A few days later, the Dodgers will play the first game of the 2024 season. The Dodgers truly have drawn a lot of attention these days. In the off-season, the Dodgers signed 2-time AL MVP Shohei Ohtani. Moreover, they signed Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is a top pitcher from Japan and James Paxton, who recorded 15 wins in 2019. Additionally, the team signed Joe Kelly and Ryan Brasier to enhance the bullpen. However, lots of fans were waiting to see if a pitcher would be back.
In February, that pitcher decided to be back. And that pitcher is the 3-time NL Cy Young award winner, Clayton Kershaw. Eventually, Kershaw signed a new contract with the Dodgers. So, he will pitch for the Dodgers in 2024.
It will be Kershaw’s 17th season in the majors. However, he underwent shoulder surgery last November and hoped to return to the mound in the summer. Well, it’s hard to predict when Kershaw will exactly take the mound this year. But, as Kershaw hoped to pitch in the summer, let’s assume that he will be back after the All-Star break.
Given that, in 2023, Kershaw made 8 starts after the All-Star break, it might be reasonable to predict that he will make 8 starts in 2024. If Kershaw makes 8 starts during the regular season, what could this great pitcher achieve this year?
Firstly, Kershaw already threw 2712.2 innings for the Dodgers. By far, there are only 5 pitchers who tossed more than 2700 innings for the Dodgers. Dazzy Vance threw 2757.2 innings, which are the 4th most in the Dodgers franchise history. If Kershaw can throw more than 45 innings, he will surpass Vance in innings pitched in the Dodgers history.
In addition, Kershaw now has 2944 strikeouts in his career. It doesn’t seem to be too far away from 3000 strikeouts. Nonetheless, Kershaw only punched out 32 batters over 8 starts after the All-Star break last year. If he only makes 8 starts in 2024, it might not be very easy for Kershaw to reach 3000 strikeouts. Nonetheless, Kershaw now has 1598 strikeouts at Dodger stadium. Hence, it will be highly possible to see Kershaw record his 1600th strikeout at Dodger stadium.
Finally, Kershaw had a very disappointing performance in the 2023 postseason and he only tossed 0.1 innings. Nevertheless, Kershaw already threw 194.1 innings so far in the playoffs. Hall of Famer Greg Maddux threw 198 innings in the postseason. Moreover, Roger Clemens tossed 199 innings in the playoffs. If the Dodgers clinch a postseason berth, it will be interesting to see if Kershaw will reach 200 innings pitched in the postseason.
Well, we still don’t know when Kershaw will return to the mound. Furthermore, it’s certainly hard to predict how many starts Kershaw will make in 2024. Nonetheless, as one of the most dominant pitchers in the majors, it will be worthwhile to see whether Kershaw will surpass Vance’s record in innings pitched in Dodgers franchise history. In the meantime, Kershaw only needs 56 strikeouts to reach 3000 strikeouts in his great career. In 2024, will Kershaw become the 20th member of the 3000-strikeout club?
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