Los Angeles Dodgers: Why Clayton Kershaw Is Not a Postseason Bust
The narrative that Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is a bust in the postseason is wrong.
Even after this postseason, It’s quite clear that once Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw decides to hang up his cleats, he’ll be in the company of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, right where he belongs, in Cooperstown. Very few pitchers have put together the type of career Kershaw has in his 11 big league seasons.
In fact, Since 1973, the year Major League Baseball (MLB) introduced the designated hitter (DH), among 163 starting pitchers (SP) who have started 300 or more games, Kershaw leads all in win-loss percentage (W-L%), earned run average (ERA), fielding independent pitching (FIP), and expected fielding independent pitching (XFIP).
Check out my dorky spreadsheet HERE!
However, it seems that every time Kershaw takes the mound in a postseason game, all you hear about is how much of a postseason “bust” he is. For example, just one day after the Dodgers lost in the World Series for a second straight year, Scott Cacciola of the New York Times wrote the following about Kershaw:
“It is a strange phenomenon – cruel, even – for a great player to suddenly look so mediocre this time of year, but it happened again, on the biggest stage, as much as Kershaw had hoped to swim his way up from the depths.”
Has Kershaw really been that bad for the Dodgers in the postseason?
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When compared to hall of fame starting pitchers who have 300 or more games started since 1973…
…the answer would have to be a resounding no!
It’s no secret that Kershaw becomes a different pitcher in the postseason, but the fact of the matter is, of the seven HOF starting pitchers listed above, only three – Eckersley, Morris, and Smoltz – significantly improved their ERA in the postseason versus the regular season. Only one – Eckersley – improved his FIP in the postseason versus the regular season.
The truth is that Clayton Kershaw has pitched well enough to give his team a chance to win. In 20 of 30 postseason appearances, Kershaw has allowed three or fewer runs. In 17 of those, he allowed just TWO or fewer runs.
In seven of the 15 games the Dodgers have lost in the postseason during the Kershaw era, he’s allowed three or fewer runs.
In SIX of the 10 postseason losses Kershaw has amassed in his 11-year Dodger career, his team only managed to score TWO runs. TWO RUNS!
The narrative changes if the Dodgers manage to score enough runs to win those games, don’t you think?
Then why do we downplay Kershaw’s postseason performances so much?
Most people would say that it’s because he doesn’t have a World Series ring to his name. That’s true, but do we look less upon hall of fame starting pitchers like Don Sutton or Gaylord Perry or Fergie Jenkins for never being able to win a ring?
Next. Dodgers chances next year already gone?. dark
My guess would be, no.
The same should be said for the greatest pitcher of this generation, Clayton “The Claw” Kershaw.