Kershaw is a rare pitcher worthy of MVP Award

Dodgers teammate Adrian Gonzalez -- MLB's RBI champ, with Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards as well -- said, "If somebody even tries to mention someone else, they're an idiot."

Kershaw, who won his third NL Cy Young Award on Wednesday, is considered by many the favorite to not only overcome the candidacies of fellow NL MVP Award finalists Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates and Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins, but also the bias of some voters who believe that a pitcher shouldn't win the trophy no matter what he's accomplished.

Even Dodgers Hall-of-Fame former manager Tom Lasorda, a pitcher in his playing days, chimed in this week, siding with those that believe if a position player can't win the Cy Young Award, a pitcher shouldn't win the MVP Award.

"Tommy's an opinionated guy and that's OK," said Kershaw, who jokingly referred to Lasorda's view as a "ringing endorsement."

Kershaw's manager, Don Mattingly, was in that camp. But Mattingly, who won the American League MVP Award in 1985, changed his mind while watching Kershaw go 21-3 with a 1.77 ERA and enough record-setting achievements to validate comparisons to Sandy Koufax.

"I flip-flopped from when I played, but as a manager you just see the value of what a guy like Clayton's been able to do," Mattingly said. "I do think it needs to be one of those years where it seems like it's almost extraordinary, and it seems to be one of those years. I see the value in that guy, as opposed to when I was playing -- not that you didn't see value in pitching, but it's a different thing."

The most recent time a National League pitcher won the Most Valuable Player Award, the Rules Committee lowered the mound soon after. It was 1968, "The Year of the Pitcher," and Bob Gibson was the NL MVP Award winner with a 1.12 ERA. Seriously, 1.12. The AL has had seven pitchers win MVP Awards since Cy Young Awards were given in both leagues, most recently Justin Verlander in 2011.

MLB.com Dodgers reporter Ken Gurnick makes a case for Clayton Kershaw as the National League MVP

The closest an NL pitcher has come to winning an MVP since 1968 was runner-up Tom Seaver in '69. Greg Maddux finished third in '95 behind Barry Larkin and Dante Bichette.

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Kershaw is a rare pitcher worthy of MVP Award