This is part one of a two-part series where the greatness of Clayton Kershaw will be discussed. It can be argued that in 2020 Clayton Kershaw is as just well-known for his October failures as he is for being the best pitcher in baseball since 2009. Clayton Kershaw has tried to expel his October demons multiple times but is yet to do so successfully. Clayton Kershaw was drafted seventh overall in the 2006 MLB draft. He was joined in this draft by other star pitchers, Max Scherzer and Tim Lincecum. However, there were only two all-stars picked ahead of Kershaw in the draft, Evan Longoria, the Rays franchise player for the better part of nine seasons and Andrew miller who after having an unsuccessful start to his career as a starter, moved to the bullpen and resurrected his career. Now both Miller and Longoria have had high peaks and are very solid players, but Clayton Kershaw is in another class. Some would argue Max Scherzer may be in this class with him. While Max Scherzer has had a phenomenal, hall of fame career, other people believe Kershaw should only be compared to the likes of all-time greats such as Walter Johnson and Sandy Koufax.
Some may be wondering how Kershaw can be compared to those two all-time greats without a good October track record. The main reason lies in two stats. With his 2.441 ERA he currently sits 37th all time amongst pitchers with at least 1000 innings pitched or 100 decisions in their careers. This includes relievers such as Mariano Rivera and pinchers who pitched their entire careers in the 1800s such as Will White, when run scoring was more than twice as low as it is today. Also, on that list are legends such as Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson and even Babe Ruth with his 2.277 ERA. Lastly the next active pitcher on that list is Jacob DeGrom who has a 2.622 Era and is 60th all time. While Jacob DeGrom does have back to back CY Young awards and is arguably the best pitcher in baseball right now Kershaw has thrown more than double the amount of innings deGrom has and still has an ERA that is .18 runs lower.
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