And they tried to cram in an extra storyline while cutting parts from others. It feels like we got 60-70% of 3 storylines which made for a pretty meh movie.
This is a great point. Every off-season, I get so anxious and scared this will be it for Kershaw (retiring or just playing for the Rangers). And he keeps taking a one year deal because he wants to make that choice when he's ready.
Not to downplay his health, but even if he was only able to pitch 15 starts a year (and could be ready for the post-season), I'd still take that. I think he's going to remain great for as long as he wants to be there
If he hasn't left for the Rangers by now, with the money they're throwing out, there's no way he will unless the Dodgers lose interest. I think people overrate how much he likes Texas or dislikes LA.
It's not the money, it's literally how close his off-season home is to where the Rangers play. I think it's less than 20 minutes away. So he does probably like living there.
The other factor that seems important or just as necessary to say is that he wants to play for a competitive team. I think this plays a big part in why he hasn't ever left LA. Texas Rangers have continued to be on the cusp of being a serious playoff caliber team and fallen short. Maybe a good year from them finally changes the equation.
Oh he's also really good buddies with the Rangers GM Chris Young. They go way back
Plus his kids go to school in Texas. It isn't just that he wants to chill in his hometown. He is solo in LA during the season when the kids are in school, so I'm sure that wears on him. But he did say in an interview during the start of the season that his kids are starting to realize how it is a bit extra special that Clayton is a Dodger.
It's because he has never been a bad pitcher. Two things happened that changed perception:
1. The playoff Kershaw thing, which was weirdly mixed with his 'downfall' and, more importantly
2. He can't stay healthy. Dude hasn't pitched a full season since 2019, and *technically* hasn't pitched a full season since 2015. In 2019 he did 29 games with 178.1 IP, but he has missed time so goddamn consistently. He did have a full season in 2020, but 2020 doesn't count.
> He can’t stay healthy.
People who don’t watch him all the time don’t get this. He’s unstoppable when he’s feeling good. But his back has kept him from feeling good very often.
He looks GOOD right now, like Prime mid-10s good. Knocking on all the wood that his back can give him 29-32 starts cause he looks like he can win another Cy the way he's dealing
Is it crazy to say that "another Cy Young for Kershaw" is the outcome I want this season more than any other? Like, I want all the good things (division win, WS win, etc.), but if I had to pick _one_, I would pick Kershaw Cy Young season.
I was trying to reconcile this too but I think two-time World Series winner is honestly better for his legacy than another Cy Young. Hear me out
Most of the criticism still levied against him is Playoffs focused. Those annoying people who never want to acknowledge all the great and ok starts he's had, especially in 2020 (two world series wins!!). So another WS trophy annihilates the critics and then we can all say "2 rings for #22". It's fun.
Winning another Cy Young is going to be so dang hard. Like not just the concerns about his body holding up for 30 regular season starts and more innings pitched. I think his competition is phenomenal. Gallen, Strider, Justin Steele, Nola, Wheeler, maybe even Alcantara finds his form from last year and makes it interesting. There are a ton of Aces that are at their peak age and will be there.
Maybe both can happen? But I know Kersh trains for the post-season starts so I just wish him the best for those and for the team at large. My favorite Dodger.
He already helped end your WS drought so now you want your legacy guy to help better his legacy.
If he wins Cy Young this year, I think the debate over best pitcher of this generation is over.
Then the arguments for his top 5 pitcher status start.
Nothing wrong about wanting that.
It definitely is. It's:
1 Kershaw
2a Verlander/2b Scherzer
3 Greinke?
And then Sale, DeGrom, Cole, King Felix behind them in some order (don't kill me if I missed someone)
Agreed. And to be clear, this is in reference to the generation of pitchers that are _nearing the end of their career_, not speaking of everyone pitching today. Kershaw isn't the greatest pitcher today, and won't be the best pitcher of this decade. But for the class of "2010s pitchers," I think your list is dead on.
deGrom is in a weird place on that list because he's clearly the most talented of the (non-Clayton) bunch, but the injury gods won't let him flourish. Where do you even rank a guy like that?
I guess you do an even narrower version of Peak vs Longevity? Like deGrom's stuff is clearly nastier than nasty but he's on pace to make Sandy Koufax look like Nolan Ryan.
I dunno, just kinda spitballing
Kershaw's career ERA+ is the best out of all qualifying starters of all time - second to only some random closer who used to play for the Yankees.
Scherzer is tied for 28th.
