Where does Clayton Kershaw fall among the greatest pitchers in MLB history?

Clayton Kershaw debuted as a Los Angeles Dodger; he became one of the greatest pitchers in league history with the Los Angeles Dodgers; and he’ll unsurprisingly retire as a Los Angeles Dodger.

Kershaw, 37, confirmed on Thursday that the 2025 season will be his final one. The 2006 No. 7 pick is 222-96 with a 2.54 ERA, three Cy Young Awards, an MVP Award, and two World Series rings since debuting in May 2008. Based on those numbers alone, Kershaw is a lock to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2031, and that’s before even discussing his overall dominance.

“Didn’t want to say anything in case I changed my mind,” Kershaw told reporters, “but over the course of the season, just how grateful I am to have been healthy and be out on the mound and be able to pitch, I think it just made it obvious that this was a good sending-off point, and it is. 

“I’ve had the best time this year,” Kershaw added. “It’s been a blast.”

Kershaw’s resume lacks no shortage of accolades, especially after he joined the 3,000-strikeout club on July 3. Although his velocity and stamina aren’t what they once were, Kershaw is 10-2 with a 3.53 ERA over 102 innings for the NL West-leading Dodgers, and he’ll be counted on to make one final impact this postseason.

Ahead of his final regular-season start at Dodger Stadium on Friday night, let’s look back at Kershaw’s career and see how it stacks with the all-time greats.

Where does Clayton Kershaw rank among the greatest pitchers in MLB history?

As of Sept. 19, 2025, Kershaw’s 77.7 bWAR ranks 28th all-time among pitchers, trailing only Justin Verlander (82.6) among active players. Kershaw’s former Dodgers teammate, Max Scherzer, isn’t far behind at 75.6, though it remains unclear whether the 41-year-old Scherzer will pitch next season.

Outside of Verlander, 25 of the 27 pitchers ahead of Kershaw on the all-time pitching bWAR list are in the Hall of Fame. Roger Clemens (138.7) and Curt Schilling (80.5) remain out of Cooperstown for off-field reasons; many voters left Clemens off their ballot following PED allegations, while others, such as FanGraph’s Jay Jaffe, opted not to vote for Schilling after he had several controversial social media posts.

Similarly, FanGraphs lists Kershaw’s fWAR at 78.7, good enough for 24th all-time. Interestingly, FanGraphs has a far higher opinion of Tommy John (79.4) fWAR than Baseball-Reference (62.1) does, but that’s another conversation.

Historical context is crucial when discussing and debating the greatest pitchers in MLB history, though. Grover Cleveland Alexander pitched at least 300 innings nine times from 1911 through 1930. Although Tom Seaver never topped 300 innings, he cleared the 270-inning mark seven times in 20 seasons.

Then, you have Kershaw, who has never even pitched more than 240 innings in a regular season. However, he threw 259 innings in 2013 when combining his regular-season (236) and postseason (23) workloads. 

However, Major League Baseball analysts and historians have tried overcoming this issue by using 1920, the start of what they’ve called the Live Ball Era, as a barometer. Kershaw’s 2.54 ERA is the best since 1920 of any pitcher who has started at least 100 games. A glance at the all-time ERA leaders mostly shows pitchers whose best work came during the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Even then, comparing Kershaw to pitchers whose entire careers came in the Live Ball Era, players like Seaver or Bob Gibson, is incredibly difficult. We acknowledge that such an answer is a cop-out, though it’s hard to argue against it. 

But, we are willing to say that Kershaw is easily one of the 10 best pitchers since the Divisional Era began in 1969. There’s even a case to put Kershaw in the top five, whether or not you omit Clemens because of his alleged PED use.

Where would you rank Kershaw among the all-time MLB greats? Let us know.

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