After another postseason nightmare, Clayton Kershaw (35) will be looking to move on next season, with some locals speculating that he may retire.
The Los Angeles Dodgers were eliminated from the Major League Baseball postseason with a 2-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 3 of the best-of-five National League Division Series at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A., on Tuesday (June 12).
The Dodgers, who had won 100 games in the regular season (62 losses), ended “fall baseball” on a somewhat hollow note.
Kershaw, the team’s franchise star, is slowing down. Kershaw was the favorite to start Game 1, but he had one of his worst outings of the season, giving up six runs with one out in the first inning. The Dodgers dropped games two and three, and Kershaw, who was scheduled to start game four, didn’t even get a chance to redeem himself.먹튀검증
Kershaw is one of the best starting pitchers in the game, with a career regular season record of 210-92 with a 2.48 ERA and three Cy Young Awards.
However, he has struggled in the postseason. In 39 postseason starts since his debut, Kershaw is 13-13 with a 4.49 ERA. He has a history of giving up big runs at key moments.
In the midst of this year’s nightmare, Kershaw has another decision to make: He’s signed a series of one-year, short-term deals with the Dodgers over the past two years and is eligible for free agency again this offseason.
Kershaw’s short-term deals are different from other star players. Instead of waiting a year and then trying to “hit the jackpot” again, he’s trying to decide whether to extend his career.
Last year, Kershaw was faced with the possibility of moving to his hometown team, the Texas Rangers, or retiring. After much deliberation, he signed with the Dodgers in March of that year.
This time around, the situation is similar to last year. He’s at a crossroads again.
“Kershaw has signed one-year deals in each of the past two offseasons to either rejoin his hometown team in Texas or give himself the flexibility to retire,” said the Los Angeles Times, “but the question now is whether he has any time left.”
Since returning from a shoulder injury in June, Kershaw has seen his fastball velocity decline and his pitches falter.
Even in Game 1 of the division series against Arizona, his lackluster command was exploited and opposing hitters were able to get one pitch after another. He’s also in his mid-30s, so some say he’s on an “aging curve.
However, Kershaw hasn’t opened up about his future just yet. “I don’t know how I’m going to answer that yet. I think it’s going to take me a little longer to figure it out than it did last year.”