Clayton Kershaw grateful for ‘weird’ All-Star | College News
MILWAUKEE — Clayton Kershaw has been an All-Star 10 occasions before.
But no choice stunned him fairly like this yr’s.
Included on the National League All-Star group as a “Legend Pick” by Commissioner Rob Manfred in recognition of his profession accomplishments, Kershaw didn’t get any advance warning from Manfred or anybody in the league workplace that he can be in the “Midsummer Classic.”
When supervisor Dave Roberts gathered his Dodgers group to announce the membership’s All-Star picks on Sunday, Kershaw forgot that the “Legend Pick” — which has been used in the previous for gamers such as Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera — was even a factor.
Thus, when Roberts introduced Kershaw’s title, the 37-year-old was caught more than a little off-guard — having made just 9 begins this season since returning from offseason toe and knee surgical procedures.
“Obviously, I don’t deserve to get to go this season, haven’t pitched very much,” he deadpanned. “I don’t know if Doc was going for the surprise factor or not. But I had no idea until he said it.”
But by Monday, the meaningfulness of what he described as a “tremendous honor” had also set in, with Kershaw expressing gratitude for what can be his eleventh profession choice, tied for probably the most among lively gamers with Mike Trout.
“You never take for granted getting to go to an All-Star Game, regardless of the circumstances,” Kershaw stated. “At the end of the day, it’s weird but cool, so I’m just going to enjoy it.”
While Kershaw’s restricted workload would usually not warrant an All-Star choice, his stats haven’t been too far off that tempo this yr: A 4-0 report, 3.43 ERA and 1.254 WHIP in what is the 18th season of his future Hall of Fame profession.
“I think there’s some good and some bad,” Kershaw stated of his season so far. “I wouldn’t say happy, but I wouldn’t say disappointed either. I would say kind of right in the middle.”
The spotlight of the marketing campaign, of course, got here in Kershaw’s final begin, when he grew to become the twentieth pitcher in MLB historical past to report 3,000 profession strikeouts.
But at this stage of his profession, Kershaw’s actual satisfaction has been with his health — finally previous the assorted back, elbow, shoulder, knee and toe accidents that had plagued him over the final a number of seasons.
“I think the biggest thing is just the mental toll [that takes on you],” Kershaw stated. “Anyone that has been dealing with stuff, I think it’s always in the back of your head. You wake up and you test it and you move around and you test it to see if it hurts, see how bad it hurts. [Now], instead of wondering if you can pitch, it’s just a matter of how you’re going to pitch. I don’t think I took into appreciation the mental toll that takes over time. So to just worry about pitching is nice, for sure.”
It has also allowed Kershaw “to get the reps and go back out and be able to feel OK in between starts to work on some stuff,” he stated. “Figure out some different things mechanically and pitch-wise and stuff.”
Long-term, Kershaw still hasn’t determined if this can be his last season.
“I don’t know what is going to happen in the future,” he stated. “I really have no idea when it comes to the years beyond this one. So I’m just trying to enjoy it, be part of a really good team this year.”
When it comes to next week’s All-Star Game, he isn’t even sure if he’ll pitch in the showcase exhibition, which can be held at Truist Park in Atlanta.
“I’d love to pitch but I don’t want to take an inning away from somebody who’s never done it before or this is their first year or whatever,” he stated. “I’ll enjoy just to hang or pitch or whatever.”
On Monday, Kershaw’s focus was as an alternative on his last begin of the first half: A scheduled Tuesday outing against the Milwaukee Brewers and their 23-year-old rookie starlet, Jacob Misiorowski.
Kershaw, 14 years Misiorowski’s senior, laughed when requested what it’s like to be the elder statesman in such high-profile matchups now.
“I saw a couple highlights [of him], know he throws hard,” Kershaw stated. “But so does everybody. Except me.”
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