Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw flirted with history on Wednesday, but his bid at baseball immortality was thwarted by a surprise early exit.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner was lifted after seven perfect innings -- on just 80 pitches -- against the Twins on Minnesota.
Kershaw, 34, turned back the clock for the matinee, retiring the first 21 Twins batters without a blemish. The 15-year veteran struck out a whopping 13 batters in his season debut, but he was replaced by left reliever Alex Vesia to start the home half of the eighth inning.
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Vesia promptly surrendered a one-out single to Minnesota's Jorge Polanco, dashing any hope of a combined perfect game or no-hitter.
The decision by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to pull Kershaw was highly controversial on social media, where most users seemed to think Kershaw should have been allowed to chase history.
Twins play-by-play voice Cory Provus thought that after the lockout this offseason, Kershaw attempting such a rare feat was something baseball needed.
“For what this game went through over the winter, and all the negative energy around this game, you need those moments,” said Provus. “You need those moments in the spotlight to shine on your sport.”
Provus says that in other sports like the NBA or NFL, players get opportunities to set records all the time, and baseball consistently stops players from getting the same opportunity.
“Six outs away from the 24th perfect game in baseball history is bad for the sport,” Provus said. “It's just bad for the game.”
In fairness to Roberts, he's clearly thinking about the long season that lay ahead, and Kershaw, who has struggled with injuries in recent seasons, is an important part of the rotation, especially with Trevor Bauer's future looking uncertain.
Still, the prospect of one of baseball's rarest feats being subverted by a manager's decision was a bridge too far for some. Here's what Baseball Twitter was saying:
