Clayton Kershaw: ‘Wins are a team thing’
By Hayden Kane
With another dominant performance and a victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night, Clayton Kershaw bumped his season total up to 16 wins.
More from Los Angeles Dodgers
- MLB Trade Grades: Dodgers land Amed Rosario from Guardians
- Shohei Ohtani trade rumors live tracker: Every update so far
- After frantic trade day, Kiké Hernandez grateful for second chance with Dodgers
- This White Sox-Dodgers trade for bullpen help could lead to LA reunion
- MLB Trade Grades: Dodgers reunite with familiar face in Red Sox deal
That mark leads all of baseball and is just one of a number of statistics that have him in line for another National League Cy Young award. After missing an early portion of the season, Kershaw has been spectacular, sometimes historic, as he has established himself as the best pitcher in baseball.
To date Kershaw is 16-3 with a silly 1.73 ERA, 1.82 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching), and a 10.8 K/9 mark. Even with his dominance, however, Kershaw refuses to take all the credit for his wins total.
That either shows the signs of a good teammate or a guy who understands just how flawed ‘pitcher wins’ can be as a statistic.
From ESPN.com:
"Kershaw leads the majors in wins despite spending five weeks on the disabled list.“Wins are a team thing,” he said."
The real treat for baseball fans still lies ahead this season. Presuming the Dodgers make the playoffs, we will get the chance to see one of the most dominant pitchers in history take the mound in the post-season, presumably as the kind of guy who gives his team a huge advantage at least twice and possibly three times in a series.
That opportunity was thwarted last year by Kershaw’s ailing back, but if these starts are any indication, seeing the lefty on the mound in this year’s playoffs will be must-see TV.
Be sure to stay tuned to FanSided for all of the latest MLB news, rumors, and analysis as the 2014 season heads towards the playoff stretch.