As stated elsewhere, what pitchers do best is get hurt or lose their fastballs, most often right after someone signs them to a very large contract. We have no idea if Kershaw is going to turn out any better than say, Justin Verlander, who pitched himself into the Hall in his 20's and thus far (with the exception of 7 of his last 8 starts--it appears that he is learning the importance of command with his fastball, a better slider to get righties out with,, and generally how to pitch, rather than just be a power thrower, something he's never had to do before this), out of it in his 30's. See in this vein also Sudden Sam McDowell, who was virtually unhitable for a large portion of the '60's, as well as Gooden, who was all the rage in the collecting circles of the '80's and even into the very early '90's.
Let us also not forget Kerry Wood, who before hurting himself, was about as dominant as they come. On the other hand, some guys just enjoy shooting craps!
Great discussion,
Larry
Last edited by ls7plus; 08-26-2015 at 05:41 PM.
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