When star pitcher Clayton Kershaw hit the market after the World Series, the league-wide expectation was that he was going to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the only team he has pitched for in his entire career.
After testing the market and flirting with his hometown Texas Rangers, he ended up re-signing to stay in Los Angeles: a one-year, $17 million pact.
In the end, the Dodgers needed him to come back: there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding Trevor Bauer, Dustin May still isn’t healthy, and Max Scherzer signed elsewhere.
The star left-hander has an awful lot to play for: he wants a second World Series ring, and he has some milestones to reach.
“Two huge milestones to look out for this season: Kershaw needs 15 wins to get to 200 career wins. Clayton Kershaw needs only 27 strike outs to become the all time Dodgers leader in strikeouts,” Dodgers Talk tweeted.
Two huge milestones to look out for this season
Kershaw needs 15 wins to get to 200 career wins
Clayton Kershaw needs only 27 strike outs to become the all time Dodgers leader in strike outs
🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐 pic.twitter.com/7h51MRw7tT
— Dodgers Talk (@LaDodgersTalk) March 28, 2022
Kershaw, currently 34, has 185 career wins and, if he is healthy, has a good chance of reaching 200 wins near the end of the season.
If if doesn’t happen this year, then it will be next season.
The Future Strikeout King In Los Angeles
Additionally, the former Cy Young and MVP award winner is four or five solid games away from taking the Dodgers’ all-time strikeout crown.
That is actually the coolest milestone at Kershaw’s reach in 2022.
He currently has 2,670 strikeouts, enough to rank him second all-time in the Dodgers’ history.
Don Sutton, the leader, has 2,696 punchouts.
Kershaw pitched 121.2 innings last year, and had a 3.55 ERA, showing he can still pitch at an elite level.
He had some health scares with his elbow that cost him a portion of the year.
If he is healthy, however, he has a good shot at some pretty cool numbers.
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