LOS ANGELES -- The observations from those who know Clayton Kershaw best vary in scope and depth.
Kershaw's game preparation is unmatched. He refuses to be outworked. He can inspire those who don't even do the same job as he does. And what's up with that pingpong obsession?
Yet one keen insight into his otherworldly powers lies in the fact that while Kershaw is a master craftsman with an arm summoned from the mountaintop, what really might set him apart is knowing his opponents better than they know themselves.
"Game day comes and he's about as locked in as anybody could get, honestly, about anything," teammate and close friend Scott Van Slyke said. "I can't imagine anybody being as focused as he is on the day of his starts. I think that is honestly what separates him. I know every big league pitcher works hard ... the good ones do. It's a gift from God, honestly, his talent plus his makeup."
Those who are just getting to know Kershaw have a fresh perspective on a player they are happy to not have to hit against, or match pitch-for-pitch from the mound.
"I have never seen somebody similar to his routine and preparation and dedication to be great," Los Angeles Dodgers newcomer Trayce Thompson said. "It's inspiring and makes me want to work as hard as I can. I always thought I did, but there is another level just to have the focus. It's not even about the time, it's about the focus and the edge he puts into his preparation. He's definitely a different breed."
What Thompson is saying is that talented pitchers around the league can put in the same amount of time studying the opponent, but others aren't going to unlock the subtleties that Kershaw has learned to expose.
Talk about unfair. You can't even use the study materials to catch up with the most talented guy in your field, because the most talented guy also knows how to use them better than you do.
Perhaps opposing teams -- like the Washington Nationals, who will face Kershaw on Monday night at Dodger Stadium -- would be well suited to research themselves as much they research the towering obstacle ahead of them.
The Dodgers might be well served to do the same since they will be facing the Nationals' Stephen Strasburg in Monday's ace-on-ace duel. Over the past two seasons, Kershaw leads baseball with 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings. Strasburg is second at 11.2.
Kershaw has distanced himself this year by striking out 19 batters for every walk he gives up. The record is the 11.6 strikeout-to-walk ratio Phil Hughes delivered in 2014.
For Kershaw, it has been all about focus. From the moment he arrives at Dodger Stadium, most likely before any of his teammates, he will lock in and become a different person. There will be no casual pleasantries, no mindless small talk. The temperature will soar over 100 degrees Monday in Los Angeles. Kershaw will not be interested in talking about the weather.
He will be interested only in staying one step ahead of his opponent.
"Baseball is really hard and hitters do a great job of constantly evolving and adjusting," catcher A.J. Ellis said. "I think Clayton will just keep attacking, keep pitching to the game and the situation in the game and just do his best to put us in a position to win. When he pitches that means usually limiting the damage on the other side."
One of the newest Dodgers, reliever Casey Fien, said that in the three-plus weeks he has been around, he's seen Kershaw win the game in his head and take down his opponent with confidence.
"Since I've been here, the first thing I have noticed is that he is always the first one here, especially after a start, he's always working out, he's always doing something," Fien said. "I've never seen somebody visualize like he does. He goes through the lineup out on the mound and it's just him out there on the mound by himself. The way he focuses, and to see him actually pitching, it's kind of awesome to watch and realize why he's that good. That's what I have noticed so far."
In case there is the perception that Kershaw is all work and no play, he does have one particular outlet to get his mind off the game. He is so passionate about pingpong that he runs a doubles tournament among Dodgers players in the spring, then holds a charity benefit tournament at Dodger Stadium during the regular season.
"Yeah, it's a little odd," Van Slyke said. "But he's really good at pingpong, so if you're really good, you usually want to do it."
Which takes you right back to why he is so passionate about baseball. Kershaw is really good at it, as his 10-1 record and league-leading 1.58 ERA would attest, and it makes him want to keep doing it at a high level.
Thompson is so impressed with Kershaw's study habits that he has gone so far as to ask the pitcher for a little insight on being a better hitter. If Kershaw can break down hitters' weaknesses so well, perhaps there is a common theme that runs through those who are more successful than others.
"I just ask him, what do you see from your perspective?" Thompson said. "What separates the good hitters from the bad hitters? The great hitters from the good hitters? I take what he says with just as much conviction as what Howie [Kendrick] says or what Adrian [Gonzalez] says or what A.J. [Ellis] says or what Chase [Utley] says about hitting. He's a guy that doesn't just want to be great, he wants everybody to excel, so it's been a lot of fun just being his teammate."
For the 15th time this season, Kershaw gets a chance to show that when he faces the Nationals.
"He's pitching to win the game, that competitiveness, that desire for the Dodgers to win when he pitches," Ellis said. "It's not for Clayton to win when he pitches; it's for the Dodgers to win when he pitches. That's what drives him."
