Kershaw wins Spahn
Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw has won the Warren Spahn Award for the fourth time. The Oklahoma City-based Spahn Award goes to baseball’s top left-handed pitcher. Kershaw joins Hall of Famer Randy Johnson as the only four-time winners. A banquet is set for Jan. 31 in OKC to honor Kershaw.
Months after dazzling a near-capacity crowd in Bricktown, Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is coming back to Oklahoma City.
This time it’s to accept his fourth Warren Spahn Award.
Kershaw was named Tuesday as the winner of the award, which is given out annually to Major League Baseball’s top left-handed pitcher.
Kershaw also won the award in 2011, 2013 and 2014. He joins Hall of Famer Randy Johnson as the only four-time winners of the award.
The award will be presented during the Warren Spahn Award Gala on Wednesday, Jan. 31, at Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club.
“For me, it’s humbling to be put in the same category as some of baseball’s greatest pitchers,” Kershaw said in a release. “The recipients of the Warren Spahn Award are players who have influenced and inspired so many who love our game of baseball. It’s an incredible honor to be selected as the 2017 recipient of this prestigious award. Thank you to the Bricktown Rotary Club for recognizing my work on the field. I’m thrilled and grateful for this honor.”
Kershaw was 18-4 with a 2.31 ERA in 175 innings pitched. He also struck out 202 batters and walked just 30.
In the postseason, he was 3-2 with a 4.02 ERA as the Dodgers advanced to Game 7 of the World Series. He pitched in three World Series games, starting twice.
“Every time he takes the field, Clayton reminds us that he’s a special ballplayer,” Greg Spahn, son of the late Warren Spahn, said in a release.
“He is one of the most dominant pitchers in the game and it’s easy to see why he joins Randy Johnson as a four-time Warren Spahn Award winner. My family and I look forward handing Clayton his fourth trophy.”
Kershaw pitched in front of a crowd of more than 13,000 fans to Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in August for a rehab start as he recovered from a lower back strain. He pitched five dominant innings.
“We are thrilled a member of the Dodgers family will return to Oklahoma City to once again accept the Warren Spahn Award,” OKC Dodgers president and general manager Michael Byrnes said in the release.