1. Jon Lester and Sonny Gray, co-aces of the Oakland Athletics, are having fantastic seasons. Their combined WAR is 5.49. Kershaw's is 5.92! (What is WAR? Google.)
2. In 141.1 innings pitched (IP), Kershaw has 174 strikeouts (Ks). In 169 IP, Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright has 138 Ks.
3. There have been 60 complete games (CG) in the MLB so far this season. Kershaw leads the MLB with six CGs.
4. Six complete games is as many as Yu Darvish, Chris Sale, and David Price have combined.
5. Kershaw has thrown 18 quality starts (QS = at least 6 IP and only 3 ER surrendered or less) in 20 tries. That .9 QS% is the highest mark in the majors out of all pitchers with at least three starts.
6. Kershaw has thrown at least 7 IP in 15 out of 20 starts this season.
7. His last non-quality start was June 8.
8. The last time he threw less than 7 IP in a start was June 8.
9. Since you are obviously wondering, he won his start on June 8 against the Rockies, who at the time had the best offense in baseball, throwing 5 scoreless innings and striking out 9.
10. His ERA that month was 0.82. No, really, 0.82.
11. After a CG, 11 K performance, Kershaw suffered his third loss of the season on August 16.
12. ... his last loss was May 28th.
13. Out of pitchers with at least 20 starts in 2014, Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg is ranked 18th with a 1.21 WHIP (Walks+Hits per IP). Kershaw is ranked first with a 0.84 WHIP. A 0.37 (that's a lot for this statistic!) difference.
14. Kershaw has one thing in common with mortals: he loves Fridays. Kershaw's ERA in three Friday starts is 0.43.
15. ...yes he won all three of those starts.
16. Through 141.1 IP so far this season, Kershaw has only been on the losing side of the scoreboard for 24.0 of those innings.
17. His ERA while trailing is 2.63.
18. His ERA while the score is tied is 2.59.
19. His ERA when the team is ahead, which has been for 79.2 IP, is 1.24. When he has the lead, the game is basically over.
20. Through those 79.2 IP, Kershaw has 94 strikeouts.
21. Kershaw has never loaded the bases this season... HE HAS NEVER LOADED THE BASES THIS SEASON!
22. Kershaw's ERA in the 5th inning of games this season is 0.00.
23. His ERA in the 8th inning of games this season is also 0.00. (9 IP)
24. Kershaw has not intentionally walked anyone this season. Fearless.
25. He is on pace to lead all qualifying National League starters in ERA for the 4th straight season.
26. ...he is also on pace to lead all qualifying National League starters in WHIP for the 4th straight season.
27. Wainwright's home ERA is 3.64. Strasburg's road ERA is 4.77. Giants ace Madison Bumgarner's home ERA is 5.17. Braves ace Julio Teheran's road ERA is 4.27. Kershaw's ERA is under 2.00 both at home and on the road. He doesn't care where he's pitching.
28. Kershaw's ERA through his first 75 pitches into a game is 1.91.
29. His ERA through pitches 76 on is even better - 1.73. He gets better as the game goes on, when his team needs him the most. He is superhuman.
30. When Kershaw has two outs in an inning, his ERA is 1.58. The inning is essentially over, similar to this list.
If anyone ever tries to tell you that Clayton Kershaw is not the best pitcher in baseball, please understand that they are lying to you. Yes, I am aware of his lackluster postseason numbers. Understand, though, that 15.1 of his 38.1 postseason IP came in 2008 and 2009, when he was 20 and 21 years old. If you remove those innings from his postseason numbers, his postseason ERA is a much more respectable 3.13. That number would be under 1.00 if it weren't for two bad innings against the Cardinals last October.
The man is unreal.
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