Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Blake Snell has long expressed his admiration for veteran left-hander Clayton Kershaw and spoke about what he learned from the future Hall of Famer over the course of the 2025 season.
“Yes. And it’s funny, because like everyone says, how do those conversations go? How do you get there?” Snell said. “But it’s just a conversation, it’s just questions. You just ask questions, and we’ll just have a normal conversation. But I’ll ask questions and I’m like, why did you do this, or why did you think like that, or, like, what do you think is the best part of your game. And then you ask that question and he answers.”
“And then it’s like, okay, how can you fit that into your game, and what does that look like for you? Because at the end of the day, you’re building the best version of yourself, so you have to figure that part out. But Kershaw, the best thing he does is he competes. Like he couldn’t have anything and he’s going to find a way to dominate because he’s just so competitive. Like, how do you learn that? You know, you have to ask questions, but then you have to figure out, well, like, which part, how can you do that, and that’s the hard part.
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Snell mentioned that he would be teammates with Kershaw ahead of the season, and was clearly excited to talk to the veteran about improving his own game.
“I can’t wait. I told Andrew (Friedman) I need my locker next to his,” Snell said this offseason. “He’s done so many great things in his career. So talking to him, picking his brain and learning from all his experiences, I’m really excited. To learn from a guy like that, I mean, you can’t ask for more.”
Whatever Snell learned from Kershaw, it clearly worked for him this season. Although he did not play the full season, Snell had an ERA of 2.35 through 11 starts in the regular season, which is the third-lowest ERA he has posted in a single season throughout his career.
Snell has also had a solid postseason, posting a 2.42 ERA in his four starts.
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The left-hander had an unfortunate outing in the opening game of the World Series, allowing five runs in as many innings, and will look to bounce back later in the series to help the Dodgers go back-to-back.
Photo credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
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