Clayton Kershaw Interview

Clayton Kershaw the rookie pitcher from the Dodgers had a chat with us after his teams 2-1 victory against the Giants in the last game of the regular season. As his Dodgers head into the Playoffs as the NL West Champions

Interviewer – Hi Clayton thanks for sitting down with us this evening, we know you haven’t got much time on your hand with the Playoffs soon to start.

Clayton – No problem, glad to be here.

Interviewer – So as everyone is well aware the Dodgers are heading to the Playoffs with the best record in the NL, how’s it feel to be part of a great season? in your 1st season also might I add.

Clayton – Yeah it has been a great year, I honestly never expected to be in the Dodgers rotation in my 1st year ill tell you that, I was very surprised with how fast things went, and the Dodgers are great, being a rookie you worry about if you will fit in, but the atmosphere was amazing, there were so many young people in the camp I felt right at home, and the Veterans were very willing to help out, I really connected with Brad [Penny] and Derek [Lowe], they are great guys.

Interviewer – Your 2007 record finished at 4-9, however the real standout of your 1st season was your 127 strikeouts in your 130.0 innings, quite an amazing stat for a rookie, how do you feel your 1st season was?

Clayton – Wow that many strikeouts *laughs* I had no idea. Now that I look back at the season, despite the 4-9 record, I’m extremely pleased with my game, I went out every game with the intention of pitching a great game, overall I am just thrilled about being in the MLB and for a 1st season, I think I have done pretty well, the rest of the pitching rotation [Penny, Lowe, Billingsley, Kuo] were very impressed and excited with my performance and were always available if I had any questions to ask.

Interviewer – With Chad Billingsley’s injury just before the Playoffs, no official word has been released as to who will take his place, there is rumours that it will be either you, Mark Hendrickson or Randy Wolf. Could you shed some light on the situation for us?

Clayton – None of us have heard any word of what’s happening, I spoke to Chad [Billingsley] the day after his injury and he was pretty disappointed, he was really excited about his 1st time in the Playoffs. However the decision about who will be taking the spot for the NLDS is up to the front office, and when they make a decision they’ll let the press know as soon as they let us know, I’d love to pitch in the Playoffs, it would cap off a great rookie season for me.

Interviewer – On the Playoffs, what is the mood around the Dodgers camp heading into the playoffs? And do you believe you have a shot at being World Champions?

Clayton – We are all thrilled about it, so many young players are so excited to be seeing Playoff action for the 1st time, and we have so many great veterans who have been here before and are able to help us prepare for the Playoffs, we are looking forward to playing the Braves, and we are looking forward to putting on a show for all our fans. And if we went all the way and won it all *laughs* how would you feel in your rookie season if you were world champions? I would absolutely thrilled and stunned at the same time.

Interviewer – What do you reckon will your 2nd season be? Expect any changes?

Clayton – It’s only my rookie season so I wouldn’t be getting so excited so soon, if I get the chance to pitch again next year in the MLB I will be thrilled and excited. The atmosphere around at the moment is amazing, and I have a great group of guys with me in the rotation and we all get along very well, I’m really excited for next year.

Interviewer – Well we won’t keep you any longer, thanks for joining us for the interview, we all look forward to seeing you and the Dodgers in the Playoffs very soon, Good luck.

Clayton – My pleasure and thank you.

nice job