Clayton Kershaw's MLB Debut: May 25, 2008
Dodger Stadium, May 25, 2008
A Cy Young LHP's First Day
By the time Clayton Kershaw came up on May 25, 2008, Dodger fans were champing at the bit to see this guy. He'd been a highly-touted pitching prospect. Even 60-year-veteran broadcaster Vin Scully sounded like a kid on Christmas Eve before the game started.
Four years later, a post on Jon Weisman's Dodger Thoughts blog prompted me to dig through my photos from that game and see what I'd gotten. I was up in the Top Deck-- my little piece of Dodger Blue Heaven -- so my photos are not great.
Below are my photos, a video of Kershaw's first batter, links to better photos and some write-ups of the game. Obviously, this is just some fun nostalgia for Dodger fans and Clayton Kershaw fans, but since he's 2011's NL Cy Young winner,* some of those articles may be of interest to any fans of the game.
*First pitcher ever to win the pitching Triple Crown, Cy Young, and Gold Glove award in the same season. (And an All-Star, to round things out.)
He's just turned 24 today (3/19/12): happy birthday, ace!
Note: click the large pictures below to get full-resolution versions (a bit grainy.)
My (Tele) Photos from Kershaw's first Dodgers game 5-25-2008
Click thumbnail to view full-size
First game, first batter... first strikeout
Cards at Dodgers 5.25.2008 Links
- Clayton Kershaw MLB Debut - good photo set on Flickr
Clayton Kershaw MLB Debut. Okay, here's the photos I wish I'd taken. - Clayton Kershaw in bullpen (and heading out) just before game start.
Video clip by same photographer: Clayton Kershaw prepares for MLB debut vs. Cardinals by Steven Brody Stevens Inc. - Back To Where It All Began: Clayton Kershaw Facing The Cards At DS
TruBlueLA.com's fun game recap of Kershaw's debut. - Kershaw's big debut | Dingers blog
Good write-up on Kershaw's first game, with notes on Vin Scully's broadcast. Vin was waxing poetic about that dandy of a curveball. - Kershaw takes the stage - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
"Top prospect Clayton Kershaw had a hectic 48 hours before his solid six-inning performance in his Dodgers debut." - Major League Baseball news - St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers - BOX SCORE, PLAY-BY-PLAY
Cards @ Dodgers May 25, 2008. Box score and Play-by-Play from ESPN. - Clayton Kershaw birthday flashback: Public Enemy No. 1
Four years later, Dodger Thoughts sportswriter and fan Jon Weisman celebrates Clayton's 24th birthday with a retrospective. (Vin Scully introduced us to that nasty curve as "public enemy #1" in that game, borrowing a term from Roy Campanella.)
Clayton Kershaw, LA Dodgers #22
