Tag: Clayton Kershaw

MLB fans can’t believe the Dodgers are on the brink of elimination vs. the surprising Diamondbacks

The Dodgers are on the brink.

Holy bad baseball, Batman. It’s ugly! Cover your eyes, Los Angeles Dodgers fans.

The Dodgers have a loaded roster filled with absolutely filthy baseball players. It’s hard not to like the talent they have: Clayton Kershaw, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, Will Smith, and the list goes on. (Seriously, this team is unfair!)

The team has won ten division titles in a row dating back to 2013 and won a World Series in 2020. However, the Dodgers often cannot get out of their way. Meltdowns and the Dodgers are nearly synonymous.

For example, after winning a franchise-record 111 games, they were eliminated in the 2022 National League Division Series (NLDS) by the San Diego Padres, a team they went 14-5 against during the regular season.

It’s deja vu, as the Arizona Diamondbacks have surprised the Dodgers (we tried to tell you) and the baseball world in the 2023 NLDS with a commanding 2-0 lead as the series heads back to Arizona.

Dodgers and MLB fans expect greatness, but they’re all getting sadness. Rightfully so, they are tweeting through it, even though the Dodgers could still come back.

I am sending thoughts and good vibes and highlighting reels of better days to fans everywhere.

David Bednar does the classiest gesture for Clayton Kershaw after replacing Dodgers pitcher in All-Star Game

This was so classy.

David Bednar was among the MLB All-Star snubs after rosters were announced on Sunday.

The Pittsburgh Pirates closer is having one heck of a season, but it turns out he’ll actually be joining the rest of the league’s best in Seattle because Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is injured.

With the Dodgers and Pirates playing on Tuesday, Bednar did the classiest thing: He put some Iron City Lights in a cooler and left a note: “Mr. Kershaw, Pittsburgh’s finest beer! Enjoy!”

How nice is that? The nicest. A class act right there. I’m sure Kershaw was grateful for the gesture.

Also, check out why he used that beer: He got a 12 pack after being named to the team:

Awesome all around.

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Clayton Kershaw is so good that he threw a strike with a pitch that bounced well before the plate

This totally fooled Profar.

Clayton Kershaw is, as you know, an incredible pitcher, an all-time great of a lefty who throws curveballs that blow minds.

The future Hall of Famer was on the hill Wedneday night in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 5-3 loss to the San Diego Padres in their NLDS playoff series. And while facing Jurickson Profar, he threw a 75 MPH pitch that dived … many feet in front of the plate.

Profar swung at it, looking foolish. But when you’re facing Kershaw and maybe you think a fastball is coming or something, maybe you swing.

Check out the pitch and the reaction to it:

The Dodgers falling short of a World Series title would be one of the biggest letdowns in sports

After a historical season, anything less than a title would be a major disappointment.

It seems so long ago. In reality it was just a few months, April to be exact. I placed a bet on the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the 2022 World Series.

The bet wasn’t anything big, just a little action to stay invested in the baseball season. Then I proceeded to pay attention to every sport but baseball.

It was an informed bet, though. The Dodgers were just two years removed from a title and had the second-largest payroll in baseball (when has that ever mattered). I knew a lot of the names at just about every position: Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger, Trea Turner, Clayton Kershaw. And they even added Freddie Freeman, who helped beat them in last year’s NLCS.

Then, I got lost in the NBA playoffs, and NHL playoffs, a whole WNBA season, the NFL came back, and next thing you know my little bet was forgotten about… That is until now, 162 games later. The exciting MLB playoffs are finally upon us. And whaddya know, the Dodgers finished the year with the best record in baseball. They remain the favorites to be the last team standing with +300 odds at BetMGM. Now it’s time to finish the job.

LA has consistently been one of the best teams in the majors since 2013, winning the NL West nine out of 10 years, reaching the pennant in six years and winning it three times. This year marks the fourth time in that span the Dodgers have won more than 100 games, and they also had the best record in baseball in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Yet, all they have to show for all of that regular-season success is a single World Series championship.

