KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On May 25, 2008, a 20-year-old Clayton Kershaw (wearing uniform No. 54) made his major-league debut and struck out the first batter he faced, Skip Schumaker.
The players who would be his teammates 2,996 strikeouts later were busy with other things.
“I would have been 6 or 7 years old. Early grade school for me,” Dodgers rookie catcher Dalton Rushing said.
“Well, I was 9 years old. Third grade, fourth grade – I might have visited D.C. with my class (that year),” said rookie left-hander Jack Dreyer (39 career strikeouts). “That was a long time ago.”
“Middle school?” Alex Vesia (335 career strikeouts) said with a smile.
“I was in eighth grade,” said Anthony Banda (188 career strikeouts) after some mental calculations.
“Seventh grade? I think,” said Michael Kopech (453 career strikeouts), who grew up in the Dallas area like Kershaw.
“I feel like I’ve watched Kersh my whole life,” Kopech said. “I think he had a brief stint with a summer team that I ended up playing for. So he was always a name that I knew, even before everyone knew him as Clayton Kershaw.
“I watched him for a really long time. Now to share a clubhouse with him and watch him go off with a blaze of glory or whatever, it’s really cool. I’m really grateful. He’s a great guy, great teammate and one of the best to ever do it – if not the best.”
When Kershaw takes the mound for his 223rd career regular-season start at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night (the most by any pitcher), he will need to strike out just three Chicago White Sox hitters to further validate his status as one of the best to ever do it. Only 19 pitchers in baseball history have recorded 3,000 strikeouts.
“That says a lot,” Kopech marveled. “I mean, there’s been, what, coming up on 30,000 players or something like that? (The number is actually around 21,000).
“To be on a list of 20? Just another feat to put on his list, the incredible history that he has.”
Before becoming Kershaw’s teammate in 2022, Freddie Freeman contributed to Kershaw’s march to 3,000. The first baseman struck out 13 times in 37 regular-season at-bats against Kershaw – with 11 hits, including a home run. The only active players who contributed more are former National League West neighbors D.J. LeMahieu (14) and frequent victim Paul Goldschmidt (25).
“Thirteen times?! That’s a lot,” Freeman reacted when told his career numbers against Kershaw.
“I know I struck out a lot. I did not know it was that many times. That’s 1 for 3 with two strikeouts pretty much.”
He might not have known his own numbers but Freeman knew Kershaw’s as he started the season 32 strikeouts short of 3,000. Freeman became Kershaw’s self-appointed accountant, reminding him before each start of how many more he had to go.
“I don’t know (why I started doing that). I think because I’m one of the only ones who will talk to him on start days,” Freeman said with a laugh. “As I’ve gotten older I appreciate guys’ milestones in this game. He’s about to become only the 20th person to ever do something and he is someone who will never talk about anything. So I make it a point to go and make sure everyone knows.
“I guess I’m the one who it’ll be okay to say it out loud and not be afraid that he’ll get mad at me for saying it out loud.”
As he approaches the milestone strikeout, Kershaw is surrounded by younger pitchers who emulated him as they grew up or made their way in the game.
“Probably 2012, ’14 – I was going into high school and that’s when baseball was, okay, who could I mimic my game after?” Vesia said. “I had Andy Pettitte. I had CC Sabathia and Kersh and David Price. That was when I really kind of figured out, in order to be there you’ve got to mimic somebody. Those were my four.”
Dreyer made it even more personal.
“I looked up to him as a left-handed pitcher my whole life,” he said. “Going back in my camera roll, I have a picture from 2016 of us side by side when I was in high school and he was in the big leagues. … (I made it on) one of those free apps where you can make a collage. I was trying to compare mechanics to try and figure some things out.
“At that point, he’d already had 10 years in ‘The Show’ and he’s still pitching. But now we’re teammates which is pretty cool.”
Banda also looked to other left-handers as models. He coveted Randy Johnson’s slider, marveled at Sandy Koufax’s curveball.
“When I got into pro ball, I was always blown away by other left-handed pitchers in the game already,” Banda said. “When I found Kershaw, I thought, ‘This guy is really good.’ And when I saw his curveball, I was, ‘Oh my gosh.’ I was immediately – Sandy Koufax. Nobody had said anything to me. I just made the connection. ‘He has a Sandy Koufax curveball.’
“So being left-handed, being a fan of Johnson’s slider and Koufax – to see a real live left-handed pitcher with that curveball, it was an awe moment for me, for sure.”
That first strikeout of Skip Schumaker came on a 95-mph fastball at the top of the strike zone, a staple of Kershaw’s early years. He doesn’t have that pitch anymore. His fastball is averaging 88.9 mph this year and hasn’t averaged more than 91.6 mph since 2017. Injuries have pock-marked recent seasons. But he has adapted.
“Absolutely. Every year he gets better in some way, some shape or form,” Vesia said, pointing to the changeup Kershaw chased for years but has now (slowly) incorporated into his pitch mix.
“It’s cool to see that. If he’s growing and adapting himself, nobody in this game can be complacent – ever.”
That Kershaw has adapted so well – he currently has a 4-0 record and 3.03 ERA through eight starts – is what “makes him special,” Freeman said.
“He knows he can’t throw 95, 96 (mph) anymore – and the reason he can’t is because he threw 270 innings every year for so many years,” Freeman said, exaggerating slightly. “People need to realize that too. He’d never miss a start and then he’d throw another 40 (innings) in the postseason – on short rest and do it over and over again and never say anything. Obviously you’re going to lose velo. For him to still get people out, strike people out in his 18th season – I really hope people appreciate that.
“Since I’ve been here for my four years, it seems like he’s had an injury he’s had to overcome. For him to keep doing it over and over when he’s already had a first-ballot Hall of Fame career – he wanted to keep doing it. Those surgeries he had last year – he sent us a picture in the offseason of his foot and it was the most disgusting thing. He’s got four kids. … He could easily have just stayed in Texas. I just hope when he does it – hopefully Wednesday – that people appreciate it.”
It’s hard not to. If becoming the 20th person out of about 21,000 to do something isn’t impressive enough, Kershaw will also become only the fourth left-hander in the 3,000-K club (joining Johnson, Sabathia and Steve Carlton) and only the third to record all those strikeouts with one team (Walter Johnson and Bob Gibson).
“Wow,” Vesia said when given that breakdown. “That is cool, man. That makes it even more special.”
“We have a lot of stars on this team, but for me what he’s done even exceeds that,” outfielder Andy Pages said in Spanish. “To me, he’s had a perfect career. What he’s done – that’s why he’s going to the Hall of Fame.”
3,000 STRIKEOUT CLUB
Nolan Ryan – 5,714
Randy Johnson – 4,875
Roger Clemens – 4,672
Steve Carlton – 4,136
Bert Blyleven – 3,701
Tom Seaver – 3,640
Don Sutton – 3,574
Gaylord Perry – 3,534
Walter Johnson – 3,509
x- Justin Verlander – 3,468
x-Max Scherzer – 3,412
Greg Maddux – 3,371
Phil Niekro – 3,342
Ferguson Jenkins – 3,192
Pedro Martinez – 3,154
Bob Gibson – 3,117
Curt Schilling – 3,116
CC Sabathia — 3,093
John Smoltz – 3,084
x = active