Clayton Kershaw and the shadow of the perfect game

Perfect until the seventh inning, Clayton Kershaw was released by his manager, when he only had six batsmen left to withdraw to achieve a perfect game. Decision accepted by the player, but which raises the eternal debate between individual performance and collective performance.

Last night Clayton Kershaw kicked off his season in the best possible way. For his first start of 2022, the triple Cy Young and MVP of the National League in 2014 was intractable facing Minnesota. In a Target Field Acquired to the cause of the Twins, Kershaw offered a real recital, releasing the twenty-one drummers who faced him. Thirteen of them even came out of this face-to-face being strikeout by the Texas. An XXL performance finally stopped by Dave Roberts, who preferred to send Alex Vesia then Justin Bruihl on the mound to secure the victory. The choice of security, to the detriment of the spectacle.

Lucky 13 Ks for Kershaw in his 2022 debut. pic.twitter.com/HikWrlDINJ

— MLB (@MLB) April 13, 2022

Deprived of history…

Recalling Clayton Kershaw as he headed for a perfect game, the Dodgers manager potentially deprived him of a historic performance. Indeed, by preventing him from going to the end of the game when he had not allowed any of the batsmen to go on base, the very definition of the said perfect gameRoberts closed the doors of a very closed circle to his picther. In MLB history, only twenty-three players have achieved such a performance, including many legends like Cy Young, Sandy Koufax or, more recently, Roy Halladay.

This performance, which has not been performed since Philip Humber (Chicago White Sox), Matt Cain (San Francisco Giants) and Félix Hernández (Seattle Mariners) in 2012, would have reinforced the legend of Clayton Kershaw a little more. Already made history, especially for his extraordinary 2014 season, and with a place in Cooperstown which seems already reserved for him, he could have become the second Dodger to achieve such a performance, after the perfect game de Koufax 1965. At the same time, he could have afforded a second no-hitterafter the one he made in 2014 against the Colorado Rockies. But it turned out otherwise, which the player immediately accepted and taken philosophically : « In the end, it’s just individual things, it’s selfish goals […] Of course, I would have loved to achieve such a performance, but maybe I will have another chance to do it, who knows? ».

… but a logical choice

And if Clayton Kershaw reacted in this way, it is also because, as he said himself at the end of the meeting, his manager surely took ” the best decision ». Hampered by a left forearm injury last season and treated last October with an injection of platelet-rich plasma, the pitcher knew that it was more reasonable for him not to take any risks at the start of the season. ” He is rather understanding and understands where he was, how he felt, what came into play, namely the victory, his no-hitter, the potential risk to his health; all of this had to be considered confided Dave Roberts. ” There is no right choice, 100% sure, but, in this specific case, I feel like it was pretty clear that it was the decision to make ».

To all this, we must also add the context in which this season has been prepared. Long uncertain because of lockout, the 2022 financial year saw its preparation truncated, like the Spring Training which was greatly shortened. ” Put the blame on the lockout, put the blame on me, didn’t touch a baseball until January Kershaw outbid, as if to defend his manager on the difficult decision he had to make. ” My slider was horrible in the last two innings; it no longer had the same impact. It was time to leave my place ».

Nevertheless, it remains relevant to question the said decision of Dave Roberts, and its precedents in the face of similar situations. In the dugout of the Dodgers since 2016, the Naha, Japan native had already played it safe in his first season as Los Angeles manager. On Ross Stripling’s debut in April 2016, he took him out in the eighth inning as he headed for a no-hitter. Five months later, he was just as conservative with Rich Hill, released, like Clayton Kershaw, after seven perfect rounds. To a lesser extent, he had also, in 2018, recalled Walker Buehler during his third start in career after five sets without conceding the slightest hit.

Prioritizing the team over performance, that’s the credo that Dave Roberts seems to respect in this kind of situation. Yesterday, in Minnesota, his Dodgers led 3-0 after the seventh inning, and even 6-0 when Clayton Kershaw could have returned to the mound. The end result, victory, seemed assured, and Roberts would have risked nothing by letting Kershaw try to go to the end, even if it meant taking him out on his first hit conceded. However, the health of the thirty-four-year-old player seemed to take precedence over his historic performance, a choice for the future of the Dodgers, in order to be sure to be able to count on his star for the next meetings. Too conservative or not, the perfect game by Clayton Kershaw was therefore ultimately spoiled to preserve his future. A wise decision that nevertheless creates a new what if ? and which prevents the player from becoming the twenty-fourth player in history to achieve such a feat.

.@ClaytonKersh22 was brilliant with 7 perfect innings. pic.twitter.com/tPTYm559g0

— MLB (@MLB) April 13, 2022

Seven perfect rounds and then gone, that’s what Clayton Kershaw’s night was all about. Launched for a perfect game, the Texan was released to avoid any injury, a difficult but fair choice on the part of his manager Dave Roberts. A lack of risk-taking, but a good omen for the rest of the 30-year-old season after a year marked by physical glitches.

Feature image credit: David Berding/Getty Images