Clayton Kershaw Appreciation Thread

[willshad]

Kershaw seems to have a pretty good chance at a fourth CY award this year. How much would another 20 win season/CY award help him to crack the all time top 10? Would it vault him past Pedro?

[Floyd Gondolli]

Kershaw has the lowest ERA in baseball history (since 1913 when it became official) with 350 IP against any team. 1.88 vs. the Giants. Screen Shot 2022-06-11 at 12.15.58 PM.png

[AlexS]

I do not like to name "favorites," but Kershaw is one of my favorite active players. His mastery of the game is unbelievable. He's slipped these past few years and isn't the superhuman pitcher he once was, but he's still amazing.

To elaborate:

Clayton Kershaw remains one of the greatest pitchers of the past fifty years—but Kershaw the superhuman is no more. Granted, pound for pound he’s still among the best in the game, when he pitches. But he hasn’t tossed more than 180 innings in a season since 2015 and has averaged just 138 innings in the six succeeding campaigns. To be among the best, a player has to play. And Kershaw hasn’t done enough of that in recent years.

[PVNICK]

Marichal is probably the "best of the rest"

[Floyd Gondolli]

What Kershaw has done against his arch rival (Giants) is the stuff of legend. Giants fans must cry whenever he takes the mound against them.

Lowest ERA versus any opponent, since 1920. Min 350 IP.

Screen Shot 2021-05-22 at 8.44.56 AM.png

[Floyd Gondolli]

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[Floyd Gondolli]

Kershaw is one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history. A few simple reasons why I don't think he gets the kudos or respect, perhaps, that he deserves:

-Lowest ERA of any pitcher with 2000 IP in the entire last 100 years (1920-2021). The Liveball Era.
-Lowest Adjusted ERA in baseball history among all pitchers with 1500 IP.
-6 top 3 finishes in Cy Young Award Voting, including 3 Cy's, and a year when he won the MVP AND the Cy Young.
-Highest winning percentage in baseball history among all pitchers with 1500 IP.
-Lowest ERA in baseball history against one team (350 IP min). And, it's his arch rival, the San Francisco Giants. 1.79 ERA in 352.2 IP!
-Lowest WHIP of any pitcher with 1500 IP in The Liveball Era.
-Second all time in hits allowed per 9 IP.

He's also clearly having a Second Act very few thought he would have after the MAJOR back problems and shoulder problems set in. He's gone from someone who once averaged 95 mph and maxed out at 98 to someone averaging 92 and maxing out at 94. He used to rely on his fastball most of the time, and he now relies mainly on an amazing slider, and his patented curve. In other words, he has adapted extremely well, on top of everything else.

[kbs84r]

So much for that theory.

[kbs84r]

I heard a couple interesting tidbits today on MLB Now and Pardon the Interruption. On MLB Now it was mentioned that Kershaw and Pettite have the most postseason starts on short rest since 1995 and the wild card era with six each. Mike Wilbon on Pardon the Interruption stated that pitchers on short rest have a combined 49-72 record. I realize Kershaw's post season numbers are not good, but these stats could explain some of his post season difficulties. Thoughts?

[walter sobchak]

Thus far in 2019:

13-2 (0.867), ERA 2.71, ERA+ 153, BB 31, K 147, K/BB 4.74, WHIP 1.021, WAR 3.2 (seems a bit low?).

Pretty damn good. Personally, I hope he has a big post-season and exorcises some of those demons.

EDIT: Since I wrote the above, he has gone 0-3 with 12 ER in 16 innings. Talk about the kiss of death!

[OrangeKoolAid]

I'm new to the game and haven't been watching that long but man. I've been watching him lately and man, can he throw a ball. Very impressed!

[Cowtipper]

Clayton Kershaw's career stats, including postseason play:

130-66 W-L, .663 W%, 24 CG, 15 SHO, 1844 IP, 1364 H, 504 ER, 504 BB, 2020 K, 2.46 ERA

Keep in mind that Kershaw has a career losing record and a 4.39 ERA in the playoffs.

[PVNICK]

After last night's game I would think people would appreciate him a little bit more. Seven shutout innings on short rest to tie the NLCS, puts one very big mark on the plus side of his playoff ledger.

[ChineseDemocracy]

I appreciate Clayton Kershaw.

[GiambiJuice]

Since the start of the 2011 season, Kershaw has made 171 starts...

He has a .738 W/L %
2.06 ERA
177 ERA+
3 Cy Young wins, one 2nd place, and one 3rd place.
5.5 K:BB ratio
4x league leader in ERA (on pace for his 5th in 6 years)
4x league leader in WHIP (on pace for his 5th in 6 years)

His AVERAGE season over the past five years (excluding his partial 2016)

18-7, 2.11 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 226 IP, 250 K, 48 BB, 7.1 WAR

He's pretty good.