The Los Angeles Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw were heading toward a potential date with history against the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday afternoon. However, after spinning a perfect game through the first seven innings, Kershaw was pulled, as was the plug on a potential for one of the biggest stories of the young season and marquee moments of another chapter in Kershaw’s Hall of Fame career.
After throwing 80 pitches and striking out 13 Minnesota batters, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Kershaw’s day was done, just six outs away from immortality.
Could Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw have finished off the 24th perfect game in Major League Baseball history? We will never know.
Sure, it was the first start of the season for the 34-year-old Kershaw. Yes, it was coming off a condensed spring training after the 99-day MLB lockout and what was an injury-filled 2021 campaign for the southpaw. Absolutely, you never want to put a pitcher in harm’s way. However, the chances for a perfect game don’t come along every day, especially with a veteran pitcher like Kershaw who is bound for Cooperstown. To snuff those chances out from the dugout rather than at the plate by an opposing batter is an absolute shame.
If it's a no-hitter, whatever. Yank him. Clayton Kershaw has thrown one.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 13, 2022
But there have been more than 220,000 games in MLB history. There have been 23 perfect games.
Everything -- especially a pitch count of 80 -- is lining up to at least let Kershaw try. You cannot pull him.
Kershaw said after the game that Roberts made “the right decision.” However, Kershaw, who has had his competitive spirit compared to NFL quarterbacking legend Tom Brady and NBA icon Kobe Bryant couldn’t have been pleased with the decision that took away his chance at not only his second no-hitter, but also his place in a select club of MLB pitchers who have achieved perfection.
It’s also not the first time Roberts has made a move like this.
Since 1901, only two pitchers have been pulled after 7+ perfect innings.
— The Athletic MLB (@TheAthleticMLB) April 13, 2022
Rich Hill — 6/10/16
Clayton Kershaw — 4/13/22
The Dodgers manager in both games? Dave Roberts.
H/T @StatsBySTATS pic.twitter.com/hTAJblaA1a
By the way, it didn’t take long for the Twins to erase the zeroes from the scoreboard as Gary Sánchez singled against Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia with one out in the eighth inning. It would be the only hit Minnesota would get in a 7-0 loss, making one wonder even more if Kershaw could have kept Sánchez from getting that lone hit.
Roberts should have given Kershaw the chance to complete the perfect game while having a reliever ready to come in the moment a Minnesota batter breaks it up. That strategy is simple and could have prevented what will likely be one of the biggest “what if?” questions of not only this season, but Kershaw’s career as well.