Editorials

Clayton Kershaw Admires Zack Greinke’s Calmness On The Mound

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Dodgers are fortunate enough to have not one, but two aces on their roster.

Between left-hander Clayton Kershaw and right-hander Zack Greinke, the Dodgers have two of the top pitchers in the game at the top of their rotation. Kershaw is coming off a season in which he was the NL Cy Young and MVP, but may be second this season to Greinke.



Greinke leads the entire league in ERA (1.68), ERA+ (221) and WHIP (0.852), while going 18-3 in 31 starts. Kershaw leads the league in strikeouts (281), FIP (2.10) and xFIP (2.16), while going 15-7 in 31 starts.

While the two are similar in terms of domination, the two could not be more different in personality. Greinke is calculated, calm and precise in his art. Meanwhile, Kershaw is more emotional and amped up when he pitches.

According to Mark Saxon of ESPN LA, the left-handed Kershaw admits the two aren’t similar in their styles:

I think you can safely say that Zack and I are complete opposites in how we go about it, and it works,” Kershaw said.

This comes after a start in which Kershaw was seen having a heated discussion with manager Don Mattingly after being pulled in the fifth inning. Kershaw is also known for showing emotion on the mound during good and more during bad. It’s rare to see Greinke show any emotion on or off the field. His postgame interviews are as straightforward and honest as can be.

The reigning MVP admires the way his fellow ace handles himself:

I think being emotionless might be the best thing to do on the mound, but it’s hard for me to contain it at times,” Kershaw said. “Zack does a really good job of that, too, not being affected by really anything, good or bad, which is definitely a quality I admire in him.”

The Dodgers will need the differing styles to combine for some dominance in October to make a deep playoff run.

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Vincent Samperio

Vince is currently the Associate Editor and Social Media Manager for Dodgers Nation. Hailing from San Pedro, CA and a student at Cal State Long Beach, Vince has previously written for the Daily 49er and LASF Magazine.

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