As a young pitcher, Walker Buehler watched Clayton Kershaw carry the burden of greatness. Buehler wondered what that might feel like, to know that an entire organization—in some ways, an entire city—depended on you to win every five days. He tried to imagine whether he could shoulder it. In 2021, at 26, when he led the league in games started (33) and adjusted ERA+ (171, 71% better than league average); finished second in WAR for pitchers (7.1) and innings pitched (207 2⁄3), he began to sense its pressure, and he found he loved it.
Then he got hurt seeking that weight, and then he was terrible. Forget the hopes and dreams of an organization or a city. Four months ago, before he threw five scoreless innings against the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the World Series to pull the Los Angeles Dodgers to the precipice of a title, he wasn’t sure he was fit to take a major league mound.
