Roger Arrieta
via Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw today was named the 2014 Warren Spahn Award winner.
The Spahn Award is presented annually to the best left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) and is based on a pitcher’s wins, strikeouts and earned run average. Organizers of the Warren Spahn Award, announced Kershaw as the winner for the third time in four years.
“It is an honor to be the recipient of the 2014 Warren Spahn Award,” Kershaw said. “I’m humbled to be recognized by the Bricktown Rotary Club again this year – the prestige of this award isn’t lost on me. I am also grateful for the opportunity to play alongside so many awesome teammates who provide the support and confidence for me to do my job. Warren Spahn was a great pitcher with a legendary career. To be recognized in his honor is pretty special. Thank you for the privilege of representing this award for the 2014 baseball season.”
The Spahn Award is named after Oklahoman and National Baseball Hall of Famer Warren Spahn, who holds the MLB record of 363 wins as a left-handed pitcher.
Kershaw will be formally recognized at the Warren Spahn Award Gala, hosted by Oklahoma City’s Bricktown Rotary Club in conjunction with the Jim Thorpe Association, in January at the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame & Jim Thorpe Museum.
Kershaw is coming off a season in which he had a MLB-leading 21 wins. His 1.77 earned run average was the best in baseball. Kershaw also recorded 239 strikeouts.
“It is obvious from his performance on the field that we are witnessing a special pitcher each and every time Clayton Kershaw takes the mound,” said Greg Spahn, son of the late Warren Spahn. “This was another outstanding year for Clayton. He is truly one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball and it’s this type of performance every season that explains why Clayton is a multiple winner of this award. The Spahn family will proudly present Clayton his third Warren Spahn Award.”
Having already won the Spahn Award in 2011 and 2013, Kershaw has been one of the top pitchers in baseball since his MLB debut in 2008. In addition to his two Cy Young awards, Kershaw has appeared in multiple All-Star Games and won the pitching Triple Crown in 2011. He is also a Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner. In 2014, Kershaw has been named Player of the Year by both The Sporting News and Baseball America.
Off the field, Kershaw has been a top performer as well. Kershaw and his wife, Ellen, founded Kershaw’s Challenge in 2011. With the goal of transforming the lives of children in America and Africa, the organization provides a home to orphans living with HIV/AIDS in Zambia. In 2012, Kershaw’s Challenge expanded to serve at-risk youth in Los Angeles and Dallas. For every strikeout, Kershaw donates $500 to the foundation.
“As impressive as Clayton Kershaw is on the field, it’s his commitment to helping others that is most admirable,” said Bill Hickman, Spahn Award Gala chairman. “His work though the foundation is an example for each of us.”
Past Spahn Award winners include: Kershaw (2013 and 2011), Gio Gonzales (2012); David Price (2010); CC Sabathia (2007–2009); Johan Santana (2004, 2006); Dontrelle Willis (2005); Andy Pettitte (2003); and Randy Johnson (1999–2002).
