They told Will Dion that he could be anything when he grew up … so he became Clayton Kershaw.
The minor league pitcher Dion went viral this week for his identical delivery to that of the Los Angeles Dodgers star lefty Kershaw. Dion’s entire throwing motion, from the high leg kick to the unique hitch to the follow-through, was pretty much an exact carbon copy of Kershaw’s motion. Check it out.
Sometimes you might wonder who some of the players looked up to. You don’t have to look to far to figure that out for CLE LHP Will Dion… pic.twitter.com/U7zk6cMq1f
— Trevor Hooth (@HoothTrevor) April 16, 2022
Here is Kershaw’s delivery for reference (from a game earlier this week).
Clayton Kershaw, ladies and gentlemen. pic.twitter.com/EciCo9KsQO
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 13, 2022
The 22-year-old Dion is currently pitching for the Lynchburg Hillcats, the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. He was drafted by Cleveland in the ninth round of last June’s MLB Draft and attended college at McNeese State. The above footage was from Lynchburg’s game against the Delmarva Shorebirds on Friday, where Dion pitched four innings, striking out seven and giving up zero earned runs.
Kershaw may be inimitable in other areas (such as his laser-sharp focus on the mound). But the fellow lefty Dion appears to have gotten Kershaw’s delivery perfectly down pat.
