Padres’ NL Wild Card broadcast somehow includes Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw

Clayton Kershaw spent 18 seasons making life miserable for the Padres, so naturally NBC Sports decided San Diego’s NL Wild Card series would need his perspective. Seriously, you have to admire the commitment to the bit.

NBC Sports announced that Dave Flemming will handle play-by-play for Cubs-Padres, with Jim Deshaies, Mark Grant and Kershaw joining him as analysts. John Fanta will report from the field. Most of that arrangement makes sense. Deshaies supplies the Cubs connection. Grant gives Padres fans a familiar voice from home. And Flemming is a polished national broadcaster capable of keeping the whole thing on the tracks.

Then Kershaw walks into the picture wearing 18 years of invisible Dodger blue. Kershaw’s assignment is the specialized “Inside the Pitch” role rather than the lead color chair. So, the amount of time the broadcast will run through him will be limited. It improves the optics, only by a little bit. 

Clayton Kershaw’s Dodgers history will follow him into the Padres’ Wild Card series

We can give Kershaw his flowers. He deserves them. He’s one of the greatest pitchers baseball has ever seen, and few people are more qualified to explain what is happening between a pitcher and hitter. He could provide useful insight, and honestly, it’s likely he’ll be completely professional. But, he’s also Clayton Kershaw.

This is the lifelong Dodger who finished 24-11 with a 2.17 ERA and 320 strikeouts in 48 career appearances against San Diego. The Padres have spent the better part of two decades watching him ruin nights.

The résumé explains why NBC hired him. The uniform explains why the Friars don’t want to see it. 

We don’t need to create a conspiracy. At the same time, bias can’t be proven from a broadcast assignment. The tone-deaf nature of it all is sitting right there in the press release. 

National broadcasts should challenge both teams, explain the game and avoid turning postseason games into a pep rally. The original crew already had balance. Kershaw is the flashy extra ingredient nobody in San Diego ordered.

NBC also created an unnecessary distraction for itself. Every generous Cubs observation will be examined. Every criticism of a Padres pitcher will hit a little differently. One Dodgers comparison at the wrong moment will send social media sprinting toward the nearest conspiracy theory.

That reaction may be unfair to Kershaw. But it’s entirely predictable. Rivalries carry memory. Kershaw wasn’t some anonymous, brief middle reliever who passed through LA. He was the face of the Dodgers’ rotation, a future Hall of Famer and a recurring reminder of the gap San Diego spent years trying to close.

Now he gets to help explain the Padres’ October performance to a national audience. Sure. Why not invite Matt Kemp to handle the ceremonial first pitch while we are at it?

Kershaw will probably be terrific. Maybe his pitching analysis will add something viewers would not get from a conventional booth. We can give him a fair shot. Just be sure to keep the mute button within reach. 

We can also keep the mute button within reach.

The Padres have the Cubs to worry about, not the broadcast crew. October already supplies enough tension on its own. NBC still chose to decorate San Diego’s home playoff stage with an unmistakable strip of Dodger blue.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow