“Definitely meant a lot” – Clayton Kershaw breaks Los Angeles Dodgers’ all-time strikeouts record against Tigers


“Definitely meant a lot” – Clayton Kershaw breaks Los Angeles Dodgers’ all-time strikeouts record against Tigers

Clayton Kershaw

A jam-packed crowd couldn’t resist standing to its feet after Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw recorded the 2,697th regular-season strikeout of his career. This came on Saturday in the fourth inning during a game against the Detroit Tigers at Dodger Stadium.

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Kershaw, who broke a record that Don Sutton held across five decades, went on to lift his cap, patted his chest from the rubber, strolled behind the mound, raised his hat once more, then collected himself before continuing on his outing when a graphic representing the milestone flashed on video boards.

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It’s special,” Kershaw said after producing another solid outing despite the Dodgers’ 5-1 loss to the Tigers, as quoted by ESPN. “I didn’t expect it. I understand that the Dodgers are a historic franchise and have been around a long time, so the guys that are on that list that I was fortunate enough to pass were a big deal. But I didn’t know that fans would know or honestly care that much. It was special for me. It really was. It was cool to see. It definitely meant a lot.”

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“Here to contribute to team that might win a World Series”

Clayton Kershaw
Clayton Kershaw

The Texas native Kershaw, who struck out Dustin Garneau on a curveball, stated that he wishes to constantly contribute to his team’s success and help them win a World Series title. The three-time Cy Young Award winner boasts the lowest ERA (2.49) and WHIP (1.00) among starting pitchers with at least 1,500 innings.

“I don’t wanna just pitch to pitch,” said Kershaw. “That’s not a goal of mine, to stick around. I don’t have any interest in just sticking around to be around. I wanna be here to contribute to a team that might win a World Series. That’s what I wanna do. If either of those things aren’t around, I don’t see myself sticking around. If I’m not helpful, I won’t be here. I’m glad that I’ve had a good start to the season, but I have a long way to go.”

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