If a Major League Baseball pitcher is throwing a perfect game but has thrown a lot of pitches, what do you do? Do you take them out or leave them in to finish the game? Baseball fans have strong opinions on this matter and those opinions were on display Wednesday when Los Angeles Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw was perfect through seven innings.
In this case, Kershaw had thrown 80 pitches, but it was his first start of the season following an abbreviated spring training (thanks to the MLB lockout). Regardless, many people couldn't believe it when Kershaw did not come back out to pitch the eighth inning -- including Hall-of-Fame outfielder Reggie Jackson.
Jackson took to Twitter to complain about Kershaw not getting a shot to make history and complete a perfect game:
"Clayton Kershaw Perfect game 80 pitches, take him OUT !!!!! WHAT THE! what's the game coming to?1 of the era's best, and you take him out with a perfect game in the 7th, 7-0 Dodgers winning. Take him OUT! THIS IS BASEBALL PLEASE PEOPLE THAT HAVE NEVER PLAYED GET OUT OF ITS WAY."
Clayton Kershaw Perfect game 80 pitches, take him OUT !!!!! WHAT THE! what’s the game coming to?1 of the era’s best, and you take him out with a perfect game in the 7th, 7-0 Dodgers winning. Take him OUT! THIS IS BASEBALL PLEASE PEOPLE THAT HAVE NEVER PLAYED GET OUT OF ITS WAY
— Reggie Jackson (@mroctober) April 13, 2022
Tell us how you really feel, Reggie.
Kershaw, on the other hand, was fine with being taken out of the game. He said Roberts made the "right choice" and noted that the short spring training is further reason for him to be pulled.
"Blame it on the lockout. Blame it on my not picking up a ball for three months [during the offseason]," Kershaw said. "I knew going in that my pitch count wasn't going to be 100. It's a hard thing to do, to come out of a game when you're doing that. We're here to win. This was the right choice."
Lefty reliever Alex Vesia was brought in to replace Kershaw and surrendered a single to Gary Sánchez, dashing any hopes Los Angeles had of making history. The Dodgers still went on to defeat the Minnesota Twins, 7-0.
