The top 10 greatest short-lived duos in MLB history

World Series co-MVPs Arizona Diamondbacks pitchers Randy Johnson (L) and Curt Schilling hold their MVP trophy during post-game ceremonies after the Diamondbacks' win of Game 7 of the World Series in Phoenix 04 November 2001. The Diamondbacks defeated the New York Yankees 3-2, winning the series four games to three to become the world champions. AFP PHOTO/Jeff HAYNES (Photo by JEFF HAYNES / AFP) (Photo by JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images) /

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PHOENIX, AZ – APRIL 12: Clayton Kershaw #22 and Zach Greinke #21 of the Los Angeles Dodgers fist bump in the sixth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on April 12, 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Jason Wise/Getty Images) /

Short-lived MLB duo No. 4: Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke — 2013–2015 Los Angeles Dodgers

From 2013 to 2015, Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke were the clear best duo in all of baseball.

Over their first two seasons together, Kershaw was the undisputed ace of the team. He won the NL Cy Young in both seasons along with an NL MVP honor in 2014. He recorded an astounding 1.80 ERA and 471 strikeouts as well over this period. Greinke’s posted a 2.68 ERA and 355 strikeouts over the two campaigns.

The 2015 season was their trademark season. Kershaw posted his usual superb season with a league-leading 301 strikeouts and 1.99 FIP along with a career-high 15.9 swinging strike percentage. Greinke finished with a league-leading 1.66 ERA and 0.844 WHIP along with a .157 batting average allowed with runners in scoring position. His 8.9 bWAR led the NL but he still finished second in the 2015 NL Cy Young voting behind Jake Arrieta.

What is more impressive is that both pitchers posted a bWAR of at least 7.0 and ERA below 2.20, which was the first by a duo since 1964 with the Dodgers’ Hall of Fame pair of Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. Among pitchers who accumulated at least 500 innings pitched over this time period, Kershaw and Greinke were the top two in ERA and ERA-.

Those three years were all fans would be able to see of them on the same rotation as Greinke went on to sign with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2015.

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