Clayton Kershaw, baseball player, 2008

Clayton Kershaw

Born: 3/19/1988 in Dallas, TX, USA

MLB Debut: 2008-05-25

Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 6'4" | Weight: 225 lbs

Full name: Clayton Edward Kershaw

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Biography

Clayton Kershaw, born in 1988, is an elite pitcher who has made a significant impact on Major League Baseball since his debut in 2008. With a career record of 212-94 and an impressive earned run average (ERA) of 2.5, Kershaw is widely regarded as one of the best pitchers of his generation. His dominance on the mound is underscored by his remarkable total of 2,968 strikeouts, showcasing his ability to overpower hitters and command the game. As an active player, Kershaw continues to contribute to the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he has become a cornerstone of the franchise and a fan favorite. Kershaw's accolades include three Cy Young Awards, recognizing him as the best pitcher in the National League, and he is a ten-time All-Star, highlighting his consistent performance over the years. Known for his exceptional pitching repertoire, which includes a devastating curveball and a fierce fastball, Kershaw exemplifies the artistry of pitching in the modern era of baseball. His career is marked not only by personal achievements but also by his leadership in the clubhouse and commitment to the community, making him a significant figure both on and off the field. As he continues his career, Kershaw remains a pivotal player in the narrative of contemporary baseball, embodying excellence and resilience.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
223 96 455 451 25 15 0 2855.3 2193 804 235 713 3052 2.53 0

Career ERA 2.53 vs. league average 4.14 across their career seasons — 38.8% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
2008 LAD NL 5 5 22 21 0 0 0 107.7 109 51 52 100 4.26 4.32 (+1%) -
2009 LAD NL 8 8 31 30 0 0 0 171.0 119 53 91 185 2.79 4.32 (+35%) -
2010 LAD NL 13 10 32 32 1 1 0 204.3 160 66 81 212 2.91 4.08 (+29%) -
2011 LAD NL 21 5 33 33 5 2 0 233.3 174 59 54 248 2.28 3.94 (+42%) -
2012 LAD NL 14 9 33 33 2 2 0 227.7 170 64 63 229 2.53 4.01 (+37%) -
2013 LAD NL 16 9 33 33 3 2 0 236.0 164 48 52 232 1.83 3.87 (+53%) -
2014 LAD NL 21 3 27 27 6 2 0 198.3 139 39 31 239 1.77 3.74 (+53%) -
2015 LAD NL 16 7 33 33 4 3 0 232.7 163 55 42 301 2.13 3.96 (+46%) -
2016 LAD NL 12 4 21 21 3 3 0 149.0 97 28 11 172 1.69 4.19 (+60%) -
2017 LAD NL 18 4 27 27 1 0 0 175.0 136 45 30 202 2.31 4.36 (+47%) -
2018 LAD NL 9 5 26 26 0 0 0 161.3 139 49 29 155 2.73 4.15 (+34%) -
2019 LAD NL 16 5 29 28 0 0 0 178.3 145 60 41 189 3.03 4.51 (+33%) -
2020 LAD NL 6 2 10 10 0 0 0 58.3 41 14 8 62 2.16 4.45 (+51%) -
2021 LAD NL 10 8 22 22 0 0 0 121.7 103 48 21 144 3.55 4.27 (+17%) -
2022 LAD NL 12 3 22 22 0 0 0 126.3 96 32 23 137 2.28 3.97 (+43%) -
2023 LAD NL 13 5 24 24 0 0 0 131.7 100 36 40 137 2.46 4.33 (+43%) -
2024 LAD NL 2 2 7 7 0 0 0 30.0 36 15 9 24 4.50 4.08 (-10%) -
2025 LAD NL 11 2 23 22 0 0 0 112.7 102 42 35 84 3.36 4.14 (+19%) -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
464 698 46 113 11 1 1 40 1 34 211 0.162 0.205 0.185 0.390 -4450.4

Career AVG .162 vs. league average .252 across their career seasons — 35.8% below league average.

Career OBP .205 vs. league average .320 across their career seasons — 36.0% below league average.

Career SLG .185 vs. league average .408 across their career seasons — 54.7% below league average.

Career OPS 0.390 vs. league average 0.729 across their career seasons — 46.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
2008 LAD NL 22 29 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 0.069 — — — — 0.0
2009 LAD NL 31 48 2 5 0 0 0 2 0 3 16 0.104 — — — — -541.4
2010 LAD NL 32 55 4 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 17 0.055 .257 (-79%) .325 (-78%) .402 (-86%) .728 (-83%) -768.8
2011 LAD NL 33 71 10 16 0 0 0 4 0 3 13 0.225 .255 (-12%) .320 (-17%) .399 (-44%) .719 (-32%) -357.4
2012 LAD NL 34 58 2 12 1 0 0 2 0 2 19 0.207 .254 (-19%) .318 (-28%) .405 (-45%) .724 (-37%) -371.5
2013 LAD NL 35 77 8 14 3 0 1 10 0 5 24 0.182 .253 (-28%) .317 (-24%) .396 (-34%) .714 (-30%) -381.5
2014 LAD NL 27 63 5 11 0 1 0 3 1 4 23 0.175 .251 (-30%) .313 (-25%) .386 (-47%) .700 (-37%) -368.4
2015 LAD NL 34 71 2 9 2 0 0 2 0 2 23 0.127 .254 (-50%) .316 (-49%) .404 (-62%) .721 (-56%) -667.2
2016 LAD NL 23 46 2 8 1 0 0 3 0 1 12 0.174 — — — — 0.0
2017 LAD NL 27 49 6 9 1 0 0 2 0 4 13 0.184 — — — — -329.6
2018 LAD NL 27 46 1 11 2 0 0 7 0 7 11 0.239 — — — — -84.6
2019 LAD NL 29 49 1 5 1 0 0 1 0 1 16 0.102 — — — — -580.1
2020 LAD NL 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2021 LAD NL 24 36 2 8 0 0 0 3 0 1 11 0.222 — — — — 0.0
2022 LAD NL 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2023 LAD NL 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2024 LAD NL 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2025 LAD NL 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
42 39 2 6 1 0 0 0 6 13 0.154

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2025 NLDS2 LAN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2025 WS LAN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2023 NLDS2 LAN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2022 NLDS2 LAN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2020 NLCS LAN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2020 NLDS1 LAN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2020 NLWC1 LAN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2020 WS LAN 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2019 NLDS1 LAN 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
2018 NLCS LAN 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.000
2018 NLDS2 LAN 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0.000
2018 WS LAN 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
2017 NLCS LAN 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000
2017 NLDS1 LAN 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.500
2017 WS LAN 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000
2016 NLCS LAN 2 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.250
2016 NLDS2 LAN 3 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 0.333
2015 NLDS2 LAN 2 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.200
2014 NLDS2 LAN 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.500
2013 NLCS LAN 2 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.333
2013 NLDS2 LAN 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.000
2009 NLCS LAN 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
2009 NLDS1 LAN 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
2008 NLCS LAN 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
13 13 41 32 1 196.7 171 101 54 213 4.62

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2025 NLDS2 LAN 0 0 1 0 0 2.0 6 4 3 0 18.00
2025 WS LAN 0 0 1 0 0 0.3 0 0 0 0 0.00
2023 NLDS2 LAN 0 1 1 1 0 0.3 6 6 1 0 162.00
2022 NLDS2 LAN 0 0 1 1 0 5.0 6 3 0 6 5.40
2020 NLCS LAN 0 1 1 1 0 5.0 7 4 1 4 7.20
2020 NLDS1 LAN 1 0 1 1 0 6.0 6 3 0 6 4.50
2020 NLWC1 LAN 1 0 1 1 0 8.0 3 0 1 13 0.00
2020 WS LAN 2 0 2 2 0 11.7 7 3 3 14 2.31
2019 NLDS1 LAN 0 1 2 1 0 6.3 8 5 1 5 7.11
2018 NLCS LAN 1 1 3 2 0 11.0 9 5 4 13 4.09
2018 NLDS2 LAN 1 0 1 1 0 8.0 2 0 0 3 0.00
2018 WS LAN 0 2 2 2 0 11.0 14 9 3 10 7.36
2017 NLCS LAN 1 0 2 2 0 11.0 7 3 2 9 2.45
2017 NLDS1 LAN 1 0 1 1 0 6.3 5 4 3 7 5.68
2017 WS LAN 1 0 3 2 0 15.7 9 7 5 17 4.02
2016 NLCS LAN 1 1 2 2 0 12.0 9 4 1 10 3.00
2016 NLDS2 LAN 1 0 3 2 1 12.3 15 8 3 19 5.84
2015 NLDS2 LAN 1 1 2 2 0 13.7 7 4 5 19 2.63
2014 NLDS2 LAN 0 2 2 2 0 12.7 12 11 2 19 7.82
2013 NLCS LAN 0 2 2 2 0 10.0 12 7 3 10 6.30
2013 NLDS2 LAN 1 0 2 2 0 13.0 6 1 4 18 0.69
2009 NLCS LAN 0 1 2 1 0 6.7 5 7 6 6 9.45
2009 NLDS1 LAN 0 0 1 1 0 6.7 9 2 1 4 2.70
2008 NLCS LAN 0 0 2 0 0 2.0 1 1 2 1 4.50

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 455 451 85 384 12 16

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
2008 LAN P 22 21 1 18 1 2
2009 LAN P 31 30 8 19 0 2
2010 LAN P 32 32 5 30 1 0
2011 LAN P 33 33 9 38 0 2
2012 LAN P 33 33 9 42 0 1
2013 LAN P 33 33 7 27 1 2
2014 LAN P 27 27 8 31 2 3
2015 LAN P 33 33 8 45 1 1
2016 LAN P 21 21 2 15 1 0
2017 LAN P 27 27 4 18 1 0
2018 LAN P 26 26 1 24 1 1
2019 LAN P 29 28 3 23 0 1
2020 LAN P 10 10 1 4 0 0
2021 LAN P 22 22 4 14 0 0
2022 LAN P 22 22 3 10 2 0
2023 LAN P 24 24 5 16 0 1
2024 LAN P 7 7 1 2 1 0
2025 LAN P 23 22 6 8 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 455

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
2023 Pitcher of the Month April
2020 All-MLB Team - Second Team SP
2017 Player of the Week Week of 2017-07-08
2016 Pitcher of the Month May
2015 Pitcher of the Month July
2015 Player of the Week Week of 2015-06-07
2015 Player of the Week Week of 2015-07-19
2014 Cy Young Award
2014 MLB Players Choice Man of the Year
2014 MLB Players Choice Outstanding Pitcher
2014 MLB Players Choice Player of the Year
2014 Most Valuable Player
2014 Pitcher of the Month July
2014 Pitcher of the Month June
2014 Player of the Week Week of 2014-06-22
2014 Player of the Week Week of 2014-09-14
2014 This Year in Baseball Pitching Performance of the Year MLB.com GIBBY
2014 This Year in Baseball Starter of the Year MLB.com GIBBY
2014 TSN Major League Player of the Year
2013 Branch Rickey Award
2013 Cy Young Award
2013 MLB Players Choice Outstanding Pitcher
2013 Pitcher of the Month July
2013 Player of the Week Week of 2013-04-07
2013 This Year in Baseball Starter of the Year MLB.com GIBBY
2012 Player of the Week Week of 2012-05-20
2012 Roberto Clemente Award
2011 Cy Young Award
2011 Gold Glove P
2011 MLB Players Choice Outstanding Pitcher
2011 Pitcher of the Month July
2011 Pitching Triple Crown
2011 Player of the Week Week of 2011-06-26
2011 TSN Pitcher of the Year

Featured In Rankings

#10
Top 25 Starting Pitchers in History of MLB Baseball
Ranked 10 of 25
→

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
2016 LAN NL $33,000,000
2015 LAN NL $32,571,000
2014 LAN NL $4,000,000
2013 LAN NL $11,750,000
2012 LAN NL $7,750,000
2011 LAN NL $500,000
2010 LAN NL $440,000
2009 LAN NL $404,000
Total Career Earnings $90,415,000

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
2020 Cy Young Award NL 9th 2.0 210 0
2019 Cy Young Award NL 8th 3.0 210 0
2017 Cy Young Award NL 2nd 126.0 210 3
2017 Most Valuable Player NL 17th 6.0 420 0
2016 Cy Young Award NL 5th 30.0 210 2
2015 Cy Young Award NL 3rd 101.0 210 3
2015 Most Valuable Player NL 10th 49.0 420 0
2014 Cy Young Award NL 1st 210.0 210 30
2014 Most Valuable Player NL 1st 355.0 420 18
2013 Cy Young Award NL 1st 207.0 210 29
2013 Most Valuable Player NL 7th 146.0 420 0
2012 Cy Young Award NL 2nd 96.0 224 2
2012 Most Valuable Player NL 16th 15.0 448 0
2011 Cy Young Award NL 1st 207.0 224 27
2011 Most Valuable Player NL 12th 29.0 448 0