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For the first time this season, Los Angeles Dodgers stalwart Clayton Kershaw finds himself facing off against one of the best young arms in the business in Garrett Crochet, the Boston Celtics ace with a wicked cutter and a blazing fastball to go along with it.
Discussing how it feels to face off against one of the hardest throwers in baseball in this, his 18th professional season, by Fox's Ken Rosenthal, Kershaw admitted that while he may no longer have the best stuff in the bigs, he's still going to put in work for Los Angeles whenever his number gets called.
“Joe, when I asked Clayton Kershaw yesterday how he compares himself to Garrett Crochet, he said, he throws way harder than I do. That certainly is true now. Crochet's average fastball is 96 miles an hour; Kershaw's is 89. Now, Kershaw, in his prime, threw nearly as hard as Crochet, but he said he doesn't like to think about how much his stuff has diminished,” Rosenthal explained.
“He said, ‘There's no point in chasing the past. Whatever I have that day, I just try to get out.' And you don't pitch for 18 years without evolving, like you were talking about, finding a way to pitch without that.”
Once renowned as arguably the best pitcher in baseball, earning 11 All-Star berths, an NL MVP, and three NL Cy Young Awards for his trouble, Kershaw has lost his ace stuff a long time ago, now settling into more of a complementary role, where he wins with his savvy instead of his elite stuff. Still, even if he only tops 90 a few times an inning, Kershaw has still been an invaluable part of the Dodgers' rotation and should remain so for as long as he's willing to throw on a blue and white jersey and go to work.
“He said he doesn’t like to think about how much his stuff has diminished”@Ken_Rosenthal talked with Clayton Kershaw about how he compares himself to Garrett Crochet pic.twitter.com/VNyxK0s8Um
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 26, 2025
