Dave Roberts' decision to remove Clayton Kershaw was perfect

It wasn’t as if Clayton Kershaw was the first pitcher to be pulled back from the brink of (possibly) making history when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts took the baseball from him Wednesday at Target Field.

Just the latest. And by now, here in 2022, any outrage is long past its expiration date.

 Ideally, sure, giving Kershaw the shot at only the 24th perfect game in MLB history would have been a shining moment for a sport that can use more polishing after a damaging 99-day lockout. But to think the Dodgers alone had a magic wand to wipe away the residual fallout from that labor freeze — followed by the condensed spring training — as well as Kershaw’s age/health was ignoring the discussions among every team and their pitching staffs.

Going a step further, what was the choice Kershaw and Roberts had to make? The chance of throwing a perfect game as opposed to the real risk of not throwing another pitch this season? Not much of a decision at all, really.

“There's no way of knowing,” Kershaw told reporters Thursday. “I could've thrown nine innings and been fine for the rest of the season. I could've thrown two innings yesterday and be hurt the next day. Nobody knows. But in the moment, I felt like that was the right call for my personal health, the best interest of the team and me being ready in October. It all seemed like the right call at the time.”

 Remember that Kershaw is 34, has logged 2,461 innings and was shut down for more than two months last season because of elbow soreness that haunted him until he began throwing again in January. That’s a considerable pile of evidence for the “no” column. And it’s not as if precedents don’t exist for nearly the exact same scenario, on both sides.

 In 1996, in his first start four months after surgery to have an aneurysm repaired in his throwing shoulder, David Cone, 33, had a no-hitter through seven innings against the A’s in Oakland. Yankees manager Joe Torre chose to lift Cone after 85 pitches — he said later the pregame ceiling was 100 — and there was never a second thought.

 “I’ll never wonder if this could have been my last opportunity to throw one,'' Cone said at the time. “I wouldn't think that way. I appreciate that they took me out of the game. It's more important for us to get to the playoffs and the World Series.”

 Three years — and two championship rings — later, Cone fired a perfect game against the Expos in the Bronx.

For Torre, it’s easy to have no regrets, and he recalled Saturday that he never lost any sleep over the decision, a serenity helped by the four titles that followed.

Torre was at Citi Field to take part in the celebration for the family of Gil Hodges, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in July. He did reflect back on Cone this week — as well as own time managing Kershaw as a young pitcher during his stint in Los Angeles.

 To Torre, lifting a pitcher from a history-making opportunity is always difficult, but far preferable to maybe causing any damage — regardless of how long it lingers. He had Kershaw for three seasons, starting with his rookie year in 2008, and remembered a few tough calls for his well-being that Kershaw didn’t like.

“He had his whole future ahead of him,” Torre said Saturday.

 On the flip side is what happened when Mets manager Terry Collins wrestled with allowing Johan Santana to push for the franchise’s very first no-hitter in 2012. Santana was only 21 months removed from surgery to fix a torn anterior capsule in his left shoulder, a very big deal, but Collins reluctantly allowed the two-time Cy Young Award winner to throw 134 pitches to finish the masterpiece. His pregame limit had been set at 115.

Collins was so distraught about the decision that he spoke through tears afterward. And while Santana remains appreciative of the green light, his career more or less ended that same June 1 night. Santana made only 10 more starts that season, with an 8.27 ERA in that stretch. He was shut down after Aug. 17, had another shoulder surgery and never pitched again. Done at age 33.

 As Kershaw mentioned, there