Texas Native Kershaw Faces Uncertain Playoff Future With Dodgers

The MLB playoffs kickoff today with the Wild Card round. You have the Tigers v Guardians, Padres v Cubs, Red Sox v Yankees and Reds v Dodgers all happening today.

And, with Texas being a sports hotbed, there's LOTS of Texas natives in these playoffs - from the Yankee's Trent Grisham to the Reds Ke'Bryan Hayes. But, perhaps, the most notable Texas native in baseball has been left off his team's initial playoff roster.

Dallas Native Left Off Dodger's Playoff Roster

Clayton Kershaw is arguably the best left handed pitcher of the last generation. He has a career WAR of 80.9, 223 career wins, a career ERA of 2.53, 3,052 strike outs...the man is a future hall of famer. And, a few weeks ago, he announced that this is his last ride. When the Dodgers season ends, so does his career.

Which is why it's a bit surprising to see that the Dodgers and manager Dave Roberts have opted to leave the left-handed legend off their playoff roster.

Of course, at 37 years old, Clayton isn't the same guy he was when he was younger. Plus, historically speaking, he's not been at his best in post season play. But, even with all that said, leaving the 2nd greatest pitcher in franchise history (Sandy Kofax is definitely #1) off your playoff roster is shocking.

Hypothetically, if the upstart Reds beat the Dodgers, you don't give Clayton a proper send off. Which would be unfortunate for both the Dodgers and their fans.

Will Texas Native Clayton Kershaw Be a Hall of Famer?

It almost seems ridiculous to ask this question. A sub 3 career ERA. 3000 strikeouts. MVP, 3 time Cy Young, Triple Crown Winner. Five ERA titles. 11 time All-Star. One of the most devastating curveballs in the history of the game. It's almost a guarantee that he gets in first ballot, right?

While, personally, I think he's without a doubt a first ballot Hall of Famer, the Baseball Writers Association may not agree. Voters, historically speaking, tend to look for players hitting multiple milestones. His ERA & strikeout totals should get him in easily. BUT, not having 250+ wins could prevent some writers from voting for him.

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It sounds crazy, I know. But to break this down a bit, there's several places that track a player's Hall of Fame chances based off of stats and what the writers historically are looking for. You can look at multiple categories on Baseball Reference.

According to the 'Gray Ink' test - Kershaw scores a 188. A Likely Hall of Famer is a 185. He's there, but just barely. According to some standards, he performs better. But, averaging all those projections together, he's a Hall of Famer...but just barely.

Times are changing and those standards are slowly shifting. By the time he's eligible, this whole conversation will probably sound ridiculous. But, he may not be the shoo-in that many (including myself) believe he is.