Dodgers Fans Overwhelmingly Pick Clayton Kershaw as the Franchise’s GOAT
There are so many great players throughout the long history of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and Pee Wee Reese are just a few that are on that list, and all are enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
And there’s also one that isn’t there quite yet, but most certainly will be whenever he decides to end his storied career.
That one is none other than Clayton Kershaw.
The pitcher was voted as the greatest player in the history of the franchise by a Dodgers Nation Twitter poll — in a vote where that question was answered overwhelmingly in the affirmative.
Is Clayton Kershaw the Dodgers’ GOAT? Why or why not?
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) June 21, 2023
And if not, who is?
And I’d have to say I agree with that one.
The southpaw made his MLB debut as a Dodger in 2008, stifling a powerful St. Louis Cardinals team as a 20-year-old, and has never looked back since.
The accolades the now 35-year-old has garnered are seemingly endless.
A World Series Champion, three-time Cy Young, the 2014 National League MVP, and a Cooperstown curveball that will surely lead the way for Kershaw toward his inevitable enshrinement.
That 12-6 curveball made him an icon, leaving every hitter in the best league in the world at his mercy. He’s been able to evolve his arsenal though, featuring a slider with late life that confounds all challengers to this day, even sprinkling a rare changeup in there every now and then.
Kershaw’s responsible for the greatest pitching performance I’ve ever seen, when he absolutely mowed down an overmatched Colorado Rockies team on the way to a 14 strikeout no-hitter in an absolute masterclass.
I could tell by the third inning that he’d reached an extra gear — the one where you can feel that something special might just happen — and by the midway point of the game, the only objective was to watch the king of his craft do what he does best. And when it came to the 9th, Kershaw finished off that “one miserable, measly out” as called by Vin Scully, to end his night as a new member of baseball immortality.
The long-awaited World Series championship in 2020 was the icing on the cake and absolute confirmation that the pitcher that “couldn’t do it in the biggest moments” could do just that when the lights were at their absolute brightest.
And it’s just a matter of time until Kershaw takes his rightful place in history as a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, but for now, just sit back and enjoy the greatest Dodger ever before he becomes a member of baseball lore in Cooperstown.
And that’ll be an achievement more than well earned for #22.
