Clayton Kershaw is officially in rarefied air.
On Wednesday, making his 438th start for the Los Angeles Dodgers, his eighth this season, Kershaw joined an elite group of the game’s all-time greats.
Facing the Chicago White Sox in front of a sold-out Dodger Stadium, Kershaw struck out infielder, in the top of the 6th inning to become the latest entrant into the 3,000-strikeout club.
It’s a feat accomplished by only 19 others in the long, storied history of America’s pastime.
Kershaw joins Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer as the only active pitchers in baseball to record 3,000 career strikeouts. Kershaw is only the fourth left-handed pitcher to reach that number.
The 37-year-old, 10-time MLB All Star is already the Dodgers’ all-time leader in strikeouts, and is 17 wins away from usurping Don Sutton as the winningest pitcher in clubhouse history.
Kershaw has never suited up for any team other than the Dodgers. He is widely regarded by fans and analysts as one of the greatest pitchers of all time, arguably the greatest Dodger ever, and almost certainly on the team’s Mount Rushmore.
With advancements in scouting, better understanding about the importance of rest, and with a sudden explosion of major injuries among elite pitchers trying to push their bodies to the limit, it’s unclear if and when another MLB pitcher will record 3,000 Ks.
Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale is the next-closest to joining the exclusive club. The 36-year-old Sale, also a lefty, is nearly 500 strikeouts behind Kershaw. After that, 34-year-old Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees sits at 2,251 career strikeouts, and 41-year-old Charlie Morton of the Baltimore Orioles is more than 800 off the pace.
Among the 17 retired pitchers in the 3,000-strikeout club, all but Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling are Hall-of-Famers, although it’s widely accepted that their exclusion is not related to their on-field excellence.
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