Since being selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2006 MLB Draft, Clayton Kershaw has been a trusted staple of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization and starting rotation.
With over a decade of experience under his belt, the left-hander has routinely raised the bar for his counterparts around the league. Among his everlasting list of accolades include three Cy Young Awards, five ERA titles and 2014 National League MVP honors.
The 2018 season is Kershaw’s 11th in the Majors and first since turning 30 years old, leading some to wonder how much longer he’ll continue pitching at an elite level.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes Kershaw has remained effective due in part to being being more open than ever to suggestions and advice, per Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“We can use the word ‘flexible,’ yeah,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the adjustments Kershaw has made over the past few years. “He’s as stubborn a guy as I’ve ever been around. But that’s a good thing. I don’t know what it’s like to be a great player. He’s great. You’ve really got to be convincing when somebody has had so much success doing it one way to convince him otherwise. He’s been a lot more open over the years.”
As Roberts notes, it’s always difficult to convince an elite athlete such as Kershaw to change his approach after years of dominating the competition. For the left-hander, his hand was essentially forced because of reoccurring back injuries dating back to the 2016 season.
Kershaw has seen his velocity drop as a result, paving the way for less reliance on his fastball and more on off-speed pitches.
He was again hampered by another back issue at the start of June, but has since returned to form in the second half. In 12 starts during that span, Kershaw owns a 6-1 record, 2.34 ERA and 0.97 WHIP across 80.2 innings pitched with 73 strikeouts against 12 walks.
Still, Kershaw doesn’t think he’s evolved as a pitcher in 2018. He attributes his success as of late to simply making better pitches.
