Dodgers News: Clayton Kershaw's Respect For Albert Pujols Goes a Long Way Amid 700 Home Runs
You walk a fine line between being a fan and an athlete of the game, but it's hard to shy away from greatness when it's standing right in front of you. Even for an all time pitcher like Clayton Kershaw, he was more than happy to see a guy like Albert Pujols reach a monumental moment against his team.
Kershaw has faced off against Pujols 16 times in their careers and in that span has allowed 14 hits and six walks while recording eight strikeouts (via StatMuse). In a 6-2 win over the Cardinals on Saturday, Kershaw gave up a hit to Pujols in which he hopes will be the last he will give up in his career.
With Pujols set to retire this season and Kershaw being unsure of his future, the only other chance they will have to meet would be in the postseason. Competitive nature takes over instinctively when you are a professional athlete, but Kershaw told the media after Saturday's win about his respect for Pujols.
“Obviously, you’re trying to compete in the moment, but I’m so happy for Albert that he hit those two, yesterday especially, that’s good get that out of the way. And obviously, didn’t want it to be against our team, but I’m so happy that he got to 700 and I have a lot of respect for Albert. Got to play with him, I know him pretty well now. I think he just goes about it the right way and I had a ton of fun playing with him."
Pujols is one of the great guys of the league and will go down as one of the greatest hitters of all time. Hopefully for Kershaw this will be the last time he gets to face Pujols, but of course all fans are drooling over the opportunity for one final showdown.
