Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher in the world. The Cy Young Award is his. It will not be announced until November but there is no doubt whose mantle that trophy will be on. The best pitcher in the league needs to clear more space for some hardware, though.
Because there is an award for the best pitcher in each league, many people assume the MVP award should go to the best hitter in each league. But, every once in a while there is just no denying that the best pitcher is, simply, the best and most valuable player. Clayton Kershaw is the best player – not in the National League, not in Major League Baseball, but on planet Earth. Denying him the MVP award would be an injustice.
Kershaw won his league leading 21st game Wednesday night to clinch the NL West for the Dodgers. He gave up one run while striking out 11 over eight innings. It was a typical night for Kershaw has he has turned in dominant performances pretty much every time he took the mound this season. He finishes the regular season with a record of 21-3, 1.77 ERA, 239 strikeouts, 0.86 WHIP and a no-hitter to boot. Just look where he ranks among the rest of the National League:
There are no guarantees in the game of baseball but Clayton Kershaw is as close to automatic as it gets. You can count on a dominant start and a Dodgers win almost every time he takes the mound. He started 27 games this season and won 21 of them. He is the first pitcher to win 21 games in 27 or fewer starts in over 130 years. It is also rare for Kershaw to have a bad outing. Only once all season did he give up more than three earned runs in a start. ONCE! These numbers are absurd but they could have been better. Clayton missed the entire month of April and seven starts as the Dodgers were overly cautious in protecting him after some back discomfort. Still, he leads the league in wins and strikeouts.
As good as Kershaw is right now, it’s scary to think that he is getting better. At 26 years old he hasn’t even peaked. The two-time Cy Young Award winner is his harshest critic and his drive for perfection is what has propelled his Dodgers team to a Western Division crown and favorites heading into the postseason. He is simply the best and anything less than a third Cy Young Award and NL MVP would be a shame. Enjoy watching Kershaw pitch. He could be the best of all time.
How do you think the Dodger fans feel about him? I think he has their vote.
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*Featured image credit: Robert Hanashiro – USA Today Sports
