Clayton Kershaw

Clayton Edward Kershaw (born March 19, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-handed starting pitcher, Kershaw has spent his entire MLB career with the Dodgers since debuting in 2008. He is an 11-time All-Star, three-time National League (NL) Cy Young Award winner, 2014 NL Most Valuable Player, and a World Series champion in 2020. He is one of 20 pitchers, and four left-handers, to be members of the 3,000 strikeout club. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history.^[1]

Kershaw was drafted by the Dodgers with the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2006 MLB draft. He worked his way through the Dodgers' farm system and reached the majors at age 20 after one season. In 2011, he won the pitching Triple Crown and the NL Cy Young Award, becoming the youngest pitcher to accomplish either of these feats since Dwight Gooden in 1985. Kershaw pitched a no-hitter on June 18, 2014, becoming the 22nd Dodger to do so.

He was the first major league pitcher to lead MLB in ERA in four consecutive years (2011–2014) and also led the NL in a fifth.^[2] Kershaw is also a three-time NL wins leader and strikeouts leader. His 2.52 career earned run average (ERA) is the second-lowest among starters in the live-ball era (min. 1,000 innings pitched).^[3][4] Despite his great regular season performances, however, Kershaw has struggled and been inconsistent during the postseason, with a 4.49 earned run average in 194+1⁄3 innings pitched over 39 appearances, 32 of which were starts.^[5]

Off the field, Kershaw is an active participant in volunteer work. He and his wife Ellen launched "Kershaw's Challenge" and wrote the book Arise: Live Out Your Faith and Dreams on Whatever Field You Find Yourself to raise money to build an orphanage in Zambia. He has been honored with the Roberto Clemente Award and the Branch Rickey Award for his humanitarian work.