Is Clayton Kershaw the biggest choker in baseball?

[Nick Young]

What a choke artist this guy is eh?:facepalm

[BurningHammer]

There were Bonds and A-Rod before him. Other sports? McGrady?

[MMM]

Don't think he really choked. Even if he threw up a meatball, those don't always end up with those results. Baseball has too many random events to classify as a choke job.

[Qwyjibo]

There were Bonds and A-Rod before him.
Neither of those guys were chokers and Kershaw isn't either. Bonds had a monster post-season when the Giants made it to the WS. ARod was up and down but had some great series as well.

Baseball is a long-term game. It's stupid to call any of these guys (best players in the league) chokers based on a hand full of games or plate appearances.

[Nick Young]

Neither of those guys were chokers and Kershaw isn't either. Bonds had a monster post-season when the Giants made it to the WS. ARod was up and down but had some great series as well.

Baseball is a long-term game. It's stupid to call any of these guys (best players in the league) chokers based on a hand full of games or plate appearances.
If Kershaw was unhittable all regular season and then put up two games of choke in the playoffs when it matters most, it's fair to call him a choker, especially considering he has sucked in the playoffs for his whole career.

[MMM]

If Kershaw was unhittable all regular season and then put up two games of choke in the playoffs when it matters most, it's fair to call him a choker, especially considering he has sucked in the playoffs for his whole career.

3 runs in 7 innings is a quality start in the regular season and was at no runs through 6. Baseball has a randomness to it so that choking narrative doesn't really fit.

[Droid101]

I know nothing about baseball, but if Nick Young believes this then it is definitely not true.

[imdaman99]

The biggest chokers are those dominant closers during the regular every year that blow the big one. Obviously Hoffman and Benitez aren't around so I might have to agree with you. Kershaw is Sandy Koufax-like in the regular season but it turns out the Cardinals have his number. Next year he will go 22-4 with 2.29 ERA with under 0.9 whip and go 0-1 in the playoffs.

[Nick Young]

3 runs in 7 innings is a quality start in the regular season and was at no runs through 6. Baseball has a randomness to it so that choking narrative doesn't really fit.
what about the first game, dawg?

Also, 3 runs in 7 innings is much more then Kershaw's season ERA. That means it is an underperformance on his part.

2 underperformances in the 2 biggest games of the season after dominating all season long=choke.

[Crown&Coke]

Game one he was coasting until that 7 inning. Then got repeatedly tagged by a bunch singles until the hottest hitter on the planet smoked one off the wall with the bases loaded.

Game 4 Adams hit a 3 run homer. I believe that was the first left handed hitter to pump one out vs a Kershaw curve all year. Kershaw pitched on short rest. One mistake all game.

Cards have had his number in the playoffs. Dude is still a beast. But he will have to string a few together in the PO's to avoid the Payton Manning tag of regular season wonder for sure.

ARod has had like one good post season with the Yankees. Before that title run dude hit like .200 or something like that. One good postseason run and it pretty much erased all that

[mlh1981]

When people talk about you as being an MVP candidate AND Cy young, and compare you to Sandy Koufax, yes, the sample size is small, but he wasn't good enough when they needed him the most. The Dodgers will probably have no problems making the postseason in the upcoming years, so he will at least have more chances to reverse this trend.