When Los Angeles Dodgers star left-hander Clayton Kershaw was pulled after seven perfect innings on just 80 pitches, many people, fans and media members alike, began to question manager Dave Roberts on his decision to remove his ace from the game.
Those who have questioned the move have cited that Kershaw had a chance at making history on Wednesday and that he was ultimately robbed of accomplishing that.
Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson took to Twitter to voice his opinion, and let’s just say he was not happy with Roberts’ decision to pull his ace after seven innings, sending a message to those who have never played baseball before and telling them to stay away from the game.
Clayton Kershaw Perfect game 80 pitches, take him OUT !!!!! WHAT THE! what’s the game coming to?1 of the era’s best, and you take him out with a perfect game in the 7th, 7-0 Dodgers winning. Take him OUT! THIS IS BASEBALL PLEASE PEOPLE THAT HAVE NEVER PLAYED GET OUT OF ITS WAY
— Reggie Jackson (@mroctober) April 13, 2022
Mr. October Has Spoken
Obviously, this decision was made based on what analytics say about such matters, and Kershaw has struggled with his health over the past few seasons.
There was also a lockout that put everything on hold for 99 days.
That said, Kershaw still seemed to have plenty left in the tank.
Roberts was just trying to play it safe, but Kershaw could have easily finished what he started.
He had a chance at history and was ultimately robbed of it, which is disappointing to see, as Kershaw has yet to throw a perfect game in his career.
Mr. October is preaching to the choir with his Twitter rant.
Though it is smart to preserve somebody’s arm, baseball has seemingly gone down the rabbit hole with things such as analytics, with managers making their decisions based purely on what the analytics say is the right thing to do.
We’ll see if Kershaw gets another chance to throw a perfect game soon.
NEXT: Baseball Coach Has Unique Take On The Clayton Kershaw Drama