Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw Sees the Added Benefit of Trevor Bauer as a Teammate
So far, so good team wise for Trevor Bauer in blue. The Dodgers’ prized offseason acquisition has spent his first full week at camp getting acclimated to his new surroundings and systems in place at Camelback Ranch. Also over that week’s time, his new teammates have expressed their excitement to have the 2020 NL Cy Young award winner on the pitching staff.
Moreover, Clayton Kershaw shared his thoughts on what Bauer brings to the mix beyond pitching every fifth day. In a one-on-one interview with SportsNet LA anchor Kirsten Watson, Kershaw pointed to the knowledge of analytics his new teammate possesses as something he’s looking forward to seeing in 2021.
"With @BauerOutage I think we have an opportunity to learn. He's very scientific at what he does and I'm not at all." @ClaytonKersh22 took some time to sit with @kirsten_watson to discuss the new-look #Dodgers rotation and expectations for himself in 2021. pic.twitter.com/TVQOqNr1Ux
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) February 25, 2021
With Trevor, I think we have an opportunity to learn. I think he’s very scientific in what he does. He’s very analytic in how he goes about things and I’m not at all. So I think I can learn a lot from him, just like I have from Walker [Buehler] and different guys on our staff.
Of course, much was made about Kershaw’s semi-secret visit to a Driveline facility in Washington state last offseason. The veteran sought answers for a declining fastball velocity after posting his worst single season ERA since his first year in the bigs. Notably, it worked as he saw his fastball tick up while posting his best ERA since 2017.
Related: Clayton Kershaw Reveals Advice He Wishes He Took Earlier in Career
Now the 3-time Cy Young award winner has been spotted at Camelback Ranch tossing weighted training balls off of walls, perhaps showing that the old dog has new tricks, as it were.
As for Bauer, he’s one of the godfathers of using analytics and modern tech to improve his game at the big league level. In fact, when he made his MLB debut in 2012, he faced criticism about his warm up routine before games. Now a routine like it is the norm across the game.
Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, and Trevor Bauer have the next 8 months to talk shop when it comes to pitching and analytics. As the all-time great left-hander enters season 14 as a big leaguer, he does so truly pitching for his next contract for the first time. So certainly he’ll keep an open mind when it comes to new ideas for his game.
NEXT: Trevor Bauer Says He Saved His Best Stuff For Padres’ Manny Machado This Year
