Emerging National League Cy Young Award favorite Clayton Kershaw has lofty goals for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season: World Series or bust.
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Kershaw appeared on The Herd with Colin Cowherd on Tuesday and said that the Dodgers, the team with the highest payroll in the MLB at close to $240 million, have to win a World Series title this year or the season is a lost cause.
"I think it was almost like that last year, too," Kershaw told the program. "Coming up short didn't feel good, and now we have that experience of what it's like to go deep and not win. Especially with the team we have now and the guys brought in from last year, we feel like it's World Series or bust, for sure."
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The Dodgers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2013 NLCS in six games, failing in their attempt to get to the World Series for the first time since winning the Fall Classic in 1988.
Dodgers manager Don Mattingly agreed with his ace southpaw, stating that this could be a special year in Los Angeles.
"You have to say that as a player and I have to say that as a manager," Mattingly said via ESPN. "If him and [Zack] Greinke and [Hyun-Jin] Ryu go down, I think, 'World Series or bust,' seems kind of silly, right? There are factors in there, but for me I think you have to look at it like that's what you're trying to accomplish, and I think that's a realistic possibility."
Kershaw said the mix of quirky personalities on the team have helped it mesh together and become a World Series favorite.
"There are a ton of personalities, and that's part of the reason why we're good," Kershaw said. "So many different guys bring so much different stuff to the table. As long as you're winning, all that stuff is quirky and that's just the way it is. You start losing, all these superstars have too big of personalities and something's got to change. It's really just the perception of winning."
The Dodgers enter Wednesday at 69-52 and lead the NL West with a six-game cushion over the San Francisco Giants as Los Angeles seeks its second straight division crown.
Kershaw, who missed significant time earlier in the season, is tied for the NL lead with 14 wins in 19 starts and leads the MLB with a 1.78 ERA and 0.86 WHIP while amassing 163 strikeouts, which ranks fourth in the NL.
With those numbers, it's understandable that the perhaps soon-to-be three-time Cy Young Award winner has championship dreams.
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