Why is Clayton Kershaw My Favorite Player?

As you may know, I am a huge Los Angeles Dodgers fan. I am a Dodgers fan because my dad grew up a Dodgers fan. When my dad was 6 years old, he read a book about Sandy Koufax, a left handed pitcher that played for the Dodgers. He instantly became a Dodgers fan because of this book and his favorite player of all time is Koufax. Sandy Koufax is one of the greatest pitchers of all time and arguably the best pitcher in Dodgers franchise history.

Koufax pitched 12 seasons in Major League Baseball, all for the Dodgers. His career was short for the average Hall of Fame player as he battled elbow pain. However, Sandy Koufax struck out 2,396 batters which is crazy for 12 years and won 4 World Series titles with the Dodgers. He even won World Series MVP twice. Usually, batters win the World Series MVP award and regular season MVPs too but for Koufax to do it twice as a pitcher, it said a lot. Koufax also won a regular season MVP and threw 3 no hitters and 1 perfect game. Sandy Koufax was dominant in his MLB career.

In 2006, the Los Angeles Dodgers drafted a left handed pitcher by the name of Clayton Kershaw. Little did Dodgers fans know what this man would do for the Dodgers franchise. Kershaw went on to make his MLB debut in 2008. Early in his big league career, he struggled a bit and was sent down to the minor leagues. Joe Torre, who was part of the Dodgers at the time, told him he needed to work on a new pitch. Clayton did just that and it was the single greatest advice someone gave to him. Clayton Kershaw developed a slider to pair with a curveball that was compared heavily to Sandy Koufax’s curveball. Kershaw’s slider became his best pitch and one of the best pitches in MLB history. In 2009 and 2010, Kershaw showed a lot of promise with ERAs for both seasons below 3. However, he would go on to break out in 2011. Kershaw won the 2011 National League Cy Young award as he won 21 games and posted an ERA of 2.28 with 248 strikeouts. Then in 2012 and 2013, he continued to dominate. 2014 was a year to remember for Clayton Kershaw. He went onto win the 2014 National League Cy Young award and the Most Valuable Player award for the National League. Kershaw had a historical 2014 season going 21-3 with an ERA of 1.77. This is when he started to be compared to my dad’s favorite player Sandy Koufax.

At this time, it really opened my eyes. My father and I were truly seeing greatness. Clayton Kershaw is so unbelievably talented. I try my best to never miss a Kershaw day, the game he is pitching. It is not often I miss this as I love Kershaw! From 2011-2017, you can argue Ckayton Kershaw had one of the greatest peaks in baseball history for a pitcher. He led the league In ERA for 5 of those 7 years. The one thing Clayton Kershaw struggled with was pitching in the postseason. This is something that has always haunted him. Unlike Sandy Koufax who Clayton Kershaw got a lot of comparisons to, postseason resume was not comparable. Many people like to refer to Kershaw as a choker. I will always defend him. It was hard for me as an avid Clayton Kershaw fan to see him struggle when it meant most. People fail to realize that he was cheated out of a World Series win in 2017 where he pitched dominantly all postseason except for Game 5 of the 2017 World Series where the Houston Astros stole signs using technology. If the Dodgers win that series and are not cheated out, Kershaw would not be remembered as a choker.

In 2020, Clayton Kershaw got his chance at redemption. Every time Clayton took the mound in the postseason that year, he dominated. It was a great feeling for myself as I got to watch the Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw win their first World Series in my lifetime. Kershaw’s career was complete. He finally won a World Series. I will never forget when the World Series broadcast showed a replay of Kershaw reacting to the final out. HIm throwing his hands in the air with the biggest smile on his face and then running to the mound while pointing to his family in the crowd. Man, it did not get any better than that. And while Clayton Kershaw battled injuries in 2024, he went onto win another World Series with the Dodgers and finally got to have a parade in LA (as 2020 did not have a parade due to COVID).

What is important to me is that Clayton Kershaw is not only a great person, but is an even better person off the field. He has a charity called Kershaw’s Challenge and he has raised so much money and has held events to make good change in the world and for others. Clayton Kershaw is my hero and he is a great role model. There is a good chance 2025 could be Clayton Kershaw’s last year. I hope it is not, but there is a chance it could be. Kershaw has close to 3,000 career strikeouts. I cannot wait for him to get that milestone to add another great accomplishment to his stellar Hall of Fame career. Clayton Kershaw will always be my favorite player of all time.