each other a little bit, which kind of makes us work. I understand he's a fiery competitor, and sometimes he gets mad, and sometimes he'll take it out on you. But I can handle that. You know, he just wants to win, and I think that's why we can mesh well together, we're out there just trying to compete."

Austin Barnes joins our Access SportsNet LA panel to talk about Julio Urias' outstanding season, the return of Clayton Kershaw and more. pic.twitter.com/KJN91uvmcQ

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) November 17, 2022

Barnes has a fiery personality of his own, so it makes sense that he and Kershaw mesh so well together. Despite his relatively small stature, Barnes was the most frequent pick when Joe Davis and Orel Hershiser used to ask L.A. players who would win a cage match between all the Dodgers, so that bulldog mentality is probably a great fit for Kershaw's gameday intensity.

The Dodgers don't officially have a captain, and maybe Barnes is just trying to dish that title off on someone other than himself, but Kershaw is the longest-tenured Los Angeles player, a future Hall of Famer, and a true leader. We join Austin in being glad he's back.