Yesterday, it was mentioned that Clayton Kershaw has never had Tommy John Surgery after seventeen years in the league. It was my opinion that this occurred because Clayton made a conscious decision not to throw with maximum effort on each pitch. There was a time early in his career when he hit 97 to 98 MPH. In 2015, his average fastball velocity was 94.3 MP, and now it is right at 90 MPH.
Pitching without maximum effort greatly enhanced Clayton’s longevity but likely cost him some hits at times when he could have just smoked the batter and risked blowing out his elbow. The Great Sandy Koufax pitched for 12 seasons with the Dodgers and put up a 53.1 WAR. Clayton Kershaw has pitched 17 years with the Dodgers and has put up 76.5 WAR. Clayton has more wins, a better ERA, a better WHIP, and more strikeouts than Koufax, and let us not forget that Sandy had the luxury of pitching off a mound that was five inches higher than what Clayton pitches from.
Koufax twice had seasons where he put up a WAR over 10. Clayton’s highest WAR was 8.1. When Koufax was good, he was “otherworldly.” Kershaw was just great. Sandy had four years that Clayton could not touch, but Clayton is still pitching going into his 18th year, and there is talk he may try for two more. I think it all depends on how he does this year. Clayton Kershaw is #28 on the All-Time WAR for pitchers. Sandy Koufax is #90.
Clayton could conceivably break into the Top Twenty, but it may be difficult. Still, Koufax and Kershaw are two of the top pitchers of all time, with Clayton getting the nod as G.O.A.T. simply because of longevity and consistency. Like Sandy, Clayton will be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer.
Speaking of the Hall of Fame, Rob Manfred is considering reinstating Pete Rose back into baseball, and then it would be on the writers to vote him into the Hall of Fame… or not. The Hall of Fame board of directors in 1991 adopted a rule preventing people on the permanently ineligible list from appearing on the hall ballot… so he would no longer be on that list. Also, President Trump is allegedly going to pardon Rose. This shall prove to be interesting…
I think it should happen. Pete is part of the fabric of baseball. The deterrent is set: If you bet on baseball, even if you are Pete Rose, you will be kicked out. He is dead. He is part of the history of baseball, and believe me, I am no Pete Rose Fan… but it has to happen!
Discussion (18)
Disagree, not disagreeable
wasn’t comparing him as far as talent! jt was cast off just like Bote. the dodgers took a chance on jt and it paid off tremendously. now they seem as if they may take one on Bote. hopefully the results will reward them again. in no way any disrespect whatsoever towards JT! Possibly another good story in dodger history. AND, hopefully JT someday gets to be a dodger again. Probably not as a player, but as a coach or even manager someday!
I like this guy a lot. He goes pretty deep in analyzing Sasaki’s pitch mix.
https://youtu.be/uCLuXcJX5WY?si=ZTr6YRK3JZ-1I9tJ
The utility position: Taylor, Rojas, Kim, Bote, Edmund, Hernandez, haven’t been murderous row. Rojas and Bote are having a good spring but the others not so much. Realizing it’s “just” spring training, one would look at the last couple of years, Taylor, Hernandez have been poor, Kim has no MLB history, Edmund didn’t play much last year so he’s a question mark at minimum. Rojas has produced, Bote is arguably the best player on the Dodgers this spring. If the 26 players13 position players that give the Dodgers the best chance to win, how can you exclude Rojas or Bote. If the others had an okay season last year one could make a case, unless Bote is a complete jerk (I haven’t heard anything negative about him) he should be among the 13 and given serious consideration of being the starting 2nd baseman. I don’t have anything against Hernandez or Taylor. Yes Taylor has a nice contract this season, but if one would calculate wins above replacement and how much a win is worth money wise, that contract gets smaller.
The kids haven’t lived up to their hype. James is a mess. love the kid, but he’s a mess. Pages? i agree he needs a full season at AAA. And for God’s sake, quit the center field experiment! Bote? Turner comparison? i can see it!
Mark,
The Dodgers’s 2025 top 30 prospects by Jim Callis just came out today if you could print it from the Dodger’s Official Page.
3:10 PM ET
Dodgers (98-64) (7-6)
Angels (63-99) (5-6)
SP Landon Knack R
0-0 .00 ERA
SP Reid Detmers L
0-0 .00 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
SS Miguel Rojas R
2B Chris Taylor R
LF M. Conforto L
3B E. Hernandez R
C A. Barnes R
RF E. Rosario L
DH Andy Pages R
CF James Outman L
1B David Bote R
73° Wind 2 mph R-L
Bote has had a nice spring.
