The Elusive Changeup: Clayton Kershaw’s Pursuit of a Pitch

[덴버=AP/뉴시스] Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw (35), who sang the resurrection hymn this year, felt pain in his shoulder. 2023.06.28

An anecdote was revealed about Clayton Kershaw (36, LA Dodgers), who had a meal together with Ryu Hyun-jin (37, Hanwha Eagles) in the past.

On the 7th (local time), the United States Athletic presented an anecdote about Kershaw’s attempt to learn about Ryu Hyun-jin’s changeup in an article titled ‘The pitch that 12 ace-level pitchers in the major leagues failed to master.’

The media said, “This ritual has continued every spring at Camelback Ranch (the Dodgers’ spring training facility) for nearly 10 years,” and “Dodgers ace Kershaw asked left-handed pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin for advice on learning the changeup.Ryu Hyun-jin throws the best changeup in the league.

In an interview with The Athletic last year, Ryu Hyun-jin said, “(Kershaw) seems to ask me almost every year,” and added, “When we played catch together, we practice playing around with the switch grip. “

However, Kershaw rarely threw a changeup.

The Athletic said Kershaw’s obsession with changes bothered him. Specifically, he said, “Kershaw won the World Series, the National League MVP, the ERA title five times, and the Cy Young Award three times,” and added, “He loved the changeup, but he couldn’t master it .”

Kershaw was instructed to prepare a changeup from the start of his minor league debut. Since the Dodgers selected Kershaw in the 2006 draft, club officials have instructed him to throw a changeup.

The media said, “Kershaw acquired a third pitch when he developed a slider in 2009. The slider became Kershaw’s primary weapon, and although it had less bend than the curveball, it was much more effective, however, Kershaw continued to try to throw the changeup Every time he went to the bullpen, “I threw a changeup every time I pitched,” he added.

However, according to Baseball Savant, there hasn’t been a season since Kershaw’s debut when he threw more than 5% changeups among all pitches. In 2014, when he won the MVP and the Cy Young Award, the share of changes was only 1.1%.

Kershaw wanted to use a changeup, but it wasn’t easy. However, even without a change, he is still playing at an ace level and is considered the best pitcher in the league.

Meanwhile, in addition to Kershaw, the media presented stories of 11 players, including Logan Webb (San Francisco Giants), Sonny Gray (St. Louis Cardinals), and Spencer Strider (Atlanta Braves).

◎ News Media Sympathy parkey2001@newsis.com

#Dodgers #legend #fell #love #Ryu #Hyunjin #taught #Kershaw