His K:BB ratio is 22:1. Still outstanding.
And Sale is
very good, but he's not on the same level Kershaw is.
Kershaw over the last 5 1/4 seasons:
94-34 (.734 win pct), 2.09 ERA, 22 CG, 13 SHO, 1,198 IP, 1,337 K, 246 BB, 0.919 WHIP, 6.4 H/9 IP, 0.5 HR/9 IP, 2.27 FIP, 1.8 BB/9 IP, 10.0 K/9 IP, 5.44 K:BB
Match that against Pedro's best six seasons, from 1997 to 2002:
104-32 (.765 win pct), 2.20 ERA, 31 CG, 11 SHO, 1,221 IP, 1,555 K, 268 BB, 0.925 WHIP, 6.4 H/9 IP, 0.6 HR/9 IP, 2.27 FIP, 2.0 BB/9 IP, 11.5 K/9 IP, 5.80 K:BB
Their numbers are very similar. Kershaw's ERA is slightly better, but Pedro pitched in the AL, which has more offense. Interestingly enough, they have identical FIPs, 2.27. Pedro has an edge, of course, in ERA +, 213 to 175. They give up the same hits and home runs per 9 IP. Kershaw walks slightly fewer batters, Pedro struck out more batters.
Kershaw is already 7th all-time in Cy Young shares (3.82). Martinez is 5th (4.26). It will be interesting to see if Kershaw wins his fourth Cy Young in six seasons. It's him and Arreta so far,
and right now, Kershaw has the lead.