Kershaw's No-No: Best of All Time?

Clayton Kershaw threw one of the most magnificent games last night; he no-hit the Colorado Rockies in an 8-0 finish, striking out 15 in 107 pitches. Needing just 107 pitches in a no-hitter is magnificent. The only runner he allowed was from a throwing error from Hanley Ramirez. Now he’s 7-2 with a 2.52 ERA. Let’s break it down.

Kershaw’s 15 K’s was a career high, the most K’s in a no-hitter only behind Nolan Ryan’s 17 in 1973 and 16 in 1991. He also no-hit an incredible offense with some amazing stuff. His 12-curveball was the best it’s been, possibly ever. He also walked none, which is something Ryan never did. He’s tied with Warren Spahn for most strikeouts in a no-hitter.

The Rockies are ranked 2^nd in runs scored (360), 1^st in batting average (.281), 3^rd in OBP (.333), and 1^st in slugging percentage (.456). Granted, the Rockies play in one of the most offensively-skewed ballparks of all time, but this is a team that just scored 20 runs in a three-game series against San Francisco. Plus, they have Troy Tulowitzki, who bats .356/.445/.653 with 18 home runs and 45 RBI’s and a 5.2 WAR, just 0.1 below his entire WAR last year.

What I’m saying is, KERSHAW JUST PITCHED A GEM!  Oh my goodness this is incredible! Can we please start comparing him to Sandy Koufax? Currently he is pitching just like him, only with a few less strikeouts (let’s hope he doesn’t have to retire so young).

According to Game Score, a metric created by bill James to rank how effective a pitcher was in a game, Kershaw got a 102 ranking. It was the best ranking a no-hitter produced, and it’s the second-best pitching performance of all time, trailing only Kerry Wood’s 20-strikeout game in 1998. In that game, Wood walked none, hit one (Craig Biggio, of course), and allowed an infield single to Rickey Gutierrez.

In fact, both teams that Kershaw and Wood faced were very, very good. The 1998 Houston Astros were ranked 1^st in runs, 2nd in batting average, and 3^rd in OPS, with guys like Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Moises Alou, and Derek Bell. They ended up finishing with a 106-56 record.

Will the Rockies win 106 games this year? They won’t even come close. But their offense is always one of the best in the league, especially in the first half of the year. Kershaw only went to a three-ball count with only one batter all night, Josh Rutledge in the second inning. Eleven other batters faced two-ball counts. When he could smell the no-hitter, he got even better, not throwing one ball to any of the final six hitters.

Victor Oladipo, young basketball star on the Orlando Magic, witnessed his first baseball game at Dodger Stadium last night. What a first game to go to.

Was it the best performance of all time? It’s arguable that it is. When Kershaw can get his stuff like this, he is making his way to becoming one of the best pitchers of all time.