Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw Makes Ominous Comment About His Future Health
As the old saying goes, Father Time is undefeated. No matter how good you were at your peak, the tail end of any athlete's professional career is rarely as good. Tom Brady and LeBron James are exceptions to the rule, but for mere mortals, life after 30 is a challenge and Clayton Kershaw is fully aware of it.
Kershaw landed on the injured list after the Dodgers series in Chicago earlier this month. Once again, the injury was partly attributed to the back that's been given him issues dating back to the 2016 season. Typically, Kershaw receives an epidural shot to help him manage the injury, but this time around, the epidural hasn't done it's job.
Based on Kershaw's comments this week to SportsNet LA's Kirsten Watson, it doesn't sound like he expects his back to ever be fully healthy again. Not to say he'll be on the IL all year, but more-so, Clayton has to carefully manager the recurring injury.
“Unfortunately, the reality of it is with my back – I’ve thrown a lot of pitches and my back is going to be something that is a problem for me moving forward almost always. So it’s just a matter of dealing with it when you can. If it’s a once-a-year deal then so be it. But hopefully, it’s around this time of year and I’m ready to go for the rest of the season.”
Kershaw's thrown almost 2,500 innings in his 15-year career. There's a lot of mileage on those tires, but they can still take he and the Dodgers places.
Before hitting the IL, Kershaw was in the midst of an incredibly hot start to the season. He produced a 1.80 ERA across five starts, one of which, was seven innings of a perfecto.
The Dodgers and Kershaw are playing it smart with the hurler's injury, and they'll have to go to continue to do so to avoid another October without their legendary lefty.