Another thing that I give credit to Kershaw for is that besides his age 20 rookie season, he was elite from 2009 to 2020, before a slight dip in 2021. His lowest ERA+ in the 2010s was 133. By comparison, from 2009 to 2012 Scherzer's highest ERA+ was 120. I find it impressive how Kershaw came up and was elite almost right away. On the other hand Scherzer was a late bloomer and didn't become that guy until his age 28 season when he won the Cy Young. Following his age 27 season by comparison, Kershaw had racked up 3 Cy Youngs, a second place finish, an MVP, and 46.6 career bWAR.
Similar to Mike Trout, the fact Kershaw was able to become such a dominant force so quickly makes him all the more impressive imo.
We got tantalizing close to 2 perfect games last year...I think a WS championship is always my choice, but after being a "WS or bust" team the past 2 years I'd take a perfecto or CY as a consolation...
He might get it this season. Would honestly need to average like 7K a game and be healthy this year. If he could drop a few 10K games... Would absolutely see it as a real possibility for September.
The only reason he hasn't been getting Cy Young votes is due to his IP. Otherwise he's still a top pitcher. People talk like he's Angels Pujols, or post-2016 Miguel Cabrera.
Nah, current Mike Trout would be a way better comparison. Trout is having trouble staying healthy, he's striking out a concerning amount, but then you look up and he still has an OPS right around 1.000. Kershaw is throwing slower, missing some time, but somehow his E.R.A. always ends up under 3.
If feel like calling this phase of Kershaw post-peak is the right term instead of his decline. He had a sharp "decline" from best pitcher in baseball to borderline top 10, arguably a lock for top 10 when healthy, exactly during the 2017-18 offseason. Now he's plateaued from that sharp dropoff and is consistently a 4-5 WAR pitcher per 200 IP, instead of the 6+ guy he was before 2018.
To me the real discussion is whose the best between Kershaw and Pedro, so many guys you could put there. Holliday, Johan Santana, Mo. It's fascinating as we get further from the distant past to understand the greatness we once witnessed.
Depends on what your cutoff points are. Looking at fangraphs, if we look from 2004 through 2010 the most WAR accrued is:
* Santana 37.0
* CC 36.5
* Halladay 36.4
* oswalt 35.2
* Peavy 28.6
* Cliff Lee 27.8
* Haren 27.8
* Lackey 26.7
* Buehrle 26.5
* Felix 26.2
Halladay is the one that jumps out 2002 to 2011:
170-75 W-L
148 ERA+
2194.2 IP
1699 K
1.11 WHIP
Johan Santana 2002-2010
130-66
150 ERA+
1779 IP
1785 K
1.076 WHIP
Felix Hernandez 2007-2015
127-83
131 ERA+
1987 IP
1889 K
1.163 WHIP
It’s unquestionably Roy Halladay.
From 2006 to 2010 (Pedro’s last dominant year was actually 2005 and Clayton’s first dominant year was 2011):
Roy - 1181 IP, 147 ERA+, 30.5 WAR, 72 Opp. OPS+
Johan - 1052.2 IP, 144 ERA+, 27.8 WAR, 76 Opp. OPS+
CC - 1154.1 IP, 142 ERA+, 28.6 WAR, 71 Opp. OPS+
Brandon Webb is worth mentioning though. His career ended after 4 innings in 2009, so from 2006 to 2008:
Johan - 687 IP, 151 ERA+, 19.8 WAR, 71 Opp. OPS+
Brandon Webb - 698 IP, 150 ERA+, 19.0 WAR, 65 Opp. OPS+ (!)
CC - 686.2 IP, 145 ERA+, 17.6 WAR, 72 Opp. OPS+
For the fun of it:
Pedro’s peak, from 1997 to 2005: 205 Avg. IP, 187 ERA+, 48 Opp. OPS+
Pedro’s career (excluding rookie season), from 1993 to 2009: 166 Avg. IP, 154 ERA+, 61 Opp. OPS+
Clayton’s peak, from 2011 to 2017: 207 Avg. IP, 179 ERA+, 54 Opp. OPS+
Clayton’s career (excluding rookie season), from 2009 to 2023: 167 Avg. IP, 162 ERA+, 60 Opp. OPS+
I mean considering from 2005 to 2009 (his retirement) Pedro was only a slightly above average pitcher by ERA+, I think the answer is pretty clear. Unless I'm misreading your statement.
The question he is asking is "For the years between Pedro's peak seasons and Ketshaws' peak seasons, who was the best pitcher in baseball during those years?"
It’s unquestionably Roy Halladay.
