 Clayton Edward Kershaw ( born March 19 , 1988 ) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball ( MLB ) . A left @-@ handed starting pitcher , Kershaw has played in the major leagues since 2008 , and his career earned run average ( ERA ) and Walks and hits per innings pitched average ( WHIP ) are the lowest among starters in the live @-@ ball era with a minimum of 1 @,@ 000 innings pitched . With his Career Hits Allowed Per Nine Innings Pitched average ( 6 @.@ 64 ) Which is the second lowest in MLB History , a three @-@ time Cy Young Award winner , the 2014 National League Most Valuable Player and Los Angeles Dodgers All Time Leader in walks and hits per innings pitched ( 1 @.@ 01 ) and hits allowed per nine innings pitched ( 6 @.@ 64 ) , Kershaw is considered by many to be the best pitcher in MLB . 
