Kershaw: 'I'll never get hurt again because it's awful'
Throughout his nearly 10-week stint on the disabled list, the result of a herniated disc in his back, Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw made an important career decision.
"I'll never get hurt again because it's awful," Kershaw told reporters Sunday, one day after navigating a pain-free, 34-pitch rehab start for High-A Rancho Cucamonga.
Kershaw, who's set to rejoin the Dodgers rotation Friday in Miami, made it clear he didn't really learn any new techniques for avoiding injury while nursing his wonky back, but his absence did reaffirm that, well, his job is pretty good.
"I didn't really learn anything other than it’s not fun to not play," Kershaw said. "I think I did (know that) but it’s a good reminder that baseball's fun."
Baseball is probably a little more fun when you're Clayton Kershaw, too.
Before landing on the disabled list in late June, the three-time Cy Young award winner had crafted a 1.79 ERA with an absurd 16.1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Despite spending more than two months on the disabled list - just his second career stint on the DL, by the way - the 28-year-old is still second among big-league pitchers in wins above replacement (5.5).
2016 fWAR leaderboard (through Sunday)
| Name | WAR | GS | ERA | FIP | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noah Syndergaard | 5.7 | 26 | 2.56 | 2.32 | 1.11 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 5.5 | 16 | 1.79 | 1.67 | 0.73 |
| Jose Fernandez | 5.3 | 26 | 3.03 | 2.36 | 1.17 |
| Max Scherzer | 4.7 | 28 | 2.89 | 3.20 | 0.91 |
| Chris Sale | 4.6 | 26 | 3.10 | 3.34 | 1.02 |
Still, despite his vow to stay healthy in perpetuity, Kershaw admitted he won't know whether his back issues are truly gone until after he takes the ball Friday at Marlins Park (where he owns a 1.27 ERA in three career starts).
"We'll find out Friday," Kershaw said. "I only know how I feel right now and I feel good right now. So that's good."