As for Kershaw, he could retire tomorrow, and if I had a vote, I'd put him into Cooperstown the day he was eligible without batting an eye. He has been the dominant pitcher in Major League Baseball for the past seven seasons. During that time, the N.L. average for ERA is 4.25. His ERA over that span is 2.10, historic for any era of baseball. His ERA + over that span is 179. That's obscene.
He's won three Cy Young Awards. He's been runner up twice, finished third another time, and fifth in 2016. The only reason he finished that low in '16 is that 40% of his season was wiped out by injury. He would have easily won his fourth Cy Young had he not gotten hurt. His ERA + was 237, and he had a 15.64:1 K:BB ratio, whiffing 172 batters in 149 innings, while walking 11. His WHIP was 0.725. He was 12-4 with a 1.69 ERA.
He's led the league in ERA five times in the last seven seasons, and his 1.69 ERA would have challenged Zack Greinke (1.66) had he finished the year for another ERA title in '16.
The last five seasons, Kershaw's ERA is 1.95. We're looking at one of the greatest pitchers in the modern era.
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