Clayton Edward Kershaw (born March 19, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has played for the Dodgers for the entirety of his MLB career. A left-handed starting pitcher, Kershaw has played 14 seasons in the major leagues since he debuted in 2008. He is a nine-time All-Star, three-time National League (NL) Cy Young Award winner, and the 2014 NL Most Valuable Player. His 2.49 career earned run average (ERA) and 1.00 walks plus hits per inning pitched rate (WHIP) are the lowest among starters in the live-ball era (minimum 1,000 innings pitched). Kershaw has a career hits allowed per nine innings pitched average of 6.81, the third-lowest in MLB history. He has been described for much of his career as the best pitcher in baseball, and one of the greatest pitchers of all time.Kershaw was drafted seventh overall in the 2006 MLB draft. He worked his way through the Dodgers' farm system in just one full season and reached the majors at 20 years old. When he debuted in 2008, he was the youngest player in MLB, a title he held for one full year. In 2011, he won the pitching Triple Crown and the NL Cy Young Award, becoming the youngest pitcher to accomplish either of these feats since Dwight Gooden in 1985.
