The MLB Wild Card rounds are set and the schedule is out for all four matchups that will take place over the course of the week. Fans are scrambling to see who their favorite team will be playing, when they will be on and where to watch them on television.
One can only imagine how San Diego Padres fans felt when they saw that Los Angeles Dodgers legend and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw will be an analyst for their upcoming Wild Card Series against the Chicago Cubs.
Former Dodgers great Clayton Kershaw will be on the call for the Padres- Cubs Wild Card Series
If the San Francisco Giants didn't exist, Padres fans would say that Kershaw caused their favorite team more pain than any other in baseball. Few players have dominated a franchise the way Kershaw did to the Padres.
Kershaw tossed 306.1 career innings against San Diego throughout his career, and went 24-11 with a 2.17 ERA. The future Hall of Famer held Padres hitters to a meager .195 batting average in 48 starts.
There was a stretch from 2016-2018 when Kershaw made seven starts against the Friars and produced seven quality starts and a 6-0 record. In those seven contests, he threw just over 50 innings, racked up 61 strikeouts, and only allowed 22 hits while posting a sparkling 0.72 ERA.
The Padres have been to the playoffs four times since 2020, and the Dodgers have eliminated them twice. Luckily for San Diego, they would not have to play Los Angeles this October until the National League Championship Series — what a sight that would be.
The Dodgers earned a bye thanks to 100-62 record this season, so LAs fanbase will surely be hate-watching the Padres during this week's Wild Card action.
Kershaw will definitely be buttoned-up and professional during the broadcast, but Dodgers fans will be itching to see if he eventually starts loosening his tie and makes jokes at the Padres expense. Sort of in the framework of what former Boston Red Sox great David Ortiz does to Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and the entirety of the New York Yankees organization.
