Clayton Kershaw is poised to join an exclusive club as his career enters its twilight. On Wednesday night, he’ll face the Chicago White Sox at Dodger Stadium in a chance to become the 20th – and possibly final – player to strike out 3,000 batters throughout their career.
Kershaw has achieved just about everything a baseball player could hope for, including two World Series championships, an MVP, three Cy Young Awards, and 10 All-Star appearances. Now, he’s on the cusp of joining an elite group with 3,000 strikeouts.
In his recent outing against the Colorado Rockies, Kershaw inched closer to the milestone with five consecutive strikeouts. He now needs just three more to reach the major milestone. The good news for Dodgers fans is that Kershaw has thrown for over three strikeouts in each of his last four starts, including a seven-strikeout performance.
The White Sox are a reasonable opponent, given their struggles at the plate and low team strikeout total this season. Additionally, the highly anticipated ballgame could influence the outcome, with the raucous home crowd potentially giving Kershaw a boost if he needs just one more out.
Kershaw’s achievement is remarkable, considering the changes in the game. With injury concerns mounting and analytics on managers’ minds, complete games by starting pitchers are rare. In 2008, only 82 players threw at least one complete game, whereas this season has seen only 18.
Reaching 3,000 strikeouts requires a combination of greatness, health, and supportive teammates. Kershaw had the perfect storm of these factors, and it appears his milestone is within reach on Wednesday night.
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/dodgers-clayton-kershaw-3000-strike-outs