Has Kershaw finally erased those demons?

The way I'll say this is he's exercised the demons.

You can't erase them because all the failures in the postseason in the past did occur.

The fact that the Dodgers didn't win the world Siris for so many years through Kershaw's prime, which has been arguably I think you might even win the argument.

The greatest prime in the history of baseball for a starting pitcher in the regular season is because he wasn't that same guy in the playoffs, so that doesn't go away.

But it does exercise the demons.

It gets the monkey off his back.

He won two games in this world.

Siri's whatever you think of pictures wins as a stat.

His team won twice when he pitched in the world, Siri's, and as a result of that, especially when he was a stopper.

I know five and two thirds, but nowadays that's a start.

And coming off the kind of loss it was in Game four, they needed that kind of start from him so bad, and maybe credit Dave Roberts for taking him out.

What looked like a little early right?

I mean, everyone's killing Tampa Bay right now because the smell.

But they took Kershaw out even by Kershaw standards.

Maybe a little early, but it worked.

And maybe he had been left in too long in the past, right?

But the fact is, Colfax was a big game pitcher, as was Drysdale.

They won World Series of those guys.

Valenzuela was a big game pitcher.

They won a World Series and 81 with him.

Orel Hershiser, big game pitcher.

They won largely like because of those guys.

Kershaw hadn't been, so they hadn't won.

He was this world Siri's.

So they did.

And now he enters.

Jeff, you were saying, Oh, that's That's actually great company.

But actually, Peyton Manning and Wilt Chamberlain, for all their postseason failure, did win twice.

Kershaw is now in the Peyton Manning Wilt Chamberlain conversation in baseball.

That is tough to make the argument.

He's the greatest of all time, but he is in that conversation and, like his name, will get brought up, even if he doesn't win the argument.

And easy to make the argument that he is the greatest regular season play pitcher of all time is a starter who now has a World Series championship.

Well, listen, I would say this to you.

He's not a choker.

I don't think that we can call them that anymore.

I think we could get rid of that.

Uh, you know, from baseball's vernacular, the bottom line is that the guy showed up in two World Series games and you know, all the pressure in the world was on the Game one in Game five and he handled his business.

Give credit where credit is due.

Not only that, it wasn't his Onley stellar performances in postseason.

He just had, Ah, few too many that were not stellar.

He's got a career to 43 e r a.

In a regular season, but in the postseason it's over for the best of all time.

That's right.

All times it's a dead ball.

So So the bottom line is that we know how special he is.

I think that you know what he really, really would have erased a lot of demons, eradicated them forever if he had to show up in a Game seven and he showed up and showed out.

But even that, in all likelihood, would have been in relief duty in the end when he was called upon the show up in the world, Siri's, you know, with those cardiac kids kind of kind of team in the Tampa Bay Rays, and he handled his business in game when he handled it again in Game five.

I don't think we'll ever look at Clayton Kershaw the same again in terms of postseason.

We won't sit up there and say the pressures on you not to choke.

You'll either show up and perform well or you won't.

But what won't be said about him is that, Oh, just because it's the postseason pressure break with that Clayton Kershaw, you couldn't being being a big one.

That's not going.

Are we like one big, happy family right now?

I feel like you guys, like, just need to give each other a big hug because Max is being all positive about Clayton Kershaw and Stephen is and agreeing with him.

And this is the same week that Max came out and actually admitted he was wrong about something like this.

Seems like a step forward in the history.

I'm really enjoying being a big part of this.

Thank you for highlighting that there were a lot of you're welcome.

You're welcome.

There were a lot of things to take away from last night that were great.

But to me, the moment that I appreciated the most knowing the kind of person he is, and I don't you know, I don't I don't say this about athletes a lot because we don't really know them.

Clayton Kershaw is literally the guy who goes to Africa and builds houses and schools for Children there.

Click like Clayton Kershaw is a good human being.

And to see him coming out of that dodgersbullpen last night with just this smile on his face of of joy, this relief, the monkey off his back, the weight off his shoulders and pointing to the sky and knowing that not only could he call himself a world champion now, but wherever he goes the rest of his life, he can take that big left hand to his, put it on a table, and it's gonna make a loud noise because the ring is gonna be clinking on that table for Clayton Kershaw have that, and to know that's Stephen.

A.

Smith will never use the word choker with him again that Max can.

I never did him credit.

I never did.

Jeff, that was Max.

I never said that about Clayton Kershaw.

Jeff, I'm so I never felt that way.

Jeff, I'm so glad you built you talked about what kind of person he is.

I rooted so hard for Clayton Kershaw throughout his career.

First of all, because you think you might be watching the greatest whoever did it, you know, by the way, I said he had the lowest e r a.

Of all time.

He also has the lowest starting pitchers adjusted er A of all time, which is just for the different eras.

So it's not even apples to oranges, apples to apples.

He's the best ever in the regular season.

And because you brought that, I remember I was on the radio in L.

A.

This man's going to Africa to dig Wells, to bring people water like he's a good dude.

If anything, I think his problems in the postseason it's not even about being left in too long and all that stuff he wanted it Too bad.

He he was so wound tight in those big moments because he wanted it so bad and so if you followed his career, you wanted it for him.

But Jeff, I did call him a choker because and I took no pleasure in it, because how many times I had to come on the year the next day and be like, Okay, he didn't do it again.

But this time he did it to starts and especially had he closed it out in Game four, it wouldn't have Game five.

It wouldn't have been as good the fact that he had to play stopper after a deflating, demoralizing loss that makes it feel like the baseball gods want Tampa toe win.

That he goes out there and pitch is like that.

And credit Dave Roberts the move he made by taking Kershaw out.

Which way do we want it?

You can't leave him in too long.

But when he took him out, he faced criticism, just like Cash did for taking Snell out right in the moment.

But it worked.

Credit them both, and and it's just a feel good story.

There's no other way to put it.

Thanks for watching ESPN on YouTube for live streaming sports and premium content.