Peter Sers
Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher in the National League.
Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher in the Major Leagues.
Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher in the World.
In 2014, Clayton Kershaw put together one of the most impressive seasons ever by a pitcher. How impressive? He led the NL in ERA with a 1.77, the fourth straight ERA title he has won. For added measure, he is the active career ERA leader, with a 2.48 ERA. He led the NL in wins in 2014 with 21, despite missing 5 weeks with a strained muscle in his upper back, basically costing him 5-6 starts. He led the league in complete games(again, despite missing 5 weeks of the season), and he was third in strikeouts with 239(only 3 behind Strasburg and Cueto, who tied for first), again, even though he missed five weeks of the season. He was a unanimous choice for the NL Cy Young Award, his third such award(should have been fourth in a row, but the voters messed that one up), and oh yeah, he was the first pitcher to win the NL MVP since Bob Gibson won the award in 1968. So why are there so many people criticizing Clayton Kershaw? To answer that question, one only needs to look at the last two post seasons.
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Clayton Kershaw had an ERA of 7.82 in the 2014 post season, as the Dodgers were eliminated from the playoffs by the Cardinals for the second straight year. In 2013, his NLCS ERA was 6.80. His late inning implosions in the 2014 have many critics wondering if he is simply an amazing regular season pitcher, and not capable of rising to the challenges of post season play. In all fairness, Clayton was absolutely dominant in NLDS game one through six innings, he was actually pitching a one hitter. Game four was more of the same until his seventh inning melt down. Dodgers fans do not need to be reminded of those nightmare innings, where Clayton was roughed up for a combined nine runs, six in game one and three in game four. A three run inning is not really a melt down, but it was magnified by the fact it was an elimination game, and he gave up the three runs when the Dodgers were up by two. He also had his six run melt down in game one. Who can forget game five of the 2013 NLCS where Kershaw gave up a forgettable seven runs, while not being able to get out of the fifth inning. So this begs the question, is Clayton Kershaw simply a really amazing regular season pitcher and an awful post season pitcher?
His career ERA in the post season is 5.12, compared to his career 2.48 ERA, that’s more than twice as high. What is a little unfair, is to take that small sample size, and say he can’t pitch in the post season. Kershaw has appeared in 11 post season games, and pitched a total of 51 post season innings. Compare that to his career 211 games and 1378 career innings, he is clearly more of the pitcher he is in the regular season, as opposed to what he has done in the post season. Yes, he doesn’t have a stellar post season record yet, but he has too much ability to not produce in the post season.
Part of his failures last season were because he was left in the game for too long, because Don Mattingly didn’t trust the game to what was a very shaky Dodgers bullpen. At the end of the season, there weren’t any late inning relievers, other than closer Kenley Jansen, that Mattingly trusted with the game. Had Clayton been pulled after his six strong innings in both games one and four, the bullpen could have blown the leads(which very likely could have happened) and everyone would be wondering why Don Mattingly pulled Clayton so early. And so goes the tough job of being a major league manager, and always being second guessed. The fact of the matter is, who else would you want in the game as a Dodger fan, player, or coach, than the person who had come through all season, and pretty much his whole career? Who else would you want in an important situation, than the best pitcher in baseball?
The results, obviously proved to be failed, and the Dodgers have gone yet another season without winning a world championship. What now does Kershaw have to prove? His numbers over the last two seasons are almost impossible to improve on, but knowing Clayton, he will work even harder this off season to try and do just that. His off season conditioning is second to none, and his game preparation is just as intense. There is no doubt he has the physical ability to be the best pitcher on the planet, because he has already shown us that. I think with this off season, along with making himself ready physically, Clayton will examine the psychological aspect of his game, and figure out a way to improve his post season performance.
As a Dodger fan, I can say there is nobody I would want on the mound in an important game than Clayton Kershaw. Many of the greats have experienced adversity early in their post season careers. Michael Jordan, John Elway, Kobe Bryant, all had trouble helping their teams win in the post season, early in their careers. We don’t talk about how those players failed in the post season, early in their careers, but rather about their championships. Yes, we would have liked Kershaw to throw a no hitter in each of his post season starts thus far, but baseball is a team game, and it takes a team to win and lose, even if sometimes it seems like it’s done by one person. I’m confident that if the Dodgers continue to make the playoffs over the next few years(and I don’t see why they wouldn’t), Clayton will make the adjustments needed to help put the Dodgers over the hump. Clayton will pitch great in the post season, and at the end of his career, he will be regarded as one of the best pitchers to ever play. Of course, if he doesn’t pitch well in the post season, critics will continue to highlight his post season struggles. I’m willing to bet on Clayton, and I look forward to seeing what he will do in 2015 and beyond. “In Clayton we trust.”
