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