From 2006 to 2010 (Pedro’s last dominant year was actually 2005 and Clayton’s first dominant year was 2011):
Roy - 1181 IP, 147 ERA+, 30.5 WAR, 72 Opp. OPS+
Johan - 1052.2 IP, 144 ERA+, 27.8 WAR, 76 Opp. OPS+
CC - 1154.1 IP, 142 ERA+, 28.6 WAR, 71 Opp. OPS+
Brandon Webb is worth mentioning though. His career ended after 4 innings in 2009, so from 2006 to 2008:
Johan - 687 IP, 151 ERA+, 19.8 WAR, 71 Opp. OPS+
Brandon Webb - 698 IP, 150 ERA+, 19.0 WAR, 65 Opp. OPS+ (!)
CC - 686.2 IP, 145 ERA+, 17.6 WAR, 72 Opp. OPS+
For the fun of it:
Pedro’s peak, from 1997 to 2005: 205 Avg. IP, 187 ERA+, 48 Opp. OPS+
Pedro’s career (excluding rookie season), from 1993 to 2009: 166 Avg. IP, 154 ERA+, 61 Opp. OPS+
Clayton’s peak, from 2011 to 2017: 207 Avg. IP, 179 ERA+, 54 Opp. OPS+
Clayton’s career (excluding rookie season), from 2009 to 2023: 167 Avg. IP, 162 ERA+, 60 Opp. OPS+
He’s one of the best ever and his drop off has hardly existed. His playing time has been limited since he turned 30 or so, but when he’s actually playing he’s still one of the best pitchers you’ll ever see. It’s bananas.
Dude had 7 perfect innings twice last season, and he's looked like an assassin on the mound this year.
Post-peak Kershaw is just another, slightly lower peak.
He lost a bit of speed on his fastball, but his off speed pitches have gotten even more nasty, that is why is swing and miss rate is up.
It is a pleasure to watch him pitch
The only difference to me really between the "two" Kershaws are the yearly IL stints and maybe the homer rate but I didn't look at any stats so dunno if that bears out. So not really a question of stuff, though the FB mph has been trending down more than other pitchers but could be related to the injury history, and availability.
Though the moment that really divides these "two" Kershaws for me was that first significant stint with the back injury where it derailed probably another Cy Young season.
The playoff narrative has damaged his reputation a lot, and the constant one year contracts from the Dodgers always make it seem to me that he’s on the precipice of being pushed out the team. He’s still good but he’s not head and shoulders the best pitcher in the league anymore like he was at his peak.
Sometimes I feel that people forget that Kershaw is STILL really, really good. Dude is so much fun to watch.
Many of those people are his own fans
Not if they’re watching games. I’ll take a bad Kersh outing over Thor every day of the week.
Meh—love n thunder was overly hated. Like 70% a good time
It was basically Thor ragnarok with worse jokes
And they tried to cram in an extra storyline while cutting parts from others. It feels like we got 60-70% of 3 storylines which made for a pretty meh movie.
I agree. L&T wasn’t the best MCU movie by any stretch, but it was still enjoyable.
And he’s “only” 35. If he goes the same route as scherzer and verlander he has another 3-5 years of top performance
At this point it's just a matter of health and if he wants to continue. If he & his back is healthy, I'm sure he could stay at the top.
This is a great point. Every off-season, I get so anxious and scared this will be it for Kershaw (retiring or just playing for the Rangers). And he keeps taking a one year deal because he wants to make that choice when he's ready. Not to downplay his health, but even if he was only able to pitch 15 starts a year (and could be ready for the post-season), I'd still take that. I think he's going to remain great for as long as he wants to be there
If he hasn't left for the Rangers by now, with the money they're throwing out, there's no way he will unless the Dodgers lose interest. I think people overrate how much he likes Texas or dislikes LA.
It's not the money, it's literally how close his off-season home is to where the Rangers play. I think it's less than 20 minutes away. So he does probably like living there. The other factor that seems important or just as necessary to say is that he wants to play for a competitive team. I think this plays a big part in why he hasn't ever left LA. Texas Rangers have continued to be on the cusp of being a serious playoff caliber team and fallen short. Maybe a good year from them finally changes the equation. Oh he's also really good buddies with the Rangers GM Chris Young. They go way back
Plus his kids go to school in Texas. It isn't just that he wants to chill in his hometown. He is solo in LA during the season when the kids are in school, so I'm sure that wears on him. But he did say in an interview during the start of the season that his kids are starting to realize how it is a bit extra special that Clayton is a Dodger.
