DODGERS The KERSHAW Thread

thanks clayton
it has been our honor to watch you play

 

thread temp closed in honor of kershaw
go HERE for the giants game thread or kershaw talk

 

fwiw
the wife saw me moping about so she subscribed to apple tv
i knew i chose wisely

 

With Clayton’s success this year, I thought we might get him for at least another year or two. But I think it is special he is going out while having a good season. We have seen countless great players have rough exits but Clayton leaves the game just like he entered it. A great pitcher. Has been an absolute treat to watch him over the years and I’m so happy he retires with multiple rings. He masked a lot of the flaws of the team and organization his early years and was often a victim of his own high standard. I got so spoiled by his greatness that I would more times than not get frustrated with him in the postseason only to remind myself that we don’t sniff the postseason without him. From Mattingly trying to push him too far, to the Asstros knowing every pitch he was throwing, I thought CK dealt with more bad luck than any all time pitcher I’ve seen on the big stage. And not just the playoffs, he even lost out on a perfect game due to a sloppy error by Hanley Ramirez.

With all the adversity he had faced and all the years he spent carrying this franchise on his back, I enjoyed seeing him sit back and enjoy last season’s playoff run and championship. Felt like an appropriate and fair reward for a guy that gave this organization everything he had since he was a teenager. God bless Clayton Kershaw. Wont see anyone like him ever again.

 

He's scheduled for next Friday in Seattle, which may or may not happen, but this is it for Dodger Stadium (not including playoffs possibility).

 

For me, the last 20-25 years of sports fandom have been defined by two players: Kobe and Kersh. Not that I put them above the Lakers and Dodgers, respectively, but I saw them as the cornerstones of the two organizations. While they had very different personalities, they shared similar traits that defined them. Both were fierce competitors, set their individual standards high, failures tormented them but drove them to become even better. They served as inspiration for their teammates. And from a statistical perspective, they recorded accomplishments never seen before. Most importantly to me personally, both had ample opportunities to sign elsewhere - possibly for more money - yet they chose to remain loyal to their teammates and fans -- something that is definitely a rarity these days. Both also were steadfast partners to their wives (one costly deviance for Kobe, aside) and became devoted fathers, and they gave back to their communities - serving as role models for our youth. I cried when Kobe retired and even more so when his helicopter went down.

I don't know what more I can say about Clayton that hasn't been said already. It was an absolute pleasure to have him on my Dodgers, and he made it so easy to root for him. Ten years ago I worked in an office in the Bay Area with another Dodger fan, and much to the chagrin of the various Giant fans, every fifth day we'd greet each other with a "Happy Kershaw day!" And more often than not, he'd deliver and if it was a day game, everyone in the office would know about it. As you've seen my constant updates this year, you know I've been obsessed with the fact that he remains (and apparently will continue) the ONLY pitcher in modern-era baseball with over 200 wins and fewer than 100 losses. How incredible is that? Keep in mind, in his early years he was regularly near the bottom of the league in run support. In fact, I'd argue he should've had at least four CYA's - in 2012 he had a lower ERA, lower WHIP, and higher WAR than Dickey and only didn't get the award because the latter had more wins (which should not have factored that heavily). The fact that he flirted with a career WHIP of under 1.00 is otherworldly. Even with his last couple of years pushing it up to 1.017, he still has the fifth-lowest of all-time, with the only ones better being a reliever (Mariano), two guys that played over 100 years ago, and deGrom which is noteworthy (but let's see what his latter years do to it). I could write all day about his statistical accomplishments, but I think I'll end it here as I feel I've made my point.

Tonight's going to be tough to watch because I will feel right alongside him. I know sometimes Kershaw can let his emotions get the best of him. I hope he can stay focused as this game is still very pertinent in the standings. Nothing would make me happier than seeing him pitch a game on par with Kobe's finale vs the Jazz. But really, Dodgers just need a win more than anything. Hopefully it happens and goes into CK's W total.

Going forward, we still have Kershaw in the playoffs to look forward to. We all wish his postseason successes could've been more frequent, and we all suffered right along with him when he was hit hard. It still is a gut punch all these years later knowing that the batters had an unfair knowledge of what pitch was coming. Hopefully he can give the team some quality innings this time, in whatever form they may be. That could go a long way to strengthen his postseason legacy.

After he throws his last pitch, things will be different for me. When Kobe retired, some of my fandom did as well, but there was also a lot with the NBA that didn't sit right with me at the time. When LeBron signed, I lost more interest, and then Kobe's wreck finished it off for me. CK's retirement won't have that dramatic of an effect on me, but it will definitely feel different next year. He's no longer the ace of the pitching staff, but in my eyes he's still the face of it. Who will replace that? Snell? Yoshi? Or nobody?????

 

kersh never had a losing season and lost 10 games in a season only once

 

Chills already.