Falling short this year wouldn’t just be a major letdown to my little, petty bet, it’ll be a major letdown to everyone involved. The Dodgers dominated this season and have by far the largest scoring margin in the majors (+334) to show for it. Their 111 wins are a franchise record and second-most in National League history behind the 1906 Cubs. That’s not a typo, they have the most wins in the NL since 1906!

Their pitching staff leads the majors in ERA and ranks fifth in strikeouts. Their offense leads the majors in runs batted in and ranks top five in batting average and home runs. They’re even second in FanGraphs’ defensive runs saved metric and ninth in stolen bases. This team literally doesn’t have a weakness. Which brings us back to the postseason.

The Dodgers’ NLDS opponent will be determined after the Wild Card round, which begins Friday. It might be the Mets (+700), it might be the Padres (+2800). No matter who it is, the Dodgers will be favored. And it won’t be enough for them to simply advance one round. They need to win a World Series this year, or all of those stats we just went over mean literally nothing. They only make this season — and my pockets — all the more disappointing.

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Clayton Kershaw forgot how to throw the ball to first base and MLB fans had so many jokes

This error by Clayton Kershaw was too funny.

Clayton Kershaw is a 3-time Cy Young winner, a nine-time All-Star, and a one time MLB MVP but that doesn’t mean baseball – and throwing a baseball – always comes easy for the lefty.

Take what happened in Saturday night’s St. Louis Cardinals-Los Angeles Dodgers game in LA, for example. The future Hall of Famer fielded a ground ball and then tried to throw it to first base when disaster struck – he mishandled the ball and it ended up going behind him.

Kershaw was able to shake this off and get his 10th win of the season but this was pretty wild to see from such a great pitcher/player:

Whoops!

Twitter had jokes.

A young fan meeting Clayton Kershaw on behalf of his late grandfather was the best MLB All-Star moment

This was the best moment from the MLB All-Star Game.

Here’s a moment you’ve got to see from Tuesday night’s 2022 MLB All-Star Game … but it had nothing to do with what happened on the field at the Midsummer Classic.

After Clayton Kershaw pitched for the National League, he met with reporters. But right before he was set to leave, a 10-year-old named Blake Grice stood up to tell him something: His grandfather had died of brain cancer, but before he had, one of his lists of things he wanted his grandchildren to do was to meet Kershaw.

Kershaw’s reaction was terrific, telling Grice, “That took a lot of courage to tell me that.”

What a moment all around:

Next on his list: To meet the retired legendary Dodgers play-by-play man Vin Scully:

Just an incredible moment.

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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ favorite Clayton Kershaw moment is a very sweet one

We asked Dave Roberts for his favorite Clayton Kershaw moment… and the Dodgers manager’s answer was pretty great.

Dave Roberts has been the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2016, which means he and his ace pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, have spent a lot of time together and won a number of big games together.

So when I asked Roberts this week about what his favorite Clayton Kershaw moment has been it was interesting to find out it involved a game that the lefty didn’t even pitch in.

Roberts, who will be on the bench tonight at Dodger Stadium when Kershaw makes his first start in an All-Star Game, said he loves thinking about the time he saw Kershaw celebrating a World Series title in 2020:

That’s pretty awesome.

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2022 MLB All Star-Game best bets, MVP odds and predictions

The FTW Staff makes its predictions for the 2022 MLB All-Star Game

The 2022 MLB All-Star Game will open with the National League (-115) as a slight favorite over the American League (-105) at Tipico Sportsbook.

Considering the AL has won the Midsummer Classic for eight consecutive years—including six wins at NL ballparks during the streak—there might be some trepidation over backing the home team.

There’s also a new wrinkle this year bettors will want to pay attention to. If the two teams are still tied after nine innings of play, the regular extra innings rules will be eschewed in favor of a Home Run Derby consisting of three players from each side. That could complicate things for bettors who settle on the 1.5 run spread.

Los Angeles Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw is starting for the NL while Tampa Bay Rays ace Shane McClanahan gets the nod for the AL with first pitch slated for 8 p.m. ET on FOX.

The AL leads the all-time series, 46-43-2, and leads the all-time run-differential at 378-372.

Let’s run through some of the best bets and make a few predictions. All odds via Tipico Sportsbooks.

