Dodgers: The Kershaw Question: Just How Different Is He?

The Dodgers entered the season with questions about Clayton Kershaw.  How good would he be in 2019?

It’s 2019, and Clayton Kershaw is no longer the best pitcher in baseball for the Dodgers. He is no longer feared by opponents to the same degree, or unanimously considered the best pitcher on the planet as he was dubbed only just a few seasons ago.

In fact, the big lefty from Texas still has a lot of what made him great in the first place, just not his 94 mph fastball. Anyone who has seen a Kershaw start this season is bound to have noticed how Kershaw’s fastball velocity and overall usage of his four-seamer has dipped even below his 2018 numbers.

Dodger fans following the team in 2019 have begun to notice the conflicting narratives emerging as everyone struggles to figure out how to cover the aging star. Kershaw is much better on extra rest, or Kershaw has been usurped by Ryu ace the Dodgers’ ace.

Personally, Kershaw’s name still carries the weight it once did. His presence on the mound at Dodger Stadium still means sell out crowds, and more often than not still means a win for the Dodgers. The former NL MVP still holds onto a 2.85 ERA and sterling 7–1 record in his 79 innings of work in 2019 of course.

But the question remains, how has he done it, and even how has he done in general? Has he really been able to put up “Kershawesque” numbers, and what are the indicators of how he will perform for the rest of the season, and maybe for the remainder of this post-prime era of the 30-year old face of the franchise?

In this article, I’ll begin to get into these questions, mostly by taking a look down into the deep well of statistics surrounding the oft-discussed living legend. I’ll do my best to split up Kershaw into three distinct versions, the 2009-2011/2012 version, the 2012/2013-2016 version, and the 2017-2019 version.

To demonstrate how he has changed over time (The 2011 and 2012 seasons marked his entrance into the best in baseball discussion and the first of his NL Cy Young awards, hence the cutoff point and 2017 marked the beginning of decreased regular season and increased postseason workloads).