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Los Angeles Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw reached rarefied air on Wednesday night, becoming the 20th player ever to reach 3,000 strikeouts for his career.
It was a suspenseful night at a sold-out Dodger Stadium considering Kershaw had just two strikeouts against the Chicago White Sox when he entered the sixth inning. He had 2,999 strikeouts, and had already gotten two outs in the frame with his pitch count reaching triple digits.
But, on that 100th pitch, Kershaw got Vinny Capra to strike out and the crowd went ballistic.
Kershaw was able to savor the moment, as play stopped with a full standing ovation from both dugouts and the crowd to celebrate the occasion.
“It’s a little bit harder when you’re trying to strike people out,” Kershaw said after the 5-4 victory by Los Angeles, per ESPN. “I never really had to do that before.”
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The victory was also a come-from-behind effort, with Freddie Freeman delivering a walk-off single in the ninth inning when the Dodgers needed three runs to win.
After the game, Kershaw was seen with a champagne flute in the clubhouse, where ESPN reported he told everyone that his accomplishment wouldn’t mean anything without them celebrating with him.
In the hallowed 20-man group, Kershaw is only the fourth left-hander to have reached 3,000 strikeouts. He joins Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton and CC Sabathia on that list.
Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander are the only active pitchers with Kershaw to have accomplished the feat.
Manager Dave Roberts made it a point to let Kershaw go as long as he could to make sure he accomplished his goal at home.
“I was going to give him every opportunity to do it at home,” Roberts said.
It took him awhile – Kershaw said he “would’ve rather just gotten it done in the first” – but the satisfaction was clear on Kershaw’s face after Capra was set down on strikes.
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