Clayton Kershaw retiring at end of season

[jayshum]

The Dodgers just announced that Clayton Kershaw is retiring at the end of the season. Not surprising with his injury history, but he's been pitching pretty well so far this season.

[bk400]

Kind of cool he'll have a shot at going out on top -- and potentially changing the narrative about his postseason struggles.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Obviously as a Dodger fan I hate to see him go when he is pitching well, in the last couple of dismal months he has stopped losing streaks at least 2x. But he also hasn't pitched a qualified season in what, a decade?

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

Obviously as a Dodger fan I hate to see him go when he is pitching well, in the last couple of dismal months he has stopped losing streaks at least 2x. But he also hasn't pitched a qualified season in what, a decade?

He's actually pitched more than I thought over the last 10 years. Other than last year and 2020 (COVID), he has had at least 21 or more starts and 121 or more innings. This year, he's close to that with 20 starts and 102 innings with probably 2 more starts expected.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

right but 162 IP is what's required to qualify for stats like ERA an ERA title. He's done that 2x in the last 10 years.

I will say I also like that he announced it late enough that there's not going to be a big farewell tour. I think maybe he said something to someone which explains his all-star presence this year, that was kind of a tip-off

[Eric72]

3 Cy Young Awards, an MVP Award, 80+ WAR, 3,000 strikeouts, career WHIP of about 1.02, career ERA of about 2.54, 11 time All-Star, and a World Series ring.

Obviously, he had some postseason struggles. Still, Kershaw was a great pitcher for quite a long time. We won't see many like him again.

[sbfinley]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

right but 162 IP is what's required to qualify for stats like ERA an ERA title. He's done that 2x in the last 10 years.

It's worth noting that for the past decade the Dodgers have consistently had some of the deepest pitching rosters in baseball (and best lineups) and have sat their arms for extended periods of time with minor injuries that other clubs would would need to pitch through. They have routinely shut guys down in the summer to have to them completely fresh in September and October. Even though Kershaw has only pitched 162+ innings twice in the past decade, he's led LA's staff in innings 5 times and finished in the top 3 of the staff every other season but 2024. Since 2016 he's 4th in all of MLB for wins, 18th in K's, and 23rd in IP.

There has also been some discussion about lowering the qualification for the ERA title in MLB. I'd have to go back and check, but I think the average number of qualifiers has been less than 1 per team since 2015 and 2024 was the first season it was above 40 players in that span - largely thanks to an influx of talented young arms over the past couple seasons.