LOS ANGELES — On the day after the Dodgers removed Clayton Kershaw six outs from a perfect game, Kershaw said he felt bad — not for himself, but for you.
“The only thing I feel bad for is, if I was a fan, I would want to see somebody finish the game,” Kershaw said Thursday. “So, from a fan’s perspective, I do feel bad for that. I wish I could have done it. But yesterday wasn’t the day.”
Kershaw and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts agreed that seven innings was enough for a pitcher whose injury kept him out of last season’s playoffs and delayed his winter throwing program. Kershaw threw 11 2/3 innings in the lockout-shortened Cactus League.
Would two more spring starts have made enough of a difference to have allowed him to stay in Wednesday’s game?
“Maybe even one more, honestly,” Kershaw said. “Where we’re at and, honestly, the way my season ended last year, not being able to be a part of October. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I came back, to be ready for that.
“Every decision that we make is geared toward that month of the season, for us. And so, with all that into consideration, that’s how we came about it.”
He said there was no way to know how much risk he might have taken by pitching beyond the seventh inning Wednesday.
“I could have thrown nine innings and been fine for the rest of the season,” he said. “I could have thrown two innings yesterday and be hurt the next day. Nobody knows.
“But, in the moment, it felt like that was the right call for my personal health, the best interests of the team, and me being ready in October. It all seemed like the right call at the time.”
When Gavin Lux made a fine defensive play in the seventh inning, Kershaw said he felt the possibility of a perfect game had become “a little more real.
“But I also knew that my time was running out.”
He said he appreciated the history of the perfect game. Of the more than 222,000 games played in major league history, 23 have been perfect games.
“It’s a special thing,” Kershaw said. “I don’t take that for granted. I understand the history of the game. I understand what it means in the game of baseball. There’s only been 20-something in history. I get that. The individual stuff is not why I continue to play the game. I want to win. That supersedes anything individual for me right now.”
He said it would have been harder for him to leave a perfect game had the game been played 10 years ago. What if the game had been played at Dodger Stadium?
“It’s hard no matter what,” he said. “But, yeah, if I was bringing my son to the game and there was a perfect game going on? That’s why you come to the games, to see something special. That’s why you come to the ballpark. From a fan’s perspective, I get it. It’s tough to swallow.
“But, hopefully, when we’re winning the World Series in October, it’ll mean something.”
Did Kershaw think about the game when he woke up Thursday?
“A little bit,” he said, smiling.
