Clayton Kershaw is a lock to one day enter the Baseball Hall of Fame, and he reached another historic milestone on Tuesday as he led the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-0 win against the New York Mets.
It was a much-needed victory for the Dodgers to put them back at .500 after struggling their previous 10 games, but the night will be remembered forever for Kershaw.
On the final pitch he threw, Kershaw moved into 22nd place on MLB’s all-time strikeouts list with 2,833. And when the final out of the game was recorded, Kershaw reached 200 career wins.
“It just means we’ve been on great teams,” Kershaw said about his milestone. “I think that’s ultimately what a win signifies. It’s just over the course of the last basically 10-11 years now, we’ve gone to the playoffs, we’ve had great teams.
“There’s been a lot of pitchers that have pitched well, but maybe not have the team behind them to get those kind of wins. So just reflecting on that, just thankful for being a part of great teams. I mean, I think that’s what tonight signifies for me, is just looking back at all the different groups of guys that I’ve gotten to play with over the years.
“And maybe it hasn’t ended the way we want it to the postseason, but ultimately, winning all those games with those groups is special.
“And I think this one is going to be the same. I think it’s going to be really special. And the guys had a toast for me in the locker room, which was really cool. And people even said some stuff that made me uncomfortable, which was great. So yeah, being able to celebrate with your teammates, different accomplishments is really, really special.”
Only 121 pitchers in MLB history have reached the 200-wins mark, and Kershaw is one of four active pitchers with that total as he joined Justin Verlander, along with his former teammates Zack Greinke and Max Scherzer.
“It’s hard to imagine the company that he’s in, and it took a lot of hard work,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “For us to be a part of it and watch it happen in real-time is really special.
“Certainly, it’s individual in the sense that it’s 200 wins. It’s something that very few have ever achieved or will ever achieve. But Clayton even said it’s a compilation of a lot of very good teams he’s been a part of, and that just shows his humility.”
Recording the milestone at Dodger Stadium was special for Kershaw because of the its historical significance and being with the more than 45,000 home fans.
But it also allowed his wife Ellen and their children, who got to “stay up late and maybe play a little hooky from school,” to be at the game. Kershaw noted it was “really, really special to have them here and be able to see it.”
“I think after the last one, Ellen was trying to decide whether to stay or go back home to school,” he said. “So I think we started kind of thinking about it then. And I told her well, it’s not a guarantee, but she stayed, which I’m thankful for.”
The 35-year-old pitched seven shutout innings while giving up three hits and striking out nine to earn the win. After the game was over, Austin Barnes, who was behind the plate, and Freddie Freeman led a champagne toast in the clubhouse.
“It’s a special, special accomplishment. He’s a special pitcher,” Barnes said. “He’s not even really that old, but he’s been doing it for a long time.
“He’s been pitching a lot, he has a lot of miles, and he’s thrown a lot of big games. And he takes pride in going deep into games, and that’s kind of a lost art these days… But like I said, I can’t say enough good things about him.”
Clayton Kershaw not expecting to reach 300 wins
While Kershaw has checked off another milestone, 300 wins has been the total Hall-of-Fame pitchers have strived to reach historically, with 24 players accomplishing the feat.
However, the game has changed and it seems unlikely a pitcher will benchmark that mark again, so 200 wins can essentially be viewed as the new 300.
“Y’all can look at it however you want,” Kershaw said. “I just know that 300 sounds like a lot. I don’t think I’m going to get there. So I think 200 is really cool and I’m excited about that. Yeah, it doesn’t feel like 300 is very doable right now.
“So just all the more impressive to the people that did that before me. Yeah, maybe the game’s changed. I don’t know, but thankfully, I don’t have to think about that stuff.”
As the press conference was ending, SportsNet LA reporter Kirsten Watson told Kershaw they did the math, and it would take about eight more seasons to reach 300 wins at his current pace.
“Yeah, I’m out on that one,” Kershaw joked as he stood up from his seat. “I’m out. Thank you all.”
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