Early Life
Kershaw attended Highland Park High School, where he established himself as an elite high school prospect in 2006 when he posted a 13–0 record with an ERA of 0.77, and recorded 139 strikeouts in 64 innings. In a playoff game against Justin Northwest High School, Kershaw pitched an all-strikeout perfect game. He was selected by USA Today as "High School Baseball Player of the Year", and was also the Gatorade National Player of the Year for baseball.
Entering the 2006 MLB Draft, Kershaw was considered the top high-schooler available. The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Kershaw with the 7th overall pick in the draft. He turned down a scholarship at Texas A&M to sign with the Dodgers, with a bonus estimated at $2.3 million. The $2.3 million bonus was the largest to any Dodgers amateur at the time, which was eventually topped by Zach Lee in the 2010 MLB Draft.
Read more about this topic: Clayton Kershaw
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or life:
“I believe that if we are to survive as a planet, we must teach this next generation to handle their own conflicts assertively and nonviolently. If in their early years our children learn to listen to all sides of the story, use their heads and then their mouths, and come up with a plan and share, then, when they become our leaders, and some of them will, they will have the tools to handle global problems and conflict.”
—Barbara Coloroso (20th century)
“Each dream finds at last its form; there is a drink for every thirst, and love for every heart. And there is no better way to spend your life than in the unceasing preoccupation of an idea—of an ideal.”
—Gustave Flaubert (1821–1880)