Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is entering his 11th Major League season and has steadily evolved from a rookie who endured a few bumps in the road to arguably the best pitcher of his generation.
In 2008, his first season in the Majors, Kershaw primarily deployed a fastball, which he used over 65 percent of the time, and a curveball that he had yet to master. The lack of command and pitch variety led to Kershaw posting the worst statistics of his career that year.
It wasn’t until the ensuing season where Kershaw tinkered with his arsenal and added his trustworthy slider to the fold. Kershaw revealed that he made the changes following the advice of former Dodgers manager Joe Torre and then-hitting coach Don Mattingly, via Jerry Crasnick of ESPN:
“Joe and Donnie were in there and basically said, ‘Look, if you’re not throwing your curveball for a strike, you have one pitch,'” Kershaw said. “They told me, ‘You need to figure something out.'”
Kershaw’s fastball and curveball usages have fluctuated by the year. Despite this, the 30-year-old still considers both breaking pitches as vital to his success:
“Two completely different grips,” Kershaw said of the slider and curve. “Two completely different thought processes, so that really helps me to differentiate between the two. I have to have both of them. I can’t just live off one or the other. I have to have both.”
In 2009, Kershaw’s first full year with the Dodgers, he utilized his slider just 5.6 percent of the time. By 2017, the three-time Cy Young Award winner threw his slider over 40 percent of the time — the second-highest usage of his career.
The 2018 season will be a crucial one for Kershaw and the Dodgers, as he’ll have the opportunity to opt out of his contract following the season and test free agency in the winter.
Before that situation plays out, Kershaw is simply focusing on the upcoming season. He’s “excited” to take the mound on Thursday, in what will be a franchise-record eighth consecutive Opening Day start for him.
