Clayton Kershaw: Dodgers 'Won the World Series; I Don't Care About Legacy'
October 28, 2020
Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is a World Series champion after his team took down the Tampa Bay Rays four games to two in the Fall Classic.
With that in mind, Kershaw is not concerned about his legacy amid his team capping its World Series title with a 3-1 victory over Tampa Bay in Game 6 on Tuesday.
"We won the World Series," Kershaw said, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. "I don't care about legacy. I don't care about what happened last year. I don't care about what people think. ...The 2020 Dodgers won the World Series. Who cares about all that other stuff?"
Kershaw sports one of the game's best pitching resumes but has routinely received criticism for his postseason performance (4.19 ERA) versus his regular-season output (2.43 ERA).
That doesn't take away from the fact that he's arguably the game's best pitcher this century, and he got a well-deserved shout-out from Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James afterward:
The left-hander's legacy was clearly Hall of Fame worthy even if he didn't win a World Series, but the title adds yet another line to his sterling resume:
ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfoClayton Kershaw became just the 3rd starting pitcher to earn 2 wins and strike out at least 1/3 of the batters he faced in a single World Series. He joined Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax (2x). He's the first pitcher to do so on the winning team and not win WS MVP. https://t.co/Ty2XpyTdQ1
He also dominated throughout the 2020 postseason, striking out 37 batters over five starts en route to a 4-1 record and 2.93 ERA.
Los Angeles won both of his World Series starts in Games 1 and 5.