Plaschke: Clayton Kershaw has surpassed Koufax as Dodgers’ greatest pitcher

Spencer Torkelson flailed, and Dodger Stadium shook.

Clayton Kershaw shoved his cap into the air, and Dodger Stadium screamed.

The cool April air was filled with a whiff of greatness Saturday night as a sweating, jabbing Dodgers lefty punched out a record and took his place at the top of a rotation of legends.

In the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers, on an 89-mph slider that was as unhittable as it was historic, Kershaw recorded his 2,697th career strikeout to pass Don Sutton to become the Dodgers’ all-time leader.

In doing so, he cemented his status as something far more enduring.

Clayton Kershaw is the greatest Dodgers pitcher ever.

It is time to shout what had previously only been whispered. It is time to believe what had previously only been imagined. It is not an insult to Sandy Koufax, but a tribute to one who has endured more seasons, accumulated more stats, and achieved at least as much magic.

It’s finally time to recognize that Kershaw is now the ace of a rotation that was once led by Koufax, the cornerstone of group that also includes Don Drysdale, Fernando Valenzuela, Dazzy Vance, Orel Hershiser and Sutton.

Kershaw owned Chavez Ravine on Saturday as he has owned it for 15 years, bringing thousands to their feet, summoning gasps and groans as he inched closer and closer to the record, finally fanning Torkelson in the fourth inning for his fourth and chart-busting K.

As the joint roared, Kershaw stepped off the mound and doffed his cap. When he returned to the rubber for the next batter, the crowd kept roaring, so he stepped off the mound again and waved his cap once more.

At the end of an inning in which he struck out all three hitters — of course he did — the crowd gave him a third ovation, and he tipped his cap once more as he marched to the dugout.

This is why Kershaw, 34, returned to the Dodgers as a free agent this spring. This is why no matter where he finishes his career, Kershaw will be a Dodger forever.

A statue of Koufax will be unveiled at Dodger Stadium later this summer. Kershaw’s sculpture will surely one day join him, and it no longer needs to be smaller or shadowed.

Believe it, because it’s true, he’s the greatest.

“For you to talk about Clayton in line with Sandy Koufax, that in itself is the greatest compliment you could get,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before Saturday’s game. “I think it is a great comparison … you talk about those two guys, you can flip a coin and I’d take either.”

Sandy Koufax pitches for the Brooklyn Dodgers in May 1957.

(Harry Hall / Associated Press)

Again, this is not meant to diminish the historic career of one of baseball’s greatest players and one of the Dodgers’ classiest and most celebrated alumnus. For five years from 1962 to 1966, Koufax was arguably the best pitcher in baseball history.

The thing is, Kershaw has been one of baseball’s best pitchers for three times that long, 15 years of domination, devastation, resilience and ultimately redemption.

Some of their achievements have been uncannily similar. Both men won three Cy Young Awards, both were MVPs, both won five ERA titles.

Koufax has the obvious edge in World Series championships, three to one, and his winning Game 7 start on two days’ rest in the 1965 World Series will forever make him the Dodgers great big-game pitcher.

Koufax also had four no-hitters, including one perfect game. Kershaw has thrown a no-hitter and was recently pulled out of potential perfect game in the seventh inning.

But while Koufax dominates the moments, Kershaw has surpassed him in virtually every stat. Kershaw has more strikeouts, a lower ERA, more wins, a better winning percentage, and more innings pitched.

“You look at the greats in whatever era, he’s up there with all of them,” Roberts said of Kershaw. “How the game is managed, played, expectations, whatever you want to look at, I believe he’s up there with all the greats.”

What clinches Kershaw’s place atop the historic Dodgers pitching rotation is that he has done it for so long, so consistently, in so many situations and with so much constant pressure.

The strikeout record is just latest in his legacy.

“Obviously it speaks to longevity, consistency, and just going to add to his lore, not only in Dodgers but in baseball history,” Roberts said.

Fittingly, Kershaw and Koufax are close friends. Kershaw considers Koufax a mentor, and Koufax attempts to watch Kershaw’s starts on television.

They’ve been seemingly connected since Kershaw made his major league debut on May 25, 2008 at Dodger Stadium.

The first strikeout of his career was appropriately the first batter he faced, St. Louis’ Skip Schumaker. He would record all three outs in that inning on strikeouts.

But of course, it hasn’t always been that smooth. He collapsed in a couple of playoff series against the Cardinals. He was cheated out of World Series greatness by the Houston Astros. He came out of the bullpen in the final moments of another series and was rocked into next season by the Washington Nationals.

Is it any wonder that when he was finally part of a World Series championship in 2020, he paused while running out of the bullpen to stare into the sky in wonder and relief?

And is it any wonder that, after all he has endured, he decided to come back to the Dodgers as a free agent this spring after almost signing with his hometown Texas Rangers?

The connection with the community was too strong. The lure of making history was too great. All that, and the Dodgers promised he would still be on of their top starters, and he has been just that.

“Clayton is the one who wanted to come back here only if we valued him as a top-tier starter,” said Roberts said. “For us to … give him every opportunity to come back here was a smart move … he’s one of the greatest Dodgers to put on a Dodgers uniform, he’s got that. He’s also a performer in the here and now. It’s sort of a no-brainer.”

In the here and now Saturday night, Kershaw rose atop a long list of stars to confirm his place as the greatest Dodgers pitcher ever.

Yeah, sort of a no-brainer.