Clayton Kershaw has been an All-Star 10 times before.
But no selection surprised him quite like this year’s.
Included on the National League All-Star team as a “Legend Pick” by Commissioner Rob Manfred in recognition of his career accomplishments, Kershaw did not get any advance warning from Manfred or anyone in the league office that he would be in the “Midsummer Classic.”
When manager Dave Roberts gathered his Dodgers team to announce the club’s All-Star selections on Sunday, Kershaw forgot that the “Legend Pick” — which has been used in the past for players such as Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera — was even a thing.
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Thus, when Roberts announced Kershaw’s name, the 37-year-old was caught more than a little off-guard — having made just nine starts this season since returning from offseason toe and knee surgeries.
“Obviously, I don’t deserve to get to go this season, haven’t pitched very much,” he deadpanned. “I don’t know if Doc was going for the surprise factor or not. But I had no idea until he said it.”
But by Monday, the meaningfulness of what he described as a “tremendous honor” had also set in, with Kershaw expressing gratitude for what will be his 11th career selection, tied for the most among active players with Mike Trout.
“You never take for granted getting to go to an All-Star Game, regardless of the circumstances,” Kershaw said. “At the end of the day, it’s weird but cool, so I’m just going to enjoy it.”
While Kershaw’s limited workload would normally not warrant an All-Star selection, his stats haven’t been too far off that pace this year: A 4-0 record, 3.43 ERA and 1.254 WHIP in what is the 18th season of his future Hall of Fame career.
“I think there’s some good and some bad,” Kershaw said of his season so far. “I wouldn’t say happy, but I wouldn’t say disappointed either. I would say kind of right in the middle.”
The highlight of the campaign, of course, came in Kershaw’s last start, when he became the 20th pitcher in MLB history to record 3,000 career strikeouts.
But at this stage of his career, Kershaw’s real satisfaction has been with his health — finally past the various back, elbow, shoulder, knee and toe injuries that had plagued him over the last several seasons.
“I think the biggest thing is just the mental toll [that takes on you],” Kershaw said. “Anyone that has been dealing with stuff, I think it’s always in the back of your head. You wake up and you test it and you move around and you test it to see if it hurts, see how bad it hurts. [Now], instead of wondering if you can pitch, it’s just a matter of how you’re going to pitch. I don’t think I took into appreciation the mental toll that takes over time. So to just worry about pitching is nice, for sure.”
It has also allowed Kershaw “to get the reps and go back out and be able to feel OK in between starts to work on some stuff,” he said. “Figure out some different things mechanically and pitch-wise and stuff.”
Long-term, Kershaw still hasn’t decided if this will be his final season.
“I don’t know what is going to happen in the future,” he said. “I really have no idea when it comes to the years beyond this one. So I’m just trying to enjoy it, be part of a really good team this year.”
When it comes to next week’s All-Star Game, he isn’t even sure if he’ll pitch in the showcase exhibition, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta.
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“I’d love to pitch but I don’t want to take an inning away from somebody who’s never done it before or this is their first year or whatever,” he said. “I’ll enjoy just to hang or pitch or whatever.”
On Monday, Kershaw’s focus was instead on his final start of the first half: A scheduled Tuesday outing against the Milwaukee Brewers and their 23-year-old rookie starlet, Jacob Misiorowski.
Kershaw, 14 years Misiorowski’s senior, laughed when asked what it’s like to be the elder statesman in such high-profile matchups now.
“I saw a couple highlights [of him], know he throws hard,” Kershaw said. “But so does everybody. Except me.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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