Clayton Kershaw on The Dan Patrick Show: Pitching Routine, Jake Arrieta, and More

It’s hard to argue with the fact that Clayton Kershaw has been on fire as of late. During his last start on Sunday against the Mets, Kershaw made history when he hit 100 strikeouts with only five walks on the year. He surpassed Cliff Lee’s record for best K/BB ratio at the 100K mark. For every walk, Kershaw strikes out 21 batters. He is the only pitcher in the modern era to reach 100Ks with less than seven walks.

This morning, The Dan Patrick Show welcomed the Dodgers’ ace to talk about what it takes to prepare for a start, what he was like in high school, and how he got to be one of the greatest pitchers of all time.

Kershaw won’t take the mound until Friday against the Braves. But on the days he isn’t starting, he can still be found working. He spends his time preparing for the fifth day: pitching in the bullpen, running sprints, and watching videos to perfect his strategy.

But that doesn’t stop the 3-time National League Cy Young winner from having fun with his family. He says he can walk the streets in Chicago, and nobody will bother him.

“It’s just a four-day vacation in Chicago,” the pitcher told Dan Patrick. “I got my family here right now, we’re just grabbing some breakfast. We did an architectural bout tour yesterday. It’s a pretty good gig being a starting pitcher.”

Patrick also had to Ellen, wife of Kershaw, on the show to talk about when she met him in high school.

“He was the class clown. He was much shorter than he is now, a little chubbier, actually a lot chubbier,” she said of her high school sweetheart. “He had tons of good friends, it was fun meeting him when he was 13-years-old.”

The star pitcher also said that at the beginning of his career, he didn’t think he belonged in the big league. Patrick surprised Kershaw with the fact that he holds the most hits as a pitcher since 2011, to which he responded, “What? That can’t be true.” He holds 68, while Zack Greinke has 67.

“Those guys have pop,” Kershaw said of other pitchers with big bats. “They hit homers and doubles. I just slap singles. They got the slugging percentage, I’m sure.”

He also said that he can see why Cubs’ pitcher Jake Arrieta is having so much success, complimenting the late movement on his pitches.

Check out the full video below:

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