Clayton Kershaw has once again shown baseball fans why he received the highest paying contract in the history of Major League Baseball. Pitching a no hitter against the Colorado Rockies marked a high point in the young lefty’s career, but then coming back in his next appearance, just a few days later, against the Kansas City Royals and pitching a decisive shutout elevates Kershaw to stand with some of the greatest major league pitchers of all time.
Clayton Kershaw’s ERA (Earned Run Average) is now down to 2.24 and may drop even lower in the latter part of the season. The southpaw from Dallas has been chosen to three MLB All-Star teams and seems destined to repeat the feat this season as we. He already has two Cy Young Awards sitting on the shelf at home, but there is still room for a couple of more. Kershaw just celebrated his 26th birthday and he is standing tall at the top of his profession.
Superlatives are the norm when talking about Clayton Kershaw on the pitching mound these days. He was drafted by the Dodgers as the 7th overall pick in the 2006 MLB Draft. After spending just one year in the Dodgers farm team system, Kershaw began his major league career at age 20 and has become a favorite of Dodger fans ever since.
In 2011 Clayton Kershaw became the youngest pitcher in the history of Major League Baseball to win the pitching Triple Crown as well as the National League Cy Young Award. Being young and good… and left handed, many comparisons are made between Clayton Kershaw and the great Sandy Koufax.
In his short career in Los Angeles baseball, Kershaw has won the National League ERA Title three times from 20112-2013 as well as the NL Strikeout Championship in 2011 & 2013. After a slight scare when he injured his back while playing in the opening day games down in Australia, Kershaw seems on track to at least repeat his past glories and perhaps even exceed expectations once again.
Off the field Clayton Kershaw also excels. With his wife Ellen, he has started a movement called “Kershaw’s Challenge”, and even written a book aptly named ‘Arise’ in an effort to call attention to and raise money to build an orphanage in Zambia.
Not only is Clayton Kershaw one of the best pitchers to come around in years, he is also leading the way for other sports figures to participate in humanitarian efforts and share some of their good fortune.
