Clayton Kershaw is officially in the air of rare air.
On Wednesday, Kershaw, who made his 438th start with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the eighth of the season, joined the game’s best elite group of all time.
Facing the Chicago White Sox in front of a sold-out Dodger Stadium, Kershaw hit an infielder at the top of six innings, becoming the latest participant to the 3,000 strikeout club.
This is a feat achieved by only 19 other people in the long history of American entertainment.
Kershaw joins Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer as the only active pitchers in baseball to record 3,000 career strikeouts. Kershaw is the fourth left-handed pitcher to reach that number.
The 37-year-old 10-time MLB All-Star has already been the best leader in the Dodgers’ strikeout history and has won 17 from stolen Don Sutton as the most victorious pitcher in clubhouse history.
The Kershaw is never suitable for teams other than the Dodgers. He is one of the greatest pitchers of all time by fans and analysts, perhaps the best Dodger ever, and is almost certainly widely declared on the team’s Mount Rushmore.
It is unclear when another MLB pitcher will record 3,000 ks, with advances in scouting, a better understanding of the importance of rest, and a sudden explosion of major injuries among elite pitchers trying to push his body to its limits.
The Atlanta Braves’ pitcher Christ Sale is the next cross to join an exclusive club. The 36-year-old is also left-handed, with almost 500 strikeouts behind the car show. After that, 34-year-old Jerrit Cole of the New York Yankees sat on a career strikeout of 2,251, while 41-year-old Charlie Morton of the Baltimore Orioles has a pace of over 800.
Of the 17 retired pitchers of the 3,000 strikeout club, all but Roger Clemens and Kurt Schilling are Hall of Fame, but it is widely accepted that their exclusion has nothing to do with excellence on the field.
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