Los Angeles Dodgers‘ star pitcher Clayton Kershaw had what it looked like the opportunity of his life: he had pitched seven perfect innings against the Minnesota Twins.
He was at 80 pitches, though, and with this being the first start of his season, manager Dave Roberts decided to take the ball out of his hands before being put in an even harder scenario.
Predictably, the decision started off a hot debate on Twitter about what Roberts should have done.
Most people think he should have left him on the mound in his quest for history.
Only 23 perfect games have been thrown in MLB, the most recent being Felix Hernandez‘s in 2012.
Kershaw has achieved a lot of things in his career, but not a perfect game.
David Cone Went Through A Similar Situation
About what happened today, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale shared an interesting story, about the owner of one of the 23 perfect games in the league: David Cone.
“Kershaw decision triggers memories of David Cone’s 1st start after missing 4 months to remove an aneurysm in Sept. 1996. He had a no-hitter through 7 innings when #Yankees manager Joe Torre pulled him after 85 pitches. Cone said after the game that he agreed with the move (more),” he tweeted.
Nightengale continued, in another tweet: “David Cone said: ‘I appreciate that they took me out of the game. It’s more important for us to get to the playoffs and the World Series.’ Won’t surprise a soul if Clayton Kershaw shares the same sentiments today considering he was injured and missed last year’s postseason,” he wrote.
David Cone said: ‘I appreciate that they took me out of the game. It's more important for us to get to the playoffs and the World Series.’’
Won’t surprise a soul if Clayton Kershaw shares the same sentiments today considering he was injured and missed last year’s postseason https://t.co/h0jmALGz2V— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) April 13, 2022
Baseball gave Cone the chance to get his perfect game three years later, in 1999.
Will Kershaw have a similar opportunity?
NEXT: Clayton Kershaw Comments On Getting Pulled From His Perfect Game