Kershaw's dominant playoff run ends with MVP

Clayton Kershaw was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2017 DMBL playoffs after completing an utterly dominating postseason run in which he won two games in each round of the playoffs, including the Game 7 clincher for the Hoboken Cutters.

Kershaw led all pitchers in wins, starts, innings pitched, and strikeouts, among other categories, as Hoboken played the maximum 19 postseason games. The 29-year-old was unbeaten (6-0), winning an elimination game in each round of the playoffs. He won Games 1 and 4 in the first round versus No. 6 Hopatcong, Games 3 and 6 against No. 2 and defending champion Tucson in the semifinals, and Games 1 and 7 versus No. 4 Sardine City in the finals.

The left-hander compiled a 0.90 ERA and 0.60 WHIP in a league-high 7 starts (5 quality starts). His two shutouts book-ended the seven-game World Series against Sardine City, and he gave up 1 unearned run in two other playoff starts. Kershaw registered just 6 walks (2 intentionally), allowing only 24 hits and 7 runs (5 earned) in a playoff-high 50 innings.

The Hoboken ace had a league-best 5.4 runners per 9 innings as well as 4.3 hits per 9 innings in the postseason. Batters managed a meager .362 OPS against him, including a .138 batting average, .195 slugging, and a league-low .167 on-base percentage. His 180 batters faced was tops in the league, ahead of teammates Rick Porcello (168) and Max Scherzer (161).

Kershaw's only no-decision came in Game 4 versus Sardine City when he started on short rest and left in the 6th inning with a 4-1 lead that the bullpen did not hold. He also went on short rest in a must-win Game 4 in the 1st round versus Hopatcong.

In 3 starts against Sardine City, Kershaw allowed 10 hits and 3 runs over 23 1/3 innings with 23 strikeouts for a 1.16 ERA and 0.64 WHIP. He went 5 1/3 innings on short rest in Game 4 but came away with a no-decision. On full rest, he gave up 3 hits and struck out 18 while walking one in two shutouts.

Kershaw is the 13th pitcher in the DMBL's 26 postseasons to win the playoff MVP but the first in five years (R.A. Dickey for Marietta in 2012).

David Ortiz, who announced his retirement before the season, was a sentimental favorite for MVP and warranted consideration. The 2008 postseason MVP paced the Cutters' offense, batting .377/.430/.739, and led all batters with 26 hits, 15 RBI, 13 extra base hits and 51 total bases, while scoring a team-high 10 runs in 19 games. He tied Sardine City's Joc Pederson and Ryan Schimpf for the most home runs with 6. It's the fourth title for Ortiz, who helped Hoboken to its first crown in 2013 and also won rings with Vancouver in 2008 and Las Vegas in 2011.

Ortiz had 4 HR and 8 RBI in Round 1 against Hopatcong, slashing .389/.429/1.111, including a homer and 5 RBI in the Game 5 clincher. Tucson pitching held Ortiz to 4-for-17 without an RBI until Games 6 and 7 when he drove in 5 to lead the Cutters back in the semi-finals. He led the team with 8 hits against Tucson, batting .333/.370/.542 in the seven games. Ortiz paced Hoboken with 11 hits in the finals against Sardine City.

Scherzer and Porcello both went 2-3 and despite some shaky outings, came up big in must-win situations (Porcello in Game 5 of Round 1, Scherzer in Game 7 of the semifinals as well as Game 6 of the finals). Scherzer's total 52 strikeouts in 37 innings were second only to Kershaw, boasting a league-best 12.6 K/9 but he sported a 5.59 ERA and 1.30 WHIP. Porcello compiled a 4.08 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 39 2/3 innings, second-most.

Had Sardine City pulled out a win in Game 7, Christian Yelich and Tyler Flowers probably would have been leading contenders for playoff MVP. Flowers had 14 HRs and 50 RBIs in the regular season, hitting .262/.306/.423, but raised his game in the playoffs. The catcher/DH batted .338/.392/.426 and led the Straphangers with 11 RBI, second in the league only to Ortiz, and had the longest hit streak (10 games). Ryan Schimpf had 10 RBI and perhaps the team's biggest postseason hit, platooning with Javy Baez at 2B. Yelich (.309/.405/.603) also contributed 10 RBI with 5 HRs and was the Sardines' most consistent hitter throughout their 17-game postseason run, sparking the offense out of the leadoff spot.

Corey Kluber was Sardine City's best pitcher, going 4-1 in 5 starts (3.06 ERA, 1.16 WHIP). Pedro Baez was a key cog out of the Straphangers' bullpen, making 10 appearances in the team's 17 games (0.71 ERA, 0.71 WHIP) with 1 save. Daniel Norris (3-2, 2.97 ERA, 1.52 WHIP) wasn't even on the team until the last day of the regular season but was their second-best pitcher in the postseason, winning the Game 4 clincher versus Blue Ridge in Round 1. He came up huge for Sardine City in Game 5 against Hoboken and was a tough-luck loser in Game 1, employing a bend-but-don't break strategy with a 1.38 WHIP in two World Series starts. The left-hander allowed just one unearned run over 13 innings versus Hoboken, despite 11 walks but yielded just 7 hits with 13 strikeouts.