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MLB opening day 2013: Kershaw channels Koufax with mound masterpiece

LOS ANGELES—In a world of hyperbole and "What have you done for me lately?" attitudes, it can be easy to lose sight of real greatness, the stuff that makes a man a legend in his sport.

So when a 25-year-old with 150 starts in his major league career is asked about greatness, you can forgive him if he throws out cliches or, in an attempt to seem humble, brushes the question aside.

Clayton Kershaw looked like a $200 million man Monday in his opening day shutout of the Giants. (AP Photo)

Clayton Kershaw’s response to a question comparing his mound aptitude to that of Dodgers Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax was as impressive as the work he did during career start No. 150 Monday afternoon.

"I just don't want to disrespect Sandy," said Kershaw, Los Angeles' current ace left-hander. "He doesn't deserve that. He's the best left-handed pitcher ever, so for somebody to (compare us) is disrespectful to him.

"Honestly, I'm honored by the comparison, but I don't put any merit into it because I've got a really long way to go."

Such a smart answer, and knowing Kershaw, a completely honest one. After all, he was asked about "The Left Arm of God."

While Kershaw hasn't been dubbed as one of the creator's appendages, linking him and Koufax on this day was apropos. During a spectacle of a pregame ceremony, the Dodgers eventually brought out Koufax, a legitimate legend in this sport, to throw out the first pitch on opening day at Dodger Stadium. The place erupted as Koufax strolled out in his cream-colored Dodger jersey, jeans and sneakers, stepped onto the mound and bounced the pitch with his 77-year old left arm with everyone in the building on their feet.

About 150 minutes later, Kershaw, apparently a legend in the making, stood in the same spot Koufax had, everyone in the building on their feet again. His 25-year-old arm delivered his 94th pitch of the game, and it resulted in Pablo Sandoval bouncing a ball to third base for the third out in the Dodgers' 4-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants in this remodeled building.

It was a complete-game masterpiece by Kershaw, seven strikeouts and no walks. He also contributed with the bat, hitting a home run to break a 0-0 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning. That made him the second player since 1921 to throw a complete game and hit a home run on opening day (Bob Lemon in 1953 was the other).

You didn't need Koufax's presence to be reminded of him while Kershaw surgically dismantled the Giants, but the fact that he was here and back in the good graces of an organization that too long ignored his existence forced onlookers to acknowledge what they were seeing.

Clayton Kershaw is on a path to becoming the next Sandy Koufax.

"It made the day complete with (Koufax) throwing out the first pitch and Clayton throwing the last pitch," Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis said while standing at his new locker in the remade home clubhouse. "It was almost like a passing-of-the-torch-type day. These two iconic Dodger lefties linked, pitching off the same mound on the same day. It was pretty surreal."

Not for Kershaw. This is who he is and what he does. He dominates. He won the National League Cy Young Award in 2011 and would have won it last season had R.A. Dickey not been such a good human-interest story or played in New York. Kershaw has led the majors in ERA the last two years —Koufax led the majors in his final five seasons, retiring at 30 as the game's best southpaw ever.

And after Monday, Kershaw now has one career home run (since we’re comparing, Koufax hit two in his career). The shot to dead center sent the Dodger dugout into "pandemonium," as Ellis put it, and the old stadium shook as fans begged for a curtain call that the ultra-focused Kershaw would never deliver.

Kershaw did a postgame interview on the field, had a jug of liquid and ice dumped on him by center fielder Matt Kemp and hugged principal owner Mark Walter, the man responsible for approving Kershaw's next contract. That agreement undoubtedly will be worth north of $200 million, although Kershaw had vowed to not negotiate a new deal until the offseason once Monday came around. His focus on pitching is too important to him to concern himself with massive amounts of money.

Koufax never made that kind of dough, but he did win three World Series rings while putting up an 0.88 ERA in 51 postseason innings during those title runs. Until Kershaw does something similar and wins a championship, not to mention puts together a Hall of Fame career, then he is right. It would be disrespectful to say his career mirrors Koufax's. It doesn't. Not right now.

But putting the two in the same breath, thought or column is to be expected considering what Kershaw has done in his five najor league seasons plus one game.

"I know (former Dodgers manager) Joe (Torre) has made comparisons pretty early with Clayton. I'd be lying if I said it didn't flash through my mind there in about the sixth," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said when asked if Kershaw was the next Koufax. "This guy is rolling along and Sandy threw out the first pitch. It's probably not fair to Clayton to throw that on him right now, but for this day, with Sandy throwing the first pitch, it makes you think about it."

Guggenheim Baseball Management—the ownership group headed by Walter, Magic Johnson and Stan Kasten—made it a point to bring Koufax back into the Dodger family. He had been more recently associated with the New York Mets because of his friendship with owner Fred Wilpon. Koufax is now an adviser to Walter and he was around the team a lot during spring training.

His relationship with Kershaw has grown because of that. The younger lefty understands who and what Koufax is in the baseball world, which is why he won't dare put himself in the same category other than being a Dodger ace with a golden left limb.

"Sandy is awesome," Kershaw said. "I don't think of him as a historical person just because I get to be around him so much, but I understand what he means to the Dodgers."

The way things are going, one day Kershaw just might mean something similar to this organization.

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