Dodgers: 3 stats that prove we don’t appreciate Clayton Kershaw enough

2. He’s Nearly the Best 7-Inning Shutout Pitcher in Wild Card Era

Longevity? Yeah, Kershaw can still get you that in spades.

In the modern “Wild Card” era, it’s rare for a pitcher to give you 7+ on a given day, and the pitchers of the past may scoff at this statistic, but Kershaw’s supposed reputation as a five-and-fly guy as he’s gotten older definitely does not hold water.

On Wednesday, the lefty completed seven innings or more without allowing a single run for the remarkable 55th time in his career (at age 33, remember). That puts him third in the Wild Card era, behind only Randy Johnson and Tim Hudson — who only outflank him by two and one, respectively.

Kershaw should catch both men by the end of the year, if not the end of the month. Chalk this one up as another record we didn’t expect Kershaw to hold, but one that he should make distinctly “his” by the time his career wraps up.

Robbed of a full season in 2020, which hurts for resume-building purposes, our ace didn’t add any of these to his docket whatsoever. In 2021, he’s only added Wednesday’s effort so far.

But using the years since his final Cy Young as our guide, Kershaw has averaged 3.4 starts of seven or more shutout innings per season as he’s aged. In 2015? He posted seven of them, with three coming in a row during a July stretch against the Phillies, Nationals and Mets we should never forget.

That streak featured two complete-game shutouts and an eight-inning affair, highlighted by 13, 14 and 11 strikeouts. Today’s aces don’t know what it’s like to be Clayton Kershaw…unless, of course, they are Clayton Kershaw.

1. His Breaking Ball is Somehow Getting Better as He Ages

It wouldn’t be a Clayton Kershaw list without shining a spotlight on his curveball, which is the type of “thing of beauty” baseball writers will try to communicate to their sons and grandchildren with poetic soliloquies for decades to come.

“You don’t understand,” they’ll say. “It flitted downward like a bird caught in a haboob.”

“That’s nice, dad, but I can just check it out on VR,” the futuristic kids will reply.

What you might not know about the historic pitch, though, was that it was potentially at its most fearsome point ever in Wednesday’s win over the Reds.

In that seven-inning start, Kershaw racked up 22 swings and misses on the pitch alone, tied for the most he’s ever recorded in a single outing.

The other two times he matched that mark were…last postseason against the overmatched Milwaukee Brewers and in 2015 against the San Francisco Giants, who were decidedly not in the midst of an even year at the time.

That Brewers start, FWIW, was eight innings long, so it seems Kershaw got even more efficient during the offseason.

So, when you brave the traffic and plunk down the cash at the Dodger Stadium gate, be very aware you’re still watching history whenever Kershaw takes the mound.

When you find a groove on your couch, know you’re about to watch a ruthlessly efficient outing from a future Hall of Famer and can probably make early dinner plans.

Even as the years pass, it’s still the same as it ever was.

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