Kershaw’s 3,000 Strikeouts Mark A Legendary Baseball Journey

Dallas, Texas native Clayton Kershaw is a sure fire Baseball Hall of Famer. The 37 year old Texan has been hampered by injuries in recent years and the COVID shortened season in 2020 didn't help his career stats, but his body of work is one of the most impressive in recent memory.

Over 200 career wins, a career ERA of 2.52, a career WHIP of 1. He and Justin Verlander are the last of the old school aces. When they eventually retire, it'll probably be a LONG time before we see anybody do what they've done.

With that said, Kershaw added to his Hall of Fame resume by hitting another major career milestone.

Texas Native Clayton Kershaw Joins Elite Club

Last night, in a match up against the Chicago White Sox, Clayton Kershaw joined an elite club of pitchers. With a 6th inning strike out against Vinny Capra, the lefty became the 20th player in MLB history with 3,000 strikeouts.

The 3,000 Strikeout Club is a who's who of pitching legends. Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Steve Carlton, Greg Maddux, Fergie Jenkins, Bob Gibson are all members of this exclusive club.

In fact, with the exceptions of Clemens, Verlander (still active), Max Scherzer (still active), Kershaw (still active) and Curt Schilling, every player on this list is a member of the Hall of Fame.

On top of that, Kershaw joined an even more exclusive club with his 3,000th strike out. Only 4 left handed pitchers in the history of baseball have reached that number - CC Sabathia, Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton and now Clayton Kershaw.

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Will Texas Native Clayton Kershaw Be a Hall of Famer?

It almost seems ridiculous to ask this question. A sub 3 career ERA. 3000 strikeouts. MVP, 3 time Cy Young, Triple Crown Winner. Five ERA titles. One of the most devastating curveballs in the history of the game. It's almost a guarantee that he gets in first ballot, right?

While, personally, I think he's without a doubt a first ballot Hall of Famer, the Baseball Writers Association may not agree. Voters, historically speaking, tend to look for players hitting multiple milestones. His ERA & strikeout totals should get him in easily. BUT, not having 250+ wins could prevent some writers from voting for him. And at this stage of his career, I don't think he's going to get to that particular milestone.

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It sounds crazy, I know. But to break this down a bit, there's several places that track a player's Hall of Fame chances based off of stats and what the writers historically are looking for. You can look at multiple categories on Baseball Reference.

According to the 'Gray Ink' test - Kershaw scores a 188. A Likely Hall of Famer is a 185. He's there, but just barely. According to some standards, he performs better. But, averaging all those projections together, he's a Hall of Famer...but just barely.

Times are changing and those standards are slowly shifting. By the time he's eligible, this whole conversation will probably sound ridiculous. Which I think says everything you need to know about the current crop of Baseball Writers and their "standards".