He’s 7 years older than Pages; not sure what he brings to the table.
I could see Pages having a great year 2 in the Majors.
I think that would mean Bote doesn’t. I don’t see how that happens.
RANTS & RAVES
Roki Sasaki’s first outing of the spring came on the backfields in a controlled setting against White Sox prospects. On Tuesday, he took his first turn under the lights at Camelback Ranch. After four innings from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Sasaki took the hill and showed why he immediately became baseball’s top prospect. Facing the Reds, the righthander with the otherworldly splitter spun three two-hit shutout innings with five strikeouts and one walk. Seven of Sasaki’s 18 splitters resulted in whiffs, and four of his strikeouts came on the pitch. Sasaki also brought his fastball up to 99 mph.
I do not see Andy Pages or James Outman making the opening-day roster. Pages can’t hit RHP. Outman can’t hit MLB pitchers… period!
Don’t discount the possibility of a trade right about now!
Buck Weaver is the only banned from baseball soul that was wronged as far as I’m concerned. He behaved the way one should morally act given the position he was put into and owes no apology. He was a hero of a person. Martha Stewart is also that kind of hero in my book. The difference is she took the money. Buck didn’t. That don’t make Martha bad though. Is it sorta clear I’ve always been an outlaw?
2025 MLB Franchise Rankings: Dodgers closing in on No. 1 team of past 25 years
Yankees are #1, but the Dodgers are catching up rapidly. Here is what it is based on:
Winning the World Series (WS): 9 points
Losing in the World Series (WSL): 6 points
Losing in the Championship Series (CS): 3 points
Losing in Division Series (DS): 2 points
Losing in Wild-Card Round (WC): 1 point
The scoring system also incentivizes division titles (+1 point) and penalizes prolonged losing cycles, docking teams (-1 point) each time they lose at least 90 games in consecutive seasons. Add up the point totals from 2000 to 2024 and you have the franchise rankings. It’s just simple math.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6167388/2025/03/04/2025-mlb-franchise-rankings-25-years/?campaign=5888993&source=dailyemail&userId=147501
they didn’t want to talk about using ped’s. why would they want to talk at the hall of fame induction? they should just come clean and admit to using. but again, they don’t have anything to say like Andy P. did. at least admit it and then maybe others will stop talking about it. .. as far as Rose, Everything you read about him points to him being a douche bag. But as a PLAYER, i believe he should be in. The nfl has some doozies in their hall. hell , a couple got away with murder!
I have commented on Pete many times. My point has always been that he accepted the ban from Giamatti. He petitioned to be reinstated several times and was denied every time. I admired him as a competitor and player. But he never apologized to the fans for what he did, he was continually defiant when questioned about gambling. He made tons of money selling his autograph at card shows and the like, charging as much as 250.00 to sign from some things I have read. If you reinstate Rose, you have to consider reinstating Jackson.
Rules are rules.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S0OGRXvs9U
Bonds? Aaaasrod? Clemens? Mcquire? as long as the ASTERISK is beside their names, let em in . Tell the whole story and don’t have them at the hall of fame induction.
Clayton is the GOAT.
And if you were one of the greatest players, no matter the era. You 100% belong in the HOF! Shoeless and Pete! Put them in. And don’t forget the PED users…….Ok even A Rod.
Book em
8:05 PM ET MLB NETWORK
Reds (77-85) (6-3)
Dodgers (98-64) (6-6)
SP Chase Petty R
0-0 .00 ERA
SP Y. Yamamoto R
0-0 .00 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
SS Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
RF T. Hernandez R
C Will Smith R
3B Max Muncy L
2B Tommy Edman S
LF Chris Taylor R
CF Andy Pages R
71 Degrees
Looks almost like a season starting lineup
Sasaki to make spring debut:
“Among the many impact free agents signed this winter, perhaps none will have a spring debut more eagerly anticipated than right-hander Roki Sasaki. The 23-year-old phenom came over to MLB this winter after four dominant seasons with NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines and eventually signed on with the Dodgers near the end of his posting window. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including MLB.com’s Sonja Chen) last week that Sasaki would make his first appearance today, though he won’t start the game. Rather, Sasaki is expected to follow behind starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto as the Dodgers square off with the Reds. The game, which is scheduled for 6:05pm local time, will see the Reds send top prospect Chase Petty to the mound opposite Yamamoto. Petty, a former first-round pick, came to Cincinnati in the 2022 trade that shipped Sonny Gray to the Twins”.