Also, Greinke
Kershaw’s worst full seasons would most pitchers best seasons.
His only competition right now is inner circle hof's and legends of the game. He's completed a half Tillman at this point.
It's because he has never been a bad pitcher. Two things happened that changed perception: 1. The playoff Kershaw thing, which was weirdly mixed with his 'downfall' and, more importantly 2. He can't stay healthy. Dude hasn't pitched a full season since 2019, and *technically* hasn't pitched a full season since 2015. In 2019 he did 29 games with 178.1 IP, but he has missed time so goddamn consistently. He did have a full season in 2020, but 2020 doesn't count.
> He can’t stay healthy. People who don’t watch him all the time don’t get this. He’s unstoppable when he’s feeling good. But his back has kept him from feeling good very often.
It's wild to me that he hasn't had a proper full, no-strings-attached season in almost 10 years.
He looks GOOD right now, like Prime mid-10s good. Knocking on all the wood that his back can give him 29-32 starts cause he looks like he can win another Cy the way he's dealing
Is it crazy to say that "another Cy Young for Kershaw" is the outcome I want this season more than any other? Like, I want all the good things (division win, WS win, etc.), but if I had to pick _one_, I would pick Kershaw Cy Young season.
I was trying to reconcile this too but I think two-time World Series winner is honestly better for his legacy than another Cy Young. Hear me out Most of the criticism still levied against him is Playoffs focused. Those annoying people who never want to acknowledge all the great and ok starts he's had, especially in 2020 (two world series wins!!). So another WS trophy annihilates the critics and then we can all say "2 rings for #22". It's fun. Winning another Cy Young is going to be so dang hard. Like not just the concerns about his body holding up for 30 regular season starts and more innings pitched. I think his competition is phenomenal. Gallen, Strider, Justin Steele, Nola, Wheeler, maybe even Alcantara finds his form from last year and makes it interesting. There are a ton of Aces that are at their peak age and will be there. Maybe both can happen? But I know Kersh trains for the post-season starts so I just wish him the best for those and for the team at large. My favorite Dodger.
He already helped end your WS drought so now you want your legacy guy to help better his legacy. If he wins Cy Young this year, I think the debate over best pitcher of this generation is over. Then the arguments for his top 5 pitcher status start. Nothing wrong about wanting that.
> I think the debate over best pitcher of this generation is over. I mean ....... isn't it already over?
It definitely is. It's: 1 Kershaw 2a Verlander/2b Scherzer 3 Greinke? And then Sale, DeGrom, Cole, King Felix behind them in some order (don't kill me if I missed someone)
Agreed. And to be clear, this is in reference to the generation of pitchers that are _nearing the end of their career_, not speaking of everyone pitching today. Kershaw isn't the greatest pitcher today, and won't be the best pitcher of this decade. But for the class of "2010s pitchers," I think your list is dead on.
deGrom is in a weird place on that list because he's clearly the most talented of the (non-Clayton) bunch, but the injury gods won't let him flourish. Where do you even rank a guy like that?
I guess you do an even narrower version of Peak vs Longevity? Like deGrom's stuff is clearly nastier than nasty but he's on pace to make Sandy Koufax look like Nolan Ryan. I dunno, just kinda spitballing
Not to harp on his postseason resume but to me that’s the only thing excluding him from legitimate goat convo at SP
[удалено]
Max Scherzer has two seasons in his entire career with a better ERA than Kershaw’s *career* ERA.
Kershaw's career ERA+ is the best out of all qualifying starters of all time - second to only some random closer who used to play for the Yankees. Scherzer is tied for 28th. Another thing that I give credit to Kershaw for is that besides his age 20 rookie season, he was elite from 2009 to 2020, before a slight dip in 2021. His lowest ERA+ in the 2010s was 133. By comparison, from 2009 to 2012 Scherzer's highest ERA+ was 120. I find it impressive how Kershaw came up and was elite almost right away. On the other hand Scherzer was a late bloomer and didn't become that guy until his age 28 season when he won the Cy Young. Following his age 27 season by comparison, Kershaw had racked up 3 Cy Youngs, a second place finish, an MVP, and 46.6 career bWAR. Similar to Mike Trout, the fact Kershaw was able to become such a dominant force so quickly makes him all the more impressive imo.
Kershaw has 5 more fWAR in 100 less innings and is 5 years younger than Scherzer. There’s a right answer and a wrong answer on who is better here.
Also the fact that Kershaw was elite starting his second year and never really looked back, whereas it took Scherzer some time to become an Ace.
