Awe-inspiring, it’s the Kershaw Crusade.
He has a sob on his shoulder. He is moving less quickly. His composure is eroding.
Injured and aged pitcher Clayton Kershaw entered the game against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday as a shell of the pitcher he once was. He did whatever it took to get it through one more pitch.
I’ll start again. A further postseason. Another month. One final defense.
A proud fighter howling in rage, pointing in joy, and leaving everything on the same mound where he long ago found it, managed to win one more game on this raucous and chilly night, pitching five innings of a shutout without using his best stuff.
He is presently pitching after six days of rest. Now, he is limited to five innings. With each delivery, he musters every ounce of his might as if it were his last, which it very well could be.
You probably won’t be seeing him in a Dodger uniform for very long, so watch him, enjoy him, and cherish him while you can. While he has remained reticent, all signs point to Kershaw being finished after the Kershaw Crusade is over. He appears prepared to retire or return to the Texas Rangers.
He most likely made his final regular-season start at Dodger Stadium on Saturday. At Chavez Ravine, he’ll start one of the first two playoff games, and that might be it.
Sixteen years passed in a hurried moment. A career in the Hall of Fame that ended in a last bout
And goodness, he’s still hurling haymakers; he won the game 7-0, held the Giants scoreless over those five innings, allowed only two hits, and struck out five Giants. what precisely?
None of his 25 fastballs topped 90 mph. When he was at his best, he frequently hit 95.
He faced eight two-ball counts while hurling 30 balls to 18 batters. He used to have more control back then.
It wasn’t important. He performed edge work. He understood it.
He then said, “I think it’s heading in a good direction. “It’s not quite where I want it to be yet, but overall, there have definitely been some steps in the right direction.”
He struggled with such intensity that when a curveball bounced, he shouted out. And he raised his hands in the air as if he had just thrown for a touchdown as his stay came to an end on a diving catch by left fielder David Peralta with two runners on base.
He is aware of the difficulty. He is aware of his vulnerability. He is aware of how ephemeral this is.
It’s no fun to figure things out, so I’d much rather simply be good the whole time and throw as hard as I could, he added. “But, change or perish,”
Some people questioned whether he may have been saying farewell to regular-season fans as he left the field while also waving to his family who were watching from the stands.
It’s a good thing we’re in the playoffs because it serves as a pleasant distraction from having to think about next year, he remarked. I don’t even have time to worry about it because I’m so far away from that decision. “Whenever it could be your last one, maybe take a second extra.”
One day, a Kershaw statue will be erected in front of the outfield gates. Let’s hope the stance includes gritted teeth, a beard that is dripping, and everything else he is showing us one last time in these last few days.
It’s truly amazing, according to manager Dave Roberts. “Clayton is probably the first to tell you that he doesn’t like to talk about anything or use anything as an excuse, but I know what’s going on,” he said.
Although Kershaw, the Dodgers, and the situation won’t publicly acknowledge it, it can’t be good. He had a left shoulder injury in July that kept him out for a month, and as Kershaw struggles through it, it just seems to be getting worse.
The fact that Kershaw is unwilling to discuss it says a lot about the pitcher.
Giving more details or discussing something doesn’t alter the fact that you’re going to make a pitch. What purpose does it serve? “Roberts” stated. “I believe Clayton occasionally has that perspective on the world. And I recognize that in that vein or sense.
All of this contributes to a legend that keeps evolving with time, a beautiful farewell tour for a man who still surprises audiences at every stop.
Observed these statistics? Since stumbling off the disabled list, Kershaw has made seven starts and is 3-0 with a 2.03 ERA. In those contests, the team is 6-1. All of this despite the fact that over those games, he only managed to induce four swinging strikes on 169 four-seam fastballs.
“I just have so much respect for him,” Roberts added. “What he can do, people can’t. I recall that this place had its beginnings a few years ago. During a daytime game, his back gave out. I have no idea how he did it, but he managed to accomplish three or four innings of no-hit or no-run baseball. He ultimately started the IL immediately after that. He simply forces the men out of himself.
Roberts had a nice smile when I asked whether he believed Kershaw’s time wearing a Dodger uniform may come to an end with the Kershaw Crusade.
Imagine that he wasn’t always so well-liked. In part because he endured so much difficulty to get here, he is probably the best pitcher in Dodgers team history.
Here, Kershaw’s career has taken two distinct, diverging courses rather than an increasing trajectory.
He was troubled for the first 12 years by the persistent theme of his postseason flops. “Kershaw is great, but…” was the constant refrain.
However, there were the same postseason collapses against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013 and 2014.
But in the 2017 World Series against the Houston Astros, he was thoroughly duped.
But in the 2018 World Series, he amassed a 7.36 ERA in opposition against the Boston Red Sox.
But in relief, he allowed back-to-back home runs, which caused the Dodgers to lose their 2019 postseason series against the Washington Nationals.
At one time, there was a potential that Kershaw’s career would finish here in ambiguous bitterness. Then, though, everything changed over the past four years. After obtaining atonement in the 2020 World Series, Kershaw has now dispelled all uncertainty and every “but.”
He says today that “Kershaw is great, period.”
