Clayton Kershaw's Historic Dominance Should Make Him the 2014 NL MVP

It takes an incredibly special season for a starting pitcher to win the MVP.

In fact, over the last 20 years only one pitcher has been voted MVP (Justin Verlander in 2011). As for a National League pitcher, Bob Gibson was the last winner in 1968. Historical voting evidence reveals that voters value position players more than pitchers when it comes to the MVP.

But Clayton Kershaw is rewriting the book on conventional baseball wisdom, dominating hitters in historic fashion in 2014.

The Los Angeles Dodgers ace is 19-3 with a minuscule 1.70 ERA, the lowest since Greg Maddux posted a 1.63 ERA in 1995. He is averaging 10 strikeouts per nine innings while walking only 28 hitters all season. He leads the league in wins, ERA, WHIP, hits per nine, strikeouts per nine and complete games.

The stats are overwhelming, especially if you consider that Kershaw missed most of April recovering from a spring training injury.

Yet it's the historical significance of the southpaw's achievements that sets him apart from other MVP candidates. Consider some of the following accomplishments:

• Kershaw's 15 strikeouts in his no-hit performance against the Colorado Rockies in June was the most strikeouts recorded in a game while also allowing zero walks.
• He recorded the fifth longest scoreless-innings streak in the expansion era at 41 games.
• More than 80 percent of the hitters he has faced this season have returned back to the dugout after recording an out. 
• Kershaw has thrown six complete games. More than 25 percent of his starts have finished without any help from the Dodgers bullpen.

Buster Olney adds some more historical context to Kershaw's incredible season:

We are witnessing one of the greatest pitching performances in MLB history.

Nobody is doubting Kershaw's brilliance. But the biggest knock on pitchers winning the MVP is that they appear in a much smaller percentage of games than position players, thus diminishing their value to their team.

But Kershaw has actually faced more hitters than any National League hitter has plate appearances, and according to FanGraphs, Kershaw's 6.7 WAR leads every other player in the National League. 

Another Olney tweet confirms Kershaw's importance to the Dodgers:

It's simple. In 2014, when Kershaw pitches, the Dodgers win. 

How much more valuable can you be?

He should not be punished for the position that he plays but rather be credited for creating a similar impact to position players in much fewer games.

Although Jon Heyman of CBS Sports contends that Giancarlo Stanton should win the NL MVP, even he cannot diminish the historic achievements of Kershaw in 2014.

But that historic element makes all the difference.

While Stanton is posting incredible numbers for the Miami Marlins, they do not stack up favorably in a historic sense with other great seasons by National League hitters. 

Meanwhile, Kershaw's 2014 season will go down as one of the greatest seasons by a pitcher in MLB history. His importance to the Dodgers' standing atop the NL West, combined with the historical relevance of his achievements, makes him the most valuable player in the National League.