Tuesday, June 6, marks the 10-year anniversary of the Los Angeles Dodgers drafting Clayton Kershaw. In the decade since, Kershaw has broken records, won numerous awards and exceeded even the wildest expectations set for him.
Yet, that moment in time in 2006 nearly played out very differently. Today, we look back at how Clayton Kershaw became a Dodger…
A Little Bit of History
Clayton Kershaw was not destined to be a Dodger It took a few important events to angle the Texas lefty into LA’s grasps, with the first occurring in the 2005 First Year Player Draft.
The Dodgers didn’t have their first rounder that year as they’d surrendered it to Boston in exchange for signing free agent pitcher Derek Lowe. Los Angeles wouldn’t have had a first round pick at all had it not been for Adrian Beltre leaving for Seattle.
The Dodgers would have picked up the Mariners’ first rounder, but since it was in the top 10, it was protected. Instead, the Dodgers got a compensation pick — 40th overall selection — as well as Seattle’s second rounder.
Heading into draft day, teams’ draft boards became clearer. The top prospects had emerged and the event began. But there was one player who began falling down draft boards: University of Tennessee right-hander Luke Hochevar’s.
Hochevar had been seen as a top-10 talent, but high bonus demands from his “advisor,” Scott Boras, caused his stock to plummet on draft day. The Dodgers, picking low in the first round, felt compelled to take a chance on the talented righty and selected him 40th overall.
The organization knew the hurler wouldn’t be an easy sign, as Boras generally has outrageous demands for his clients; in this case, a Major League contract. The process would seemingly be a long, drawn-out ordeal that came down to the wire when, unexpectedly, Hochevar dropped Boras as his agent and agreed to a $2.98 million bonus.
The Dodgers were elated and sent an area scout to hand-deliver the contract to him. However, when the scout arrived, Hochevar was nowhere to be seen. He disappeared, resurfacing three days later, again being advised by Boras, and decided not to sign the contract, demanding a Major League deal instead.
CONTINUE READING: Kershaw begins to make name for himself
Crème of the Crop
As the Dodgers continued to try to sign their 2005 first-rounder into the following year, baseball was being played. While Hochevar went on to pitch in an independent league in the spring of 2006, a high school lefty in Texas was skyrocketing up draft boards.
Highland Park southpaw Clayton Kershaw had been a fairly well-regarded prep prospect going into his senior season. He had a fastball that ranged from 88-92 mph and a big, lazy curveball. His delivery was unconventional, featuring a pause after his leg lift.
He was seen as being projectable and perhaps a second- or third-rounder. Then Kershaw’s senior season rolled around.
What had been an ordinary fastball shot up into the low-to-mid 90s, and the curveball became an outstanding offering. Evaluators began moving him into the first round, even into the top 10, and one team was seen the favorite to land him: the Detroit Tigers, who picked one spot ahead of the Dodgers.
The Tigers hadn’t shied away from high-ceiling prospects. They took a hard-throwing but wild right-hander in Justin Verlander with the No. 2 pick in 2004 and a raw, five-tool center fielder in Cameron Maybin in 2005.
Both players cost quite a bit of money and Detroit wasn’t afraid to spend whatever it takes to get the player they wanted. Another top lefty in the draft was the University of North Carolina’s Andrew Miller.
The 6’6 sidewinder threw in the mid 90s with a nasty slider. The slider was so good that more than one right-handed batter struck out swinging at the pitch before it hit him in his back leg. Miller was seen as an early contender for the No. 1 pick, but as the draft drew nearer, the future became cloudier for the Tar Heel.
CONTINUE READING: Lucky break alters the course of history
A Tale of Two Lefties
After Hochevar’s disappearing act, it became less and less likely that he would sign with the Dodgers. Negotiations continued, but the 2006 draft was fast-approaching and both the pitcher and club were getting ready to move on.
Hochevar filed to re-enter the draft and, after a year of waiting, his decision not to sign with the Dodgers would seemingly pay off. The Kansas City Royals, who held the first pick, were in negotiations with Boras for a Major League contract for the right-hander.
With just days remaining until the event, it seemed like a deal would get done. And, on draft day, before the festivities began, the deal was completed. Hochevar would be the first overall pick, signing his desired Major League contract, a four-year deal that could be worth up to $7 million.
But where did that leave Miller, the presumptive top talent in the draft class? As Hochevar finally got the contract he desired, Miller was in draft purgatory. Rumors began swirling that, like Hochevar before him, Miller was demanding too much money and would similarly find himself dropping down draft boards.
