MLB Hall of Fame: 10 current players who are locks
9. Clayton Kershaw
Almost every objective baseball fan or analyst I talk to agrees that Clayton Kershaw is at the top of the list of best pitchers in baseball today.
Just a glance at some of his numbers in the table below prove that adequately. With a 7 year career ERA of just 2.54, and a WHIP over that span of 1.073, Kershaw is mowin’ em down this year again, with an 11-2 record so far in 2014, including an ERA of just 1.78 and an amazing WHIP of 0.830!
As you can see, Kershaw has been an All-Star the last three years (and is again this year), has won the Cy Young award twice, and a runner-up in 2012, won a Gold Glove in 2011, and is regularly in the hunt for league MVP. He won 21 games in 2011, and threatens that kind of performance every year.
| Year | Tm | W | L | ERA | SHO | BB | SO | FIP | WHIP | H9 | HR9 | BB9 | SO9 | SO/W | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | LAD | 5 | 5 | 4.26 | 0 | 52 | 100 | 4.08 | 1.495 | 9.1 | 0.9 | 4.3 | 8.4 | 1.92 | |
| 2009 | LAD | 8 | 8 | 2.79 | 0 | 91 | 185 | 3.08 | 1.228 | 6.3 | 0.4 | 4.8 | 9.7 | 2.03 | |
| 2010 | LAD | 13 | 10 | 2.91 | 1 | 81 | 212 | 3.12 | 1.179 | 7.0 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 9.3 | 2.62 | |
| 2011 ★ | LAD | 21 | 5 | 2.28 | 2 | 54 | 248 | 2.47 | 0.977 | 6.7 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 9.6 | 4.59 | AS,CYA-1,MVP-12,GG |
| 2012 ★ | LAD | 14 | 9 | 2.53 | 2 | 63 | 229 | 2.89 | 1.023 | 6.7 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 9.1 | 3.63 | AS,CYA-2,MVP-16 |
| 2013 ★ | LAD | 16 | 9 | 1.83 | 2 | 52 | 232 | 2.39 | 0.915 | 6.3 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 8.8 | 4.46 | AS,CYA-1,MVP-7 |
| 2014 ★ | LAD | 11 | 2 | 1.78 | 1 | 13 | 126 | 1.59 | 0.830 | 6.3 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 11.8 | 9.69 | AS |
| 7 Yrs | 88 | 48 | 2.54 | 8 | 406 | 1332 | 2.78 | 1.073 | 6.8 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 9.4 | 3.28 | ||
| 162 Game Avg. | 15 | 8 | 2.54 | 1 | 70 | 230 | 2.78 | 1.073 | 6.8 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 9.4 | 3.28 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/12/2014.
Mark Whicker, sports columnist for the Los Angeles Daily News, compared Kershaw favorably to the great Sandy Koufax, and talked about not only his prowess on the bump, but his work ethic as well. Mark quotes Dodger veteran Dan Haren:
"“What the outsider might not see is how much he works on the days in between,” said Dodger veteran Dan Haren. “He’s the first guy on the field, working on flat-ground stuff. We all work hard but it takes it to another level, to build that foundation. It embarrasses me a little bit, and I feel like I do a lot.”"
Clayton Kerahaw is simply superb, and although he has yet to throw a perfect game, he came about as close to a perfect game as anyone can get and fall short when he tossed an 8-0 no-no against the Colorado Rockies on June 18 of this year. Nobody’s perfect, but Clayton Kershaw is close as a pitcher, and certainly should be considered a viable candidate for a lock on Cooperstown.