Clayton Kershaw Wins MLB Stop And Watch Social Media Award
Clayton Kershaw’s season ended in disappointment as he was unable to get over the postseason hurdle that is the St. Louis Cardinals for a second straight year. While Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers fell short of their goal, the southpaw received multiple honors in recognition of the season he had.
Though not as prestigious as winning a third Cy Young in four years or an MVP Award, Kershaw added to his collection of hardware as he was named MLB’s Stop And Watch Social Media Award; the decision was announced on Sunday during a one hour television special on MLB Network.
Kershaw was up against Dodgers teammate Yasiel Puig, Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, and San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, among others. In last year’s inaugural Social Media Awards, Kershaw won in the Iconic Snapshot category for a photo taken of him and Dodgers legend Sandy Koufax.
Kershaw finished the 2014 season leading the majors in wins (21), winning percentage (87.5 percent), complete games (six), WHIP (0.86), ERA (1.77) and ERA+ (197), among other statistics. Kershaw’s ERA title was his fourth straight — becoming the first pitcher to accomplish that feat.
His remarkable season also included an 11-game winning streak, 41 consecutive scoreless innings and his first career no-hitter, which rated among the most dominant pitching performances in MLB history. In the historic game, Kershaw recorded 15 strikeouts without issuing a walk, becoming the first pitcher to ever do so.
After putting together one of the most dominant seasons seen from a pitcher, Kershaw doesn’t have much left to prove on an individual level aside from breaking free of the dark clouds that hover above his postseason track record.
