Who's the Better MLB Pitcher: San Francisco Giants' Madison Bumgarner or Los Angeles Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw? [Poll]
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw was rewarded with the 2014 Cy Young award this season, the third of his career and the second consecutive Cy Young trophy Kershaw has won in the National League.
However, in Northern California, another pitcher is making his case for the best ace in baseball today. Madison Bumgarner led the San Francisco Giants to their third World Series championship in the last five years. Bumgarner won the 2014 World Series Most Valuable Player award.
So who is the better pitcher, Kershaw or Bumgarner? This National League West rivalry runs deep and it appears as if the two best pitchers are both in the same division.
Why Clayton Kershaw Is Better
Kershaw has the edge in almost every statistical category. He led the entire league in wins (21), win percentage (87.5 percent) and he had the lowest ERA average in the league with an incredible 1.77. Kershaw also had the highest strikeout-per-nine-innings ratio. Kershaw's 2014 season was one of the greatest regular seasons we have ever seen, drawing many comparisons to Hall of Famer Bob Gibson's legendary 1968 season.
Kershaw's fastball, curveball and slider are almost unhittable. Even defensively, Kershaw is a good player, as he did win a Gold Glove Award in 2011. This past season, we witnessed Kershaw throw a no-hitter, and he has made the last four consecutive All-Star Games. Despite being a pitcher and not playing every game, Kershaw deserves to be this year's National League MVP, according to many baseball fans.
Bumgarner has never pitched a no-hitter in his career. Kershaw's career ERA of 2.46 is much better than Bumgarner's 3.06, and his win percentage is much higher, as well.
Why Madison Bumgarner Is Better
There's no doubt Kershaw has the edge in the regular season. But the playoffs? Now that is a different story entirely.
Bumgarner is, statistically speaking, one of the greatest postseason pitchers of all time. This past postseason, Bumgarner was incredible, breaking records nearly every week of play. During the 2014 postseason, Bumgarner pitched 52.2 innings and allowed just six earned runs. His World Series performance against the Kansas City Royals was an all-time great one. In the 2014 World Series, Bumgarner pitched 21 innings and allowed just one run for a staggering 0.43 ERA. Bumgarner was named the MVP of the 2014 World Series.
In the National League Wild Card round, Bumgarner dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates, pitching all nine innings and not allowing a single run. Bumgarner also pitched very well against the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series.
Kershaw, on the other hand, was horrendous in the 2014 playoffs. Kershaw pitched 12.2 innings and allowed 11 runs, not winning a single playoff game this season. Bumgarner's playoff ERA is 2.14, while Kershaw's playoff ERA is 5.12. Kershaw has allowed eight more runs in 37 less playoff innings than Bumgarner.
It should also be mentioned that Bumgarner did win 18 games this previous season, and pitched 19 more innings overall than Kershaw did.
Verdict
Both pitchers are extremely talented and very young. Kershaw is the most dominant regular season pitcher, but Bumgarner can't be defeated in the postseason.
It's a close call, but this writer is going to have to give the edge to Bumgarner. Cy Young Awards are nice, but World Series rings are even better. All-time great pitchers (like Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax) are most remembered for what they did in October against the best teams, not in the middle of April and May.
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