Clayton Kershaw isn't apart of the 2015 All-Star Game as of yet. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports)
LOS ANGELES — The All-Star Game on July 14 in Cincinnati will feature a large Los Angeles Dodgers contingent.
First baseman Adrian Gonzalez, center fielder Joc Pederson and catcher Yasmani Grandal were chosen as reserves on the National League team, and right-hander Zack Greinke was selected to the pitching staff for the midseason exhibition.
However, three-time Cy Young Award winner and reigning NL Most Valuable Player Clayton Kershaw was surprisingly not among the player or manager selections announced Monday. Instead, Kershaw will compete with four other players in the Final Vote online contest.
Kershaw also could be added as a replacement for another pitcher who becomes unavailable. For now, though, Kershaw is on the outside looking in for the first time in five seasons.
“That’s not for me to decide,” Kershaw said when asked if he thought he deserved to have been selected.
Even so, Kershaw seemed to acknowledge some surprise at being left off the NL team (so far) when he said, “I wasn’t expecting it.”
So dominant a year ago, Kershaw has paid the cost for having raised expectations of his performance to unrealistic levels. Kershaw still is one of the best pitchers in baseball. He is 5-6 with a 3.08 ERA but also leads the majors in strikeouts (147), is eighth in walks plus hits per inning pitched (1.04) and is second only to Max Scherzer in Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP).
“You always want to go,” Kershaw said. “You never know when it might not happen again. I said that last year, I’ll say it again this year if it happens. We’ll see.”
