Is Clayton Kershaw the Greatest Pitcher of All Time?

East Coast Bias is a real thing, especially when it comes to sports.

We only hear about the greatness of players such as Clayton Kershaw. I watched CK pitch a full game on Sunday night, perhaps for the first time.

The ESPN initiated a discussion on where Kershaw ranks among the all-time greats. I listened, watched and researched. And this guy might be the most perfect pitcher to ever take the mound.

Here's a guy who spots a fastball like Greg Maddux. He has a wipe-out slider like Steve Carlton, and a 12-to-6 curveball like Barry Zito. And he has a deceptive, funky deliver to boot.

Just an extraordinary package. His control is such that he reached 100 strikeouts Sunday against just 5 walks.

One of the very hardest things to achieve in baseball is consistent dominance. This sport is not like the NFL, where we know before the season that Tom Brady is going to toss 30+ TDs. Or the NBA, where you can bank on Lebron averaging 27+ a game.

It is extremely tough to sustain dominance in MLB. Especially from the mound. Check back in two years and see where Jake Arietta is at.

Clayton Kershaw is in his eighth year of complete domination of the Senior Circuit. During that time, he has compiled a 2.26 ERA, 10 strikeouts per nine and an astounding 0.983 WHIP (walks + hits per innings pitched).

To post a WHIP below 1 for even a season is a phenonomal accomplishment. To do it over eight years is otherworldly.

But easily the most impressive stat concerning Kershaw is his hits per inning stat. He ranks second all time, giving up 6.6 hits per nine.

When I looked up the all-time list, I expected to see some of the game's greatest starters. That's not the case at all. The top is populated by wild arms who had great stuff, like Nolan Ryan.

Nolan gave up the fewest hits per nine of any pitcher in ML history. But he walked 2,795 batters! The similarly wild Sandy Koufax and Sid Fernandez are also in the top five.

Relief pitchers Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera place in the top 10.

Only Ryan and Koufax are in the Hall of Fame among the ten toughest pitchers to hit of all time.

But Kershaw is the only one who can be called a complete pitcher, a control pitcher. The significance is extraordinary. He's a pitcher who throw strike after strike, yet nobody can hit him.

Yes, Kershaw needs to shed the postseason monkey. That goes without saying.

But it might be worth staying up late for some of those Dodger games. We just might be seeing the best pitcher of all time.