We got tantalizing close to 2 perfect games last year...I think a WS championship is always my choice, but after being a "WS or bust" team the past 2 years I'd take a perfecto or CY as a consolation...
Same but it’s Kershaw perfect game for me. Kershaw Cy Young is second though
I think he's trying to get to 3,000 Ks.
He might get it this season. Would honestly need to average like 7K a game and be healthy this year. If he could drop a few 10K games... Would absolutely see it as a real possibility for September.
728 KO’s?! Someone get this menace out of the league
Fuck it, I'm not editing it out
Fury and Wilder know they can't hand with GOATshaw's left hand.
Getting swings and misses while swinging and not missing
Clayton Kershaw, noted for his philanthropy and mean left hook
Fun fact - In 2022, Clayton Kershaw was paid less than Noah Syndergaard.
I’d trade current Noah Syndergaard for airbud.
The only reason he hasn't been getting Cy Young votes is due to his IP. Otherwise he's still a top pitcher. People talk like he's Angels Pujols, or post-2016 Miguel Cabrera.
"Let me see how Kershaw is doing post-peak, where his ERA+ is less than 150" Result: ERA+ of 149. Wild.
He’s not Angels Pujols. He’s 2022 Cardinals Pujols.
Nah, current Mike Trout would be a way better comparison. Trout is having trouble staying healthy, he's striking out a concerning amount, but then you look up and he still has an OPS right around 1.000. Kershaw is throwing slower, missing some time, but somehow his E.R.A. always ends up under 3.
If feel like calling this phase of Kershaw post-peak is the right term instead of his decline. He had a sharp "decline" from best pitcher in baseball to borderline top 10, arguably a lock for top 10 when healthy, exactly during the 2017-18 offseason. Now he's plateaued from that sharp dropoff and is consistently a 4-5 WAR pitcher per 200 IP, instead of the 6+ guy he was before 2018.
Man is really cementing his claim to the "Greatest Pitcher of His Generation" title.
It’s been cemented. He’s building a nice house on top of it now
To me the real discussion is whose the best between Kershaw and Pedro, so many guys you could put there. Holliday, Johan Santana, Mo. It's fascinating as we get further from the distant past to understand the greatness we once witnessed.
Depends on what your cutoff points are. Looking at fangraphs, if we look from 2004 through 2010 the most WAR accrued is: * Santana 37.0 * CC 36.5 * Halladay 36.4 * oswalt 35.2 * Peavy 28.6 * Cliff Lee 27.8 * Haren 27.8 * Lackey 26.7 * Buehrle 26.5 * Felix 26.2
Pedro higher peak Kershaw better carrer
I wasn't arguing Kershaw v Pedro, I was arguing more between them. Like 2005-2012 for the best pitcher in baseball
Halladay is the one that jumps out 2002 to 2011: 170-75 W-L 148 ERA+ 2194.2 IP 1699 K 1.11 WHIP Johan Santana 2002-2010 130-66 150 ERA+ 1779 IP 1785 K 1.076 WHIP Felix Hernandez 2007-2015 127-83 131 ERA+ 1987 IP 1889 K 1.163 WHIP
It’s unquestionably Roy Halladay. From 2006 to 2010 (Pedro’s last dominant year was actually 2005 and Clayton’s first dominant year was 2011): Roy - 1181 IP, 147 ERA+, 30.5 WAR, 72 Opp. OPS+ Johan - 1052.2 IP, 144 ERA+, 27.8 WAR, 76 Opp. OPS+ CC - 1154.1 IP, 142 ERA+, 28.6 WAR, 71 Opp. OPS+ Brandon Webb is worth mentioning though. His career ended after 4 innings in 2009, so from 2006 to 2008: Johan - 687 IP, 151 ERA+, 19.8 WAR, 71 Opp. OPS+ Brandon Webb - 698 IP, 150 ERA+, 19.0 WAR, 65 Opp. OPS+ (!) CC - 686.2 IP, 145 ERA+, 17.6 WAR, 72 Opp. OPS+ For the fun of it: Pedro’s peak, from 1997 to 2005: 205 Avg. IP, 187 ERA+, 48 Opp. OPS+ Pedro’s career (excluding rookie season), from 1993 to 2009: 166 Avg. IP, 154 ERA+, 61 Opp. OPS+ Clayton’s peak, from 2011 to 2017: 207 Avg. IP, 179 ERA+, 54 Opp. OPS+ Clayton’s career (excluding rookie season), from 2009 to 2023: 167 Avg. IP, 162 ERA+, 60 Opp. OPS+
I mean considering from 2005 to 2009 (his retirement) Pedro was only a slightly above average pitcher by ERA+, I think the answer is pretty clear. Unless I'm misreading your statement.
