Continuing the discussion (Read Part 1) from the -not so MVP- performance from the beloved player for the LA franchise responsible for the failures but also responsible for the best performances for the squad for the past few years, we remember the MVP appointment from last season as Kershaw took the team under.
After the elimination, the Dodgers, an economic force since Magic Johnson investor group bought the franchise back in 2012, strengthened their confidence in the star player making him the best paid pitcher in history: with $ 215 million over a span of seven years. Kershaw responded by raising his level even if it fits in regular season. It is the fourth year in a row that he records the lowest average MLB runs, something no one had previously achieved.
But even a big star player as Kershaw has its Achilles heel. An example is back in 2013, when Matt Carpenter, the Cardinals third baseman, dug his grave. After several lousy pitches, he took a kinder ball to drive in three runs for his teammates. Kershaw, who allowed eight runs that evening, grasped some redemption in the fourth game, but allowed a home run from Matt Adams in the seventh minute after that. It would mean the elimination of the franchise in the first hurdles. The pitcher faced it with humility, admitting “much of the responsibility” for what happened, but his prestige was stained and for good reason. Voting for the MVP was closed in September, so they did not take into account the development of the playoffs.
The impressive performance by Madison Bumgarner in the World Series has raised a debate in American sport: Kershaw, the best pitcher in the regular season, against the best pitcher in the history of the finals. Who would champion the victory and raise their franchise into Championship realms. Despite his worse moments in October, Kershaw is still a player to reckon. Time will tell whether this genius of predictability can move its hegemony to those nights where everything is possible where his performance is efficient and takes the victory, until the star player is no longer able to shine and the crown of the king buried is buried in the mud.
