Why Clayton Kershaw is an All Star without peer
Major League Baseball’s All Star game isn’t what most fans think it is, or what many think they want it to be. It’s changed over the years, taking on a different status among both the diehard and casual baseball fan. Both sides can’t help but agree that the large rosters and high levels of turnover slightly cheapen what it means to be an All Star.
They all wear the same uniform but the 33 members of each All Star team are not created equally in terms of their production and value to their respective teams.
Great stories and nice seasons are rewarded while other players included in recognition of past exploits. There are the stars of the game proving their worth, the best of the best posting huge numbers for contender and also-ran alike.
And then there is Clayton Kershaw, arguably the biggest star in the game of baseball right now.
Andrew McCutchen is not a household name, though his play merits such recognition. Too few baseball fans are familiar with Johnny Cueto and Josh Donaldson and Paul Goldschmidt. The All Star game offers these players a larger platform for those interested in learning about baseball’s leading lights.
The Dodgers’ ace ticks all the boxes for superstar status. He’s incredibly well-decorated, he’s playoff tested, he’s young and he plays in a huge media market for one of the most prestigious teams in the game.
More than that, he’s the best pitcher in the game right now. He has been for years. He’s all 26-years old.
In the sixth inning of last Thursday night’s game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, Clayton Kershaw surrendered a home run to Chase Headley. There’s no shame in this, as Headley is a legit big leaguer with plenty of pop.
It was a noteworthy event as it ended Kershaw’s stretch of 41 consecutive scoreless innings. A “string of pearls”, as Vin Scully said during the Dodgers broadcast that night.
Over this 41 inning stretch, Kershaw allowed just 17 hits, striking out 50 batters against just six walks. This unbelievable stretch featured a 15 strikeout no-hitter at home against the Colorado Rockies. It is the kind of streak that can cement a legend or, conversely, create a false one.
Watching Kershaw dominate over this stretch -- not unlike his overall performance over the past four years -- does not convince us of his greatness, it confirms his greatness. Watching him pitch, we see an ideal combination of everything you would want in a pitcher.
He has the stuff (four great pitches including his devastating slider/curveball combination), he throws hard, he uses deception on the mound to hide the ball from batters, he puts in the work, and he consumes innings like a whale shark ram filtering gallons of water.
Kershaw does the requisite off-field charity work of a player of his stature, which helps soften the image for casual fans not as taken by his acts of greatness while toeing the rubber.
He could be the best player in baseball, pitcher or otherwise (he isn’t, but he’s close enough to make it conversation worth having). He was the proud recipient of a record-setting contract extension from the Dodgers, locking up the volatile services of a man always one pitch away from a year on the shelf.
If any player is worth that kind of exorbitant pay check, it’s Clayton Kershaw. While Tyler Clippard and Tony Watson share the field and share a jersey with the best in the game on Tuesday night, they aren’t on the same level.
It doesn’t matter if he wins another Cy Young or gets the nod as the All Star starter, everybody who watches baseball knows Kershaw is in a class by himself.