As the draft began, the first pick was announced: The Kansas City Royals select Luke Hochevar. The long, national nightmare was over. The next three picks had been predetermined as well.
The Colorado Rockies took Stanford right-hander Greg Reynolds, Tampa Bay Devil Rays chose Long Beach State third baseman Evan Longoria, and Pittsburgh Pirates selected University of Houston righty Brad Lincoln.
Suddenly, Miller, the presumptive top pick, was in danger of falling out of the top five. The Mariners were up next and looking at pitchers, but decided Miller was too rich for their blood.
Instead, they drafted Brandon Morrow, a right-hander out of the University of California-Berkeley. Now, it was simply a matter of how far Miller would fall. Would he fall out of the first round completely? Would he even be drafted? Would he have to return to North Carolina or play in Indy ball?
The Tigers were on the clock. The entire spring they had been all-in on Kershaw. And all spring I had been dreading this moment. The moment when Kershaw, the player I wanted the Dodgers to draft, would slip just beyond their fingertips.
It was alright, though. Los Angeles was set to take Bryan Morris, a right-hander who had pitched a season of Junior College ball under the tutelage of his father. He had a good fastball and a hard breaking ball. Morris would be a fine consolation prize.
This was the last year before the draft was televised. The only way to follow it live in previous years was to listen to the conference call over which the draft took place. It was thrilling.
In 2006 they had a radio show, with MLB experts Jonathan Mayo and Allan Simpson breaking down the picks, while Casey Stern hosted. Jimmie Lee Solomon, MLB’s Executive vice president of baseball operations, announced the picks live.
The Tigers pick was in. I was melancholy, thinking of how close the Dodgers would come to getting Kershaw only to be one pick too late. And then I heard Solomon’s voice and resigned myself to the inevitable.
“With the sixth pick in the 2006 draft, the Detroit Tigers select…” I began mouthing the name ‘Clayton Kershaw.’ But then, something amazing happened. Something completely unexpected and impossible. I was wrong.
“Andrew Miller, left-handed pitcher, University of North Carolina,” Solomon said. I couldn’t believe my ears. My mouth hung agape. My eyes were as wide as saucers. I was completely speechless. The show cut back to the studio and Mayo and Simpson expressed their surprise at the pick. No one knew the Tigers were going to take Miller until the moment the pick was made.
My mind began racing. “What do the Dodgers do now?” I thought to myself. They had been pretty heavy on Morris, who wasn’t considered a top 10 pick but was thought of as a first rounder. If the Dodgers take Kershaw here, could they still get Morris with their next pick?
The Dodgers had three picks in the top 31, the second of which was at No. 26. “If they take Kershaw here and Morris falls to pick 26, that would be unreal,” I thought.
Just as I was trying to figure out what the Dodgers were trying to do, I heard someone on the radio show say the Dodgers had just used their 30 second extension. The picks were coming in pretty quickly.
No commercial breaks, no in-person interviews. It was basically rapid-fire. And when I heard the Dodgers were using their extension, I thought to myself, “They’re thinking the same thing I’m thinking.”
The pick came in. Jimmie Lee Solomon came back on the radio. I prepared myself for something unbelievable.
“With the seventh pick in the 2006 draft, the Dodgers select Clayton Kershaw.” I screamed. I threw my hands up in the air. I pumped my fists. I laughed. I was overjoyed.
CONTINUE READING: Kershaw’s quick rise through the Minors
And The Rest…
The Dodgers were able to snag Morris at No. 26. Then they picked up a familiar name at No. 31 — Preston Mattingly. In the 14th round they took a high school righty named Alex White, but he didn’t sign.
He’d go on to replace Andrew Miller at North Carolina and become a first-rounder three years later. In the 49th round (out of 50), Los Angeles took a flier on a high school first baseman who ended up going to college and proceeded to become one of the best first basemen in the game: Paul Goldschmidt.
But, they got Kershaw. That’s all I wanted. I never thought it would happen but it did. He was sent off to the Gulf Coast League, a rookie level league where teenagers try to figure out how to hit breaking balls or throw strikes.
Kershaw dominated, posting a 1.95 ERA in 10 games with 54 strikeouts compared to just five walks. A sign of things to come.
There was his season with the Great Lakes Loons in 2007. When asked what a “Loon” was, he was quoted as saying, “A loon is a loon, I suppose.” Then the promotion to Double-A.
Then there was the unforgettable 2008 Spring Training at-bat against Sean Casey, where “Public Enemy No. 1” was born. Finally, fewer than two years after being drafted, Kershaw made his Major League debut — at Dodger Stadium no less — on May 25, 2008.
And the rest is history.