Clayton Kershaw appears to be a shoo-in for the National League Cy Young Award, but Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda believes that it's the only hardware the Los Angeles Dodgers southpaw should take home despite the fact that he is a finalist for the NL Most Valuable Player Award.
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Kershaw is looking to become the first NL pitcher in 46 years to win the MVP Award when the winner is announced Thursday, but Lasorda doesn't think Kershaw should take home the plaque because he feels the award should be reserved for everyday players.
"I think pitchers should win the pitching award, the Cy Young Award, but not the MVP, because he only goes out there every four or five games," Lasorda said in an appearance on SiriusXM's MLB Network Radio, according to ESPN Los Angeles. "The other guys go out there every day and that makes a big difference in that award. I think it should be set that pitchers should not get the Most Valuable Player."
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Kershaw is coming off of a season where he led the entire MLB with 21 wins, a 1.77 ERA, a 0.86 WHIP, 10.85 strikeouts per inning and six complete games. The southpaw also led all NL players with a 7.5 WAR.
Kershaw is going up against a pair of outfielders in Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Miami Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton for the award.
McCutchen ranked third in the NL with a .314 batting average and also led the MLB with a .410 on-base percentage and the NL with a .952 OPS.
Stanton led the NL with 37 homers despite having his season cut short after getting hit in the face with a fastball. Stanton also ranked second in the NL in RBI (105) while pacing the league in total bases (299) and slugging percentage (.555).
The last pitcher to win the Cy Young and MVP Awards was Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander, who notched the honors in 2011. The last NL pitcher to earn the MVP honor was Bob Gibson after the 1968 season.
As for the Cy Young, Kershaw is looking for his third award and is likely to be a unanimous decision. Kershaw is going up against Adam Wainwright (St. Louis Cardinals) and Johnny Cueto (Cincinnati Reds), who both had solid seasons that paled in comparison to Kershaw.
Kershaw could be taking home a lot of hardware after the awards are announced this week.
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