Stay Healthy, Please: The Clayton Kershaw Thread

damn, he's a fireman!

Their opposing-batter slash line is almost identical: .209/.261/.319 for Kershaw, .205/.275/.319 for Koufax.

Price is the difference! Koufax’s salary over that period, when adjusted for inflation, only $3,480,575.58.

Cubs scored four in the first today, Kershaw replaced in the second; shortest start ever?

didn't seem right, lots of balls in the dirt

It was his shortest:

https://www.mlb.com/news/clayton-kershaw-makes-shortest-career-start-vs-cubs

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FRpDXIWXMAIQDAt?format=jpg&name=small

That's a great list because those are probably the seven most famous Dodger pitchers...maybe Don Newcombe, too.

yeah, amazing list! i'm not sure how much people remember dazzy vance these days. my deep cut dodgers pitcher is preacher roe.

The best
https://deadline.com/2022/07/boy-approaches-clayton-kershaw-at-press-conference-my-grandpa-loved-you-im-meeting-you-for-him-1235072946/

Another reason why no other sport can touch baseball

https://i.imgur.com/dZndZst.png

what's the big deal? this is pretty much my identical back pain history

Right? At my house we call that "5:30 every morning."

i can totally throw, i just need someone to put my socks on and tie my cleats

Kershaw notches 200th career victory as Dodgers defeat Mets

Is Clayton Kershaw the best regular season pitcher ever? pic.twitter.com/IK9SEvHe6P

— Paul Hembekides (@PaulHembo) April 21, 2023

what are we doing here

Top five of his generation, sure

His career rate stats will probably rank with just about any postwar pitcher when he finishes; obviously, he'll fall well short of Clemens, Johnson, Maddux, Seaver, etc. in terms of durability. And then it's just a case of how much you put that down to the way the game has changed; would he have been logging 250-300 IP and 35-40 starts per year if he'd pitched in the '70s? No idea.

Some of his current rankings in career rate stats:

ERA+ - 4th (he's second behind Rivera post-war for unadjusted ERA; first for starters)
H/9 - 3rd
WHIP - 5th
SO/BB - 9th

I really wish he'd stayed healthier. He's at least been healthier than degrom though.

Curious how much will be remembered about his postseason difficulties 20 years from now. It's the kind of thing that does tend to hang around as a footnote--I can still remember that Gil Hodges (before my time) and Dave Winfield all went through something similar.

With the expanded postseason (starting in '95 and continuing until today), postseason stats are more important than ever. Guys are playing far more postseason games than before, and more teams are making it which means no more Ernie Banks situations where they play for bad teams and never get a chance in the postseason. Yeah, let's pour one out for Mike Trout but in general, the best players will all have multiple appearances with meaningful sample sizes.

Kershaw plays for one of the most dominant regular season teams ever, has only one title, and hasn't come close to matching his regular season stats in the postseason. I'm not saying it'll be a stain on his eventual HOF induction, but it'll definitely be remembered for a long time

I love kershaw and am glad he’s recognized as the all-time great that he is, but to consider him the best regular-season pitcher ever (which is distinct from the best per-inning pitcher) seems a little insulting to the guys who were every bit as good and pitched a lot longer

Agree, except that's what I mean about the changing game --would he have matched the Carltons and Madduxes if he'd pitched in their era? Verlander and Scherzer are considered old-school workhorses, and Kershaw isn't too far behind either one of them in career IP.

for sure, he's got a great case for best pitcher of his generation. but I imagine it's going to be kind to one's rate stats to take a few weeks off every couple of months and
rarely face hitters more than twice a game

Assuming Kershaw, Verlander & Scherzer are all of the same generation, I wouldn't rate Kershaw better than the other 2, more like equals.

I hate hypotheticals, but had Kershaw been healthy and not having those numerous IL stints, he may have had a stronger case.

(xpost) Totally agree again, I'm just wondering if that has more to do with him or usage patterns? Is there any evidence he wouldn't have pitched as much as Seaver in the '70s or Maddux in the '90s if he'd been around then? I guess he does seem a little fragile...Quick check: he was in his league's Top 10 for IP five times, but Seaver was Top 10 twelve times and Maddux Top ten seventeen (!) times. So maybe you're right, it has more to do with him.

Kershaw is pretty awesome but I agree w kev and steve and ntbt, which I don't think diminishes CK. Actually think he might be slightly the best of his era but it's not clear cut due to the likes of Verlander and Scherzer, though it's also an era where someone like Scherzer has career CG/shutout numbers which equate to basically what David wells might have done in one season. Everyone has the diminished workload compared to prior decades. But Kershaw also has the injuries and what feels like a bunch of incomplete seasons strung together over the past decade (except for 2015.)

no particular shade on kershaw, but my god verlander's late 30s were incredible

Dodgers, Kershaw announce ‘Christian Faith’ event amid Pride fallout

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/dodgers-kershaw-announce-christian-faith-event-amid-pride-night-controversy/

...

in the spirit of straight pride, international mens day, all lives matter, etc.

I thought this was just fuckawful timing but then I read this and I’m like, fuck him for this, honestly.

Notice he's really turned it around in June. Last four starts:

27 IP, 20 H, 28 K, 7 BB, 1.33 ERA

https://www.tsn.ca/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers-clayton-kershaw-has-shoulder-surgery-hopes-to-pitch-next-year-1.2030667

Postseason aside--and maybe making amends is what drives him; is it money at this point?--his regular-season body of work is still close to flawless. His career ERA sits at 2.48, all his rate stats are among the best ever, and (if you care) his winning pct. is just shy of .700. I'm a little surprised he doesn't hang it up.

You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end, it turns out that it was the other way around all the time.

It's not just about the money, if it was, he would have pursued (and received) a multi-year deal from someone. He knows he can still compete at a high level. Maybe he really wants to end his career playing in his home state, that's the kind of thing every kid dreams about. But he also wants to win, and the Dodgers have been the best team nearly every year during his career. It's not an easy decisions, and good on him that he's earned the right to end his career on his own terms.

Perfect use of one of my favourite lines ever.