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Clayton Kershaw es el nuevo rey de los ponches en L.A.

Hazte a un lado Don Sutton, hay un nuevo rey de los ponches en L.A. 2,697 ponches y contando para Clayton Kershaw.

Hazte a un lado Don Sutton, hay un nuevo rey de los ponches en Los Ángeles.

Clayton Kershaw rompió el récord de Sutton anoche, sacándole una ventaja de 4 ñonches. Lo rompió con el ponche numero 2,697 de su carrera.

Ya todos sabíamos que Kershaw es uno de los mejores jugadores que se ha puesto el uniforme de los Dodgers. Ahora, ha quedado confirmado con su liderazgo de ponches en la historia de la franquicia.

Traducción: EL REY. ¡Felicidades, @ClaytonKersh22 , por ser el líder de ponches de todos los tiempos en la historia de los Dodgers!

Los Dodgers también publicaron un video con leyendas de los Dodgers felicitando a Kershaw por este logro.

Traducción: Mensajes especiales para #22.

Lo único que arruinó esta noche histórica fue la derrota del equipo. Kershaw rompió un récord, pero los Detroit Tigers les ganaron a los Dodgers 5-1.

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Clayton Kershaw lanzó 7 entradas perfectas, lo retiraron y nos explica por qué está bien

El pitcher de los Dodgers Clayton Kershaw ya ha tenido un juego sin hits en su carrera en las grandes ligas, pero un juego perfecto hubiera sido el verdadero logro para su currículum para Cooperstown. Sin embargo, Kershaw estuvo OK con dejar pasar …

El pitcher de los Dodgers Clayton Kershaw ya ha tenido un juego sin hits en su carrera en las grandes ligas, pero un juego perfecto hubiera sido el verdadero logro para su currículum para Cooperstown. Sin embargo, Kershaw estuvo OK con dejar pasar una oportunidad de oro para ese juego perfecto.

Durante el partido del miércoles contra los Minnesota Twins, Kershaw estaba lanzando con todo. Lanzó siete entradas perfectas con 13 ponches en 80 lanzamientos. Quedó a solo seis outs de hacer historia, pero los Dodgers prefirieron recurrir al bullpen.

El relevista Alex Vesia terminó permitiendo un hit y dio una base por bola, así que la apuesta para tener un juego perfecto o un juego sin hits terminó en la octava entrada. Y mientras que los fans de la MLB estaban molestos sobre la decisión de retirar a Kershaw, el jugador estrella de los Dodgers pareció estar de acuerdo con la decisión. Después del juego, que ganaron 7-0, explicó por qué a los reporteros.

Traducción: “Me hubiera encantado quedarme, pero hay cosas más grandes, cosas más grandes”.
Clayton Kershaw sobre sacarlo del partido tras 7 entradas perfectas.

 

Kershaw dijo:

“Fue duro. Me sentí mal por (el catcher Austin Barnes). Hizo un gran trabajo y es divertido cachar uno de esos. Así que quería hacerlo con Barnesey. Hubiera sido especial. Pero al final del día, todo eso son cosas individuales. Son metas egoístas. Estamos intentando ganar y es justo para eso que estamos aquí. Y por mucho que me hubiera gustado hacerlo, en un juego simulado había tenido 75 lanzamientos en un juego simulado, no había llegado a seis entradas, mucho menos siete. Y claro, me hubiera encantado hacerlo. Tal vez tengamos otra oportunidad, nunca se sabe… Me hubiera encantado quedarme, pero hay cosas más grandes, cosas más grandes.”.

El paro laboral de la MLB y un entrenamiento de primavera más corto hicieron que Kershaw, y muchos otros pitchers, no tuvieran su típico tiempo de preparación. Kershaw dijo que solo había tenido 75 lanzamientos en un juego simulado para entrenar recientemente. Así que mientras admitió que le hubiera encantada hacer historia, está bien con que Dave Roberts tenga en mente lo más importante para una temporada larga.

Es el tipo de perspectiva que no vemos muy a menudo cuando te enfrentas a la posibilidad de la perfección.

 

Artículo traducido por Ana Lucía Toledo

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