This is what is wrong with baseball
 

Today Clayton Kershaw was taken out of the game after 7 perfect innings. Screw advanced stats, sabrmetrics, etc. There is no way a pitcher that has a perfect game or no hitter going should be taken out of a game unless he is physically unable to continue PERIOD. This is what any pitcher or fan lives for.
Modern baseball is a joke. What happened to the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat? I want to see a pitcher reach back and try to achieve something special. That is what happened for most of the history of the game. There is a thread on the card side about baseball dying. Baseball is dying because of stuff like this.

Kershaw
 

Gary- couldn’t agree more. It removes competition from…competition. For all we know though, he could have begged to keep going but got overruled by a pitch counting mouth breather. Trent King

When did 100 pitches become the defacto high end stop pitching number?

80 pitches and he got pulled. Freaking makes no sense at all.

I Completely agree.

The reason I have always loved watching pitchers like Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw.......... is that every time they took the mound, they had a chance to make History!; to elevate that particular game to immortality, instead of it being just another game to slog through.

Managers/Bean Counters have taken excitement, the chance to see something truly special, away from everyone; They've made every game basically the same; unmemorable; just another boring page in the book of a season.

Steve

I "get" why they pulled him. Cold early season game, short Spring Training, long top of the 8th inning cooled him down some. But at 34 and not seeming like a guy who will keep going until he's 40, and with everything he has done for that franchise, it should have been HIS decision alone until he slips up or makes history.

We can't assume that pitching those two extra innings would hurt the pitcher. And sometimes you have to say the hell with tomorrow. If we all lived our lives with this current baseball mind set, rarely would anyone ever achieve anything great. We preach greatness, but teach mediocrity.

FWIW. Kershaw said that he was ok with it...he hadn't stretched his arm out this early in the season.

Jeff

Kershaw
 

Jeff- wow, that pretty much says it all. Might also explain why I despise
modern cards:) Trent King

I just can't believe it. I understand they're paid millions of dollars nowadays so these players are more investments than anything else. But we are a far cry from the days of pitchers throwing 10 complete games a season, let alone the times in the 50's, 60's and 70's when they were throwing over 20 of them.

I hate the direction the sport is trending in.

Another Dodger is the last guy to complete 20 in a season, any guesses?

Valenzuela?

Yup, and probably used today as the poster child for why you don't do that. He was never the same after that year.

This is a tough one. I think it’s slight too easy to say the modern game sucks, he should have stayed in, although I get it. If it were a month from now I’m sure he would have stayed in. Just so early in the season and his goal is a WS ring not a perfect game. Johan Santana stuck it out to give the Mets their first no hitter and I will always remember him for that. But he was never the same and that’s not a good thing.

Santana threw 134 pitches in that game though (and walked a bunch of batters) - Kershaw was only at 80 and looked absolutely dominant

That's on point...due to the lock-out...there are going to be a lot fewer days off for the same reason...karma comin'


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Agreed. And I don't believe Kershaw was "OK with it". What else would you expect him to say postgame? He's extremely competitive though, and I have no doubt he wanted to go back for the 8th.

If history is any indication, Kershaw will be hurt this season at some point. Don't be surprised if it happens in between starts or early in a game, for who knows what reason. Yesterday was his day--the stars were aligned and he was feeling it. Taking him out there tells me he will never have another complete game again. Maybe that's OK, but if I were him I would be pissed. He has done more than enough for that franchise to have earned the mound in the 8th.

Agreed.

Agreed x2

What's the big deal?

So he got pulled.

He still gets a participation trophy, right? :rolleyes: