Bleacher Report · Jun 9, 2016
How Prep Phenom Clayton Kershaw Became an L.A. Dodger 10 Years Ago
The kid was something special, all right. But the story of how Clayton Kershaw, a skinny stick-figured high schooler, landed with the Los Angeles Dodgers 10 years ago as the seventh overall pick in the draft?
The astounding true fact that five pitchers—count 'em—were drafted ahead of him?
Oh, that story is every bit as dramatic as Kershaw's current, majestic strikeout-to-walk ratio of 109:6.
That story involves (deep breath) Luke Hochevar, the Las Vegas school system, Jordan Walden, Kershaw's mediocre performance in a state playoff game, subterfuge, Tommy Lasorda, a grand slam in the Seattle Mariners farm system years before and, even, a likely case of racial profiling. (Exhale.)