Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw, the 2 possible Corridor of Famers, will face off on Friday night time at Dodger Stadium. To preview their matchup, this story, which initially ran on April 12, 2025, appears to be like again at their first assembly.
It referred to a Diamondbacks-Dodgers matchup on Sept. 7, 2008, at Dodger Stadium and was forwarded to me for a glance again story on the sport. I clicked on it and listened to the clip, which was from the underside of the primary inning.
Legendary broadcaster Vin Scully mentioned they have been anticipating a matchup of Johnson and Maddux and as an alternative obtained Scherzer and Kershaw. Then he dropped one among his favourite quotes about “the best-laid plans of mice and males” in reference to the pitching swap and “what a distinction a day makes.”
It blew me away. I imply, I do know Scherzer and Kershaw, each rookies on the time, began that sport, and I used to be there, however I didn’t bear in mind displaying as much as the ballpark anticipating to see a Johnson-Maddux matchup.
So, I reached out to Ken Gurnick, a legend within the baseball writing enterprise, who coated the Dodgers for MLB.com for 20 years and for different retailers within the 20 years earlier than that. No element ever will get by Gurnick so I figured he would know.
Nope, he mentioned, I don’t keep in mind that.
I thanked him and hung up the cellphone, however Gurnick wasn’t completed making an attempt to determine it out. He contacted Ned Colletti, the Dodgers GM again in 2008, to see what he remembered about it.
Nope, Colletti informed him. I don’t keep in mind that.
I went again to my story archive and located one thing from the day earlier than the sport the place I wrote about Johnson being scratched due to a again challenge.
So, whereas Johnson wasn’t a last-minute scratch, a minimum of now I had one thing concrete about him being scheduled to pitch.
What I didn’t know was if Maddux had been scheduled to pitch and in that case why and when he was scratched.
Fortunately for me, Gurnick wasn’t completed together with his investigation. He went out to his storage and regarded by his outdated reporter’s notebooks — I informed you, no element goes unrecorded by him, and apparently nothing will get thrown away both — and voila the day earlier than Johnson was scratched, then Dodgers supervisor Joe Torre defined to the LA beat writers that Maddux was not going to begin Sept. 7 and would as an alternative begin the next sport in opposition to the Padres.
“Kersh simply threw six scoreless in opposition to them,” Torre mentioned, referring to an Aug. 1 matchup vs. Arizona. “With [Adam] Dunn a part of the combination and their different lefthanders, it’s going to be higher. And we’re capable of hold [Derek] Lowe on the fifth day. It is matchups the place we’re higher off, with left-handers Dunn and [Stephen] Drew over there. I do not assume Kersh cares, that child. No one within the clubhouse is fearful about it.”
OK, now we had one thing. Maddux wasn’t scratched like Johnson.
It’s additionally value noting that the Diamondbacks had roughed up Maddux twice earlier within the season when he was pitching for the Padres, scoring 13 runs in opposition to him.
So, nobody confirmed as much as the ballpark anticipating to see Johnson and Maddux, however they did the truth is get to see a matchup of future Corridor of Famers.
Scherzer, then 24, had been drafted within the first spherical in 2006 and was making simply his fifteenth huge league look and fourth begin. He struck out 11 within the sport, which the Dodgers gained, 5-3. This 12 months, he is enjoying in his 18th season within the Majors.
Kershaw, then 20, was making his 18th begin and had three wins to his title. Anticipated to re-join with the Dodgers in some unspecified time in the future and pitch in his 18th Main League season in 2025, Kershaw lasted simply 4 innings in that sport and allowed three runs.
They might develop into pitching legends, however on Sept. 7, 2008, they have been only a pair of younger pitchers trying to make their mark.
