Friday, May 12, 2023

k is for kershaw. and kountdown.

after his start against the padres on cinco de mayo, clayton kershaw was tied with jim bunning on the all-time strikeout leaderboard with 2,855 k's. that is significant to me because bunning has always been the guy to me who got closest to 3,000 strikeouts without reaching the milestone. every non-active pitcher who has tied bunning has gone on to get to 3k. now, with both zack greinke and clayton kershaw working between bunning and 3,000 i am waiting to see if bunning will once again become the top man south of 3,000.

i have mentioned it many times before that, as a young fan, 3,000 was a number that i fixated on - both for hits and strikeouts. i remember watching the dodgers and padres on tv late in the 1978 season as gaylord perry became just the third man to strike out 3,000 batters in a career, joining walter johnson and bob gibson. within the next few seasons, several more pitchers that i followed in earnest joined the club, including steve carlton, nolan ryan, tom seaver, fergie jenkins, bert blyleven, and don sutton.

kershaw is another pitcher that i follow quite earnestly, and he pitched on wednesday against the brewers. he got the win and recorded 8 strikeouts, giving him 2,863 for his career.  now that he is past bunning, i am going to start counting down the 145 strikeouts he needs to get to 3,000. so, here are 8 clayton kershaw cards to celebrate strikeouts 2,856 - 2,863:

2,856 - 2013 bowman hometown parallel

2,857 - 2016 topps gold parallel

2,858 and 2,859 - 2019 panini donruss franchise features base and bronze parallel

2,860 - 2020 panini prizm red white & blue prizm

2,861 - 2020 topps on demand 3d

2,862 - 2021 panini donruss optic lime green prizm

2,863 - 2022 topps gallery

to summarize, kershaw is now in sole possession of 21st place all-time in strikeouts, and stands 137 k's short of 3,000. he trails zack greinke by 46 strikeouts, and is a decent bet to overtake him by season's end.

kershaw's next start looks like it will be on tuesday against minnesota. if that is the case, i am hoping for a big number as the last time he faced the twins, he struck out 13. i'll be sure to continue the kountdown regardless of how many he k's, as i have a lot of kershaw cards at the ready. stay tuned!
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4 comments:

  1. The Diamond KingMay 12, 2023 at 7:46 PM

    Pretty cool. I've grown to like Kershaw a lot, and like you, I really enjoy the big milestone numbers.

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  2. NickMay 12, 2023 at 8:00 PM

    With starters not going deep into games these days, I'm interested to see how many guys can get to 3,000 K's in the coming years/decades. Hope Kershaw gets there soon - he's been one of my favorites as well for a while now!

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  3. FujiMay 13, 2023 at 8:13 AM

    I hold the #3000 in high regards as well... and Kershaw is one of my favorite players to root for, so I'm stoked that there's a really good chance he'll reach that milestone this season.

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  4. MattMay 15, 2023 at 12:46 PM

    I remember when Randy Johnson hit 3000, people wondered if anyone else would join the club. Then people said the same thing when Sabathia joined, and again when Verlander and Scherzer joined. I have no doubt the same will be said when Kershaw and Greinke join...can't help but think there will always be another, even with the starters not pitching as many innings as their predecessors...

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