Clayton Kershaw and the 10 Best Pitching Seasons in Los Angeles Dodgers History

Take a look at the season that Justin Verlander just had in the American League. It got him the Cy Young award—by unanimous vote.

Verlander is only 28 years old, so his future looks bright. 

Even Verlander's potential, however, pales in comparison to that of Clayton Kershaw. Like Verlander, Kershaw won the triple crown of pitching in 2011. And both pitchers play in pitcher-friendly parks.

But Kershaw is only 23—five years younger than Verlander.

To say the lefty has a long, bright career is an understatement.

Luckily for Kershaw, he plays for a franchise well equipped to handle a rising pitching phenom—the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

When the Dodgers left Brooklyn for Los Angeles, they were known for Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese and Gil Hodges—players famous for what they did with their bats.

In Los Angeles, things changed.

Players like Drysdale, Koufax, Sutton, Fernando and Orel Hershiser all made the Dodgers famous for their pitching.

Now Clayton Kershaw has become part of that great Dodger legacy. How good was his 2011 season?

Here are some other great Dodger season pitching performances.

Don Sutton in 1972

Don Sutton spent 15 of his 23 major league seasons as a member of the Dodgers. In his Hall of Fame career, he amassed 326 wins and a career earned run average of only 3.26. 

His finest season was probably his 1972 campaign. 

Sutton was 27 years old that year and his record of 19-9 doesn't do the season he had justice. 

Sutton's earned run average was only 2.08. He started 33 games in 1972 and he finished a remarkable 18 of them. Nine of those were shutouts.

Sutton was never a strikeout pitcher and in his 272 innings pitched that season, he only amassed 208 K's—but he also had a whip of 0.913. 

It was Sutton's finest year and one of the better pitching performances in Dodger history. 

Fernando Valenzuela in 1981

In 1981, Fernando mania gripped Los Angeles. With good reason, too. 

He was only 20 years old and he only won 13 games—but for pure pitching magic, 1981 was his finest performance.

The 1981 Rookie of the Year and National League Cy Young Award winner made 25 starts. He had a 2.48 earned run average, eight shutouts, 180 strikeouts and a career low whip of 1.045.

Throw in winning a World Series ring against the New York Yankees and it's hard to top Fernando's 1981 season. 

Eric Gagne in 2003

Closers are somewhat overrated, in my opinion. Many are good pitchers whose numbers are largely based on a set of favorable—or, in some cases, unfavorable—circumstances.

There have been some outstanding performances by closers, though. 

Eric Gagne was a truly dominant closer for the three-year period from 2002-2004. His 2003 season was arguably the greatest season ever by a closer.

How good was it? 

Gagne appeared in 77 games and pitched only 82 innings. He saved a career high 55 games and finished with an earned run average of only 1.20.

Perhaps most impressive were the strikeout numbers. Gagne had 137 strikeouts in just 82 innings pitched and his whip was just 0.692. Those strikeout numbers would come out to an average of 15 for every nine innings pitched.

That season earned Gagne the 2003 National League Cy Young Award.  That's an amazing season, even when it's grouped with the many other great seasons that Dodger pitchers have produced over the years. 

Don Drysdale in 1962

Prepare yourself for several slides that will focus on the Golden Age of Dodger pitching. That's because a Dodger pitcher won the Cy Young Award in four of the five season from 1962-1966.

It's worth noting that this was all accomplished before the Cy Young was divided between the National and American Leagues. When these Cy Young Awards were handed out, it meant you were the best pitcher in all of baseball—not just in the American or National League. 

In 1962, Don Drysdale had his career year. 41 starts. A 25-9 record. Drysdale had 19 complete games, which led the league, along with 232 strikeouts and an earned run average of 2.83.

Drysdale was just half of a dominant duo for the Dodgers in the early- and mid-1960's. Drysdale was great—but his cohort was even better. 

Sandy Koufax in 1963, 1965, and 1966

"The best pitcher in major league history" is a debate that will never truly be won.

If the metrics are career numbers, then Sandy Koufax probably isn't part of the discussion. After all, he didn't win 300 games—he didn't even win 200. 

