One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Clayton Kershaw Wins National League Cy Young Award
Los Angeles Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw works against the San Diego Padres in the first inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 1, 2011, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
We can add Clayton Kershaw’s name to Don Newcombe’s, Don Drysdale’s, Sandy Koufax’s, Mike Marshall’s, Fernando Valenzuela’s, Orel Hershiser’s and Eric Gagné’s today. Kershaw joined the fraternity of Dodger pitchers to win the Cy Young Award as awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
“I'm extremely thankful and humbled by this award,” said Kershaw in a press release. “The company that I'm in now... just to be mentioned with some of those guys. I'm just in awe. I never thought I'd be here."
The 23-year old Kershaw became the youngest Cy Young Award winner since 20-year old Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets in 1985. Expected to be a close vote, Kershaw won convincingly named first place on 27 of the 32 ballots, second on three ballots and third on two ballots for 207 points. Philadelphia Phillies Roy Halladay was runner up with four first-place votes and Arizona Diamondbacks’ Ian Kennedy got the other first-place vote.
Kershaw won the triple crown of pitching in the National League with 21 wins, 248 strikeouts and a 2.28 earned run average. Along with the American League Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, they became the first duo to win the Triple Crown of pitching in the same season since Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators and Dazzy Vance of the Brooklyn Robins (né Dodgers) did so in 1924.
Kershaw also led the League with a 0.977 walks and hits per innings pitched and 6.7 hits per nine innings. He also pitched five complete games two of which were shutouts. The second half Kershaw was nothing short of brilliant: he went 12-1 after the All Star Break with a 1.31 ERA and allowing opponents to bat only .196. In only five of those last 14 starts did Kershaw give up more than one earned run and only once did Kershaw give up more than two.
The Dallas native was drafted with the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2006 draft by the Dodgers. Kershaw made his Major League pitching debut on May 25, 2008 against the St. Louis Cardinals and during spring training of 2008 his curveball was described as, “Public Enemy No. 1,” by Vin Scully. On Nov. 1, Kershaw also captured a Rawlings Gold Glove Award for outstanding defense in his position.
Kershaw was also nominated by the Dodgers for the Roberto Clemente Award which recognizes the off-field contributions by a player. After visiting Zambia with his wife Ellen during the offseason, Kershaw joined Arise Africa which raises money to help build orphanages in Zambia. He donated $100 for each strikeout and has helped raise $47,530 for the charity.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
