As future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw inches closer to retirement and his eventual enshrinement in the museum in Cooperstown, we're bound to see his name on plenty of historical lists. The Dodgers legend provided us with an illustration of one such example thanks to Tuesday night's win over the Mets.
Kershaw came out like a man on a mission. After striking out just four batters in each of the last two games, respectively, Kershaw struck out three in the first. He was fairly dominant throughout his seven innings, though he needed a big strikeout to leave runners on the corners in the seventh. His reaction shows just how much he wanted to get out of that jam, too.
ICE IN HIS VEINS. pic.twitter.com/CD5Tjlo9Ep
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 19, 2023
In all, Kershaw allowed just three hits without a walk while striking out nine.
The Dodgers won the game, 5-0, and the lefty picked up the victory. It was the 200th of his illustrious career. Thanks to being such an amazing pitcher and also having been blessed with strong teams through a large portion of his career, Kershaw's record is now 200-88.
Yeah, that's stellar. In fact, Kershaw joins the following pitchers who reached their 200th career win without having lost at least 100 games at the time (hat-tip: Eric Stephen):
Pitcher | Date of 200th win | Record at the time | Final record |
Pete Alexander | Aug. 10, 1919 | 200-96 | 373-208 |
Lefty Grove | Aug. 8, 1934 | 200-83 | 300-141 |
Whitey Ford | April 22, 1964 | 200-79 | 236-106 |
Juan Marichal | Aug. 28, 1970 | 200-97 | 243-142 |
April 17, 2006 | 200-97 | 243-142 | |
Clayton Kershaw | April 18, 2023 | 200-88 | TBD |
Unsurprisingly, the other five pitchers are already in the Hall of Fame. As noted, Kershaw is also headed there, and it'll happen five years after he decides to hang up the ol' cleats.
The next major milestone for Kershaw is likely the 3,000-strikeout barrier. He's sitting with 2,832 strikeouts in his career. Unless Zack Greinke beats him there -- Greinke has 2,899 -- Kershaw will become the 20th pitcher in history to reach 3,000 strikeouts.
For now, though, getting to 200 wins without a 100th loss is quite the feather in his proverbial cap.
