From 2017 to 2019, Kershaw remained incredibly effective, but signs of age began to show. Results are another. The exit velocity hit 102.7 mph as former Dodger Yasiel Puig cranked a two-run, first-inning homer for the Cincinnati Reds. Kershaw has sharper stuff and the same attacking mentality he's always had. Kershaw’s recalibration worked well, but working with diminished fastball velocity left him with less margin for error. Results are another. So when he asked McDaniel to make him an appointment at Driveline Baseball, the data-driven facility popular with many of his teammates, Kershaw did not announce that he was searching for a few extra ticks of speed. That’s not to say the added velocity hasn’t made him better. The most memorable slider thrown by Clayton Kershaw on Monday resembled many he threw in the summer and the fall of 2018. On a night when he made 84 pitches, he threw 39 sliders, using a breaking ball as his primary weapon. He nibbled more often: In 2019, Kershaw was working more around the plate with the fastball than at any point over that five-year span. In the eighth inning of Game 1 of the NL wild card series, Kershaw had allowed three hits and struck out 12 when he allowed a one-out walk. “I thought the curveball was really good tonight,” Roberts said. In 10 starts in ’20, he did it 20 times. Three fourths of Kershaw's swinging strikes this season have come on his slider, compared to one fifth on his four-seamer.

The next year, the Tigers ace lowered his ERA to 3.04 and racked up an AL-leading 254 strikeouts. He immediately turned toward manager Dave Roberts, grinned and shook his head. “I wish there was a magic formula to have everything going the way you want it to every game, but sometimes it just doesn’t work that way," Kershaw said during the NLDS. A lot of efficiency.

Velocity is one thing. The greatest pitcher of his generation is almost as famous for his rigid fidelity to routine as he is for his dazzling results.

“He has a good mix. Kershaw has been one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball history, and the accolades have piled up: eight All-Star appearances, three Cy Young awards and the 2014 NL MVP.
Verlander went from a 4.54 ERA with lower velocity in 2014 -- his worst mark in six years -- to a 3.38 ERA in '15. In 2018, only 10% of Kershaw's fastballs came in at 92 mph or faster. Kershaw's Fastball looking kinda nasty. He allowed 1.41 home runs per nine last year, the worst mark of his career, even after adjusting for run environment. But in 2018, one in five fastballs he threw was below 90. pic.twitter.com/01x8HSoYq2. Kershaw’s strikeout rate is back over 30 percent, walk rate back under 5 percent. The results are there so far: a 1.50 ERA, 3.26 FIP and 2.60 xFIP in 36 innings. He began a journey that would take him across the country, and that he hopes will end with a trophy. He took his decline and turned it on its head. Hill’s voice was new, and it cut through the noise. 64 of these 97 pitchers — or roughly two-thirds — experienced some sort of year-over-year velocity decrease from their age-31 to age-32 seasons. The key is what it does in conjunction with his slider. Better stuff on your fastball can make your other pitches play up. David Adler is a reporter for MLB.com based in New York. He mixed in and out very well tonight. “He’s been doing it for a long time. He produced 14 swinging strikes; seven came after sliders. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy.

Despite the increase in velocity, the results on the pitch have been mixed.

Kershaw's velo gain stands out for two reasons.

The worst fear was that for Kershaw, velo loss was an indicator of a pitcher in his 30s with a recent history of back issues losing his best stuff. Kershaw's velo gain stands out for two reasons. It’s impossible to say whether the improvements there are just the result of the added velocity, or if he refined his off-speed stuff at Driveline as well. McDaniel and Driveline scrambled to accommodate him. Kershaw is the exception who can pitch successfully with lower velocity -- but he doesn't have lower velocity anymore. Endorsement: The Times endorses Hoffman, Anderson, Henderson and Han for LACCD. By the time he left, the plan was to move differently.

But different logic applies to his slider. Most of the time, they demonstrate his metronomic greatness. Kershaw's four-seamer is getting more "rise" this season -- he's at +2.8 inches of rise above average -- and with him throwing it harder, it's dropping about an inch and a half less on its way to the plate. “Because I mean, he was the best pitcher on the planet for 10 years. Clayton Kershaw, Wicked 88mph Back Foot Slider. His career regular season ERA is 2.43, while it rises to 4.23 in the postseason. “It was ridiculous,” says Rob Hill, who is in his first year as Los Angeles's pitching coordinator. In 2019, it dropped to less than 2%.

Then the split between fastball and slider is even. Hitters are whiffing at Kershaw’s four-seamer much more often — his 22.2% whiff-per-swing rate is his highest since 2015 — but they are also hitting it hard when making contact. Kershaw has the results in the stat sheet, but if you isolate his fastball numbers specifically, they look very similar to a season ago even though he's throwing harder. “I wish I could have done anything,” Kershaw said, “but give up a homer to Puig in that first at-bat.”. He finished the season with a 2.16 ERA, his best in half a decade. It's hard for a pitcher to even maintain status as a regular starter in the Majors through years of continued velocity loss. The aging curve invites simple math. He tossed six one-hit frames that day and struck out eight. Back issues have plagued him in recent years, requiring time on the Injured List in 2016, 2017 and 2018. You might be familiar with the worrying downward trend from 2015-19 -- four straight years of declining velo -- as Kershaw slipped from 94.2 mph all the way down to 90.3 mph.

When the Dodgers' dugout got on the bullpen phone during the eighth inning, the broadcast showed Kershaw imploring Roberts to let him stay in the game. The obvious wonder was whether he could produce the fastball of his youth. He did not need to. He fiddled with his grip. In 2017, he never once dipped under the 90 mph mark. Dustin May doesn’t provide Walker Buehler moment, but other Dodgers deliver win. None added back as much velo as Kershaw. The average will tell you that, but the distribution is much more telling — we can visualize the difference here. After dealing with shoulder and back issues in the first half of 2018, Kershaw struggled to generate depth on his slider. When he debuted in 2008, at 20, Kershaw’s four-seamer averaged 95 mph.

And yet, in 2020, Kershaw is decisively reversing his own pattern. Over the past year, the best pitcher on the planet began to consider that he doesn't have it all figured out. Mookie Betts’ third-inning catch in Game 5 of the NLCS changed the momentum and helped the Dodgers rally for a season-saving win.
The strategy made sense, considering Kershaw’s fastball was now more hittable and less effective overall. Only a handful were able to break the downward trend and regain any velocity at all. The Times endorses one incumbent and three newcomers for the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees. It doesn't hurt to try.”. You start to see that if you add his called + swinging strikes. (Note that we're not talking about the current velocity decline he's been on, which is much more severe and career-altering).

The left-handed great was slated to start Game 2 of the National League Championship Series against the Braves but was scratched hours before the first pitch with a recurring back issue. Previous work of his can be found at FanGraphs and his own personal blog, Cover Those Bases. One of the great pitchers of his generation, Kershaw's relative postseason struggles have also been well documented. Roberts stayed put.

Clayton Kershaw, Wicked 88mph Back Foot Slider. Two starts later, Kershaw topped out at 93.6 mph, humming a fastball past Shohei Ohtani on the outside edge for a swinging strike in his last batter of a seven-inning, one-run gem. He won an NL MVP award.

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