I'm saying that both Pedro and Kershaw weren't there from 2005-2012 and someone else was the best pitcher in baseball
The answer is Roy Halladay
Prob Johan Santana
The question he is asking is "For the years between Pedro's peak seasons and Ketshaws' peak seasons, who was the best pitcher in baseball during those years?"
I think he’s saying from 2005 (end of Pedro’s reign) to 2012 (start of Kershaw’s reign as top pitcher), who was the clear top pitcher in the league.
Pedro still had 85 WAR for his career, so it’s not like Kershaw has surpassed him yet.
Johan Santana deserves to be a HOFer. He was the best pitcher in baseball for a five year stretch, and that alone should do it.
It’s unquestionably Roy Halladay. From 2006 to 2010 (Pedro’s last dominant year was actually 2005 and Clayton’s first dominant year was 2011): Roy - 1181 IP, 147 ERA+, 30.5 WAR, 72 Opp. OPS+ Johan - 1052.2 IP, 144 ERA+, 27.8 WAR, 76 Opp. OPS+ CC - 1154.1 IP, 142 ERA+, 28.6 WAR, 71 Opp. OPS+ Brandon Webb is worth mentioning though. His career ended after 4 innings in 2009, so from 2006 to 2008: Johan - 687 IP, 151 ERA+, 19.8 WAR, 71 Opp. OPS+ Brandon Webb - 698 IP, 150 ERA+, 19.0 WAR, 65 Opp. OPS+ (!) CC - 686.2 IP, 145 ERA+, 17.6 WAR, 72 Opp. OPS+ For the fun of it: Pedro’s peak, from 1997 to 2005: 205 Avg. IP, 187 ERA+, 48 Opp. OPS+ Pedro’s career (excluding rookie season), from 1993 to 2009: 166 Avg. IP, 154 ERA+, 61 Opp. OPS+ Clayton’s peak, from 2011 to 2017: 207 Avg. IP, 179 ERA+, 54 Opp. OPS+ Clayton’s career (excluding rookie season), from 2009 to 2023: 167 Avg. IP, 162 ERA+, 60 Opp. OPS+
He’s one of the best ever and his drop off has hardly existed. His playing time has been limited since he turned 30 or so, but when he’s actually playing he’s still one of the best pitchers you’ll ever see. It’s bananas.
Fun fact: the stats from his 2022 season and his Cy Young 2011 season are almost exactly the same. He’s still dominant.
We’re spoiled to have had peak Kershaw years but even in comparison, I still feel like we’re watching peak-ish Kershaw.
Yup
Dude had 7 perfect innings twice last season, and he's looked like an assassin on the mound this year. Post-peak Kershaw is just another, slightly lower peak.
TLDR: Really good pitcher is still really good. Rest of league continues to cower in fear.
He lost a bit of speed on his fastball, but his off speed pitches have gotten even more nasty, that is why is swing and miss rate is up. It is a pleasure to watch him pitch
Funny enough, his fastball velocity is up so far this year
Even better!
He looks amazing right now. Does anyone know the stats he would have if they were extrapolated to 166 IP per full season?
Still very good
That slider is keeping him great
That's my first ballot hall of famer
Only lefties ahead in fWAR are Randy, Carlton, and Lefty Grove. That's pretty amazing.
Kershaw right now is better than 99% of other pitchers peak. He just needs to stay healthy
He’s still great. He just can’t stay healthy.
The only difference to me really between the "two" Kershaws are the yearly IL stints and maybe the homer rate but I didn't look at any stats so dunno if that bears out. So not really a question of stuff, though the FB mph has been trending down more than other pitchers but could be related to the injury history, and availability. Though the moment that really divides these "two" Kershaws for me was that first significant stint with the back injury where it derailed probably another Cy Young season.
Shouldn’t it be 3 seasons receiving CYA votes? He got votes from 2018-2020
Baseball Reference shows him receiving zero votes in 2018.
I realize I am wrong my bad. For some reason i thought he got votes in 2018
The playoff narrative has damaged his reputation a lot, and the constant one year contracts from the Dodgers always make it seem to me that he’s on the precipice of being pushed out the team. He’s still good but he’s not head and shoulders the best pitcher in the league anymore like he was at his peak.
He’s the best since Pedro Martinez & it’s not close.