However, if the discussion is focused on a period of time during which an individual pitcher dominated the game of baseball, then Sandy Koufax isn't just in the discussion—he might end it.

From 1963-1966, Sandy Koufax was. without debate, the best pitcher in baseball. Only a series of injuries triggered by the onset of arthritis in 1964 prevented Koufax from winning four consecutive Cy Young Awards. 

How good was Koufax in the three healthy seasons? 

His win-loss records were 25-5, 26-8 and 27-9. His earned run averages were 1.88, 2.04 and 1.73. He threw a 20-game and then back-to-back 27-game seasons.

Then there were the strikeouts.

In 1963, Koufax had 306. Then in 1965, he set what was the single-season record with 382—a number that is still second all time today. In 1966, he had 317 K's. 

His 1963 season earned him the National League MVP award by unanimous vote to go with his Cy Young. In each of his Cy Young seasons, he also won the triple crown of pitching.

Koufax threw the first of his four career no-hitters in 1962. He would throw the other three in his four-year period of dominance. His final one—thrown on September 9th, 1965—was also a perfect game.

It wasn't Koufax's regular season performance, either. Koufax earned World Series MVP awards in both 1963 and 1965 

Overall, it's hard to deny that this was the most dominant period of pitching in major league history.

Orel Hershiser in 1988

In 1988, the Dodgers weren't supposed to win at all in the playoffs—but they did. They weren't given much of a shot against the heavily-favored Oakland A's in the World Series—and they won easily in five games. 

Throughout the regular season and postseason, there were two players who stood out on that Dodgers team. On offense, it was the current reigning National League Manager of the Year, Kirk Gibson. 

On the mound, it was Orel Hershiser.

Hershiser had a very good career—but an outstanding 1988 season. That year, Hershiser would start a streak of scoreless innings in the regular season that wouldn't end until the postseason. He set a new record with 59 consecutive scoreless innings, which eclipsed the record held by Don Drysdale (58 innings in 1962).

Hershiser led the National League with 23 wins. He had an earned run average of 2.26. He had 15 complete games and eight shutouts.

Hershiser added to his accomplishments in the postseason, as he became the only player in major league history to win the Cy Young Award, National League Playoff MVP and World Series MVP in the same season.

It was a truly outstanding year.

Clayton Kershaw in 2011

Sometimes it's hard to appreciate what you see until it's placed into historical context. 

That's why it's important for fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers to understand that while the team is currently in a very tenuous situation regarding it's sale and it's financial well-being, it also has one of the very best and brightest pitchers in the game.

Clayton Kershaw, who just won the National League Cy Young Award, also won the triple crown of pitching this year. He beat out Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, among others, in the voting. 

2011 was, without question, a fantastic season by Kershaw. He is the second youngest Cy Young winner in Dodger history behind only Fernando Valenzuela, who was just 21 years old when he won the award in 1981. 

Kershaw led the National League in wins (21), earned run average (2.28), strikeouts (248) and whip (0.977). His youth means that he has a legitimate chance at a long and very successful career in Los Angeles.

That success may seem far away to Dodger fans, but considering that a different team has won the division in each of the past three seasons, there's no reason to count any team out in 2012.

The Dodgers will have a new owner, and will return both the National League Cy Young Award Winner and the possible National League MVP (Matt Kemp).

The future looks bright and the left arm of Clayton Kershaw is a big reason why. 

Don Newcombe

Before the Dodgers were in Los Angeles, they were in Brooklyn, New York. In 1956, Don Newcombe won the first Cy Young Award ever handed out, and he also became the first man to win both the MVP and the Cy Young Award. 

He put together a pretty good 1956 season. He was 27-7, with an earned run average of 3.06 and a whip of 0.989.

Newcombe was historically significant for a number of reasons. He was the first African-American pitcher to start a World Series game.

Newcombe is also the only player to date to win a Rookie of the Year Award, a Cy Young Award and an MVP award in his career.

That may be worth remembering because on Monday, Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers could join that very exclusive club. The 2006 American League Rookie of the Year was also awarded the 2011 American League Cy Young Award on Tuesday.

This coming Monday, Verlander will find out if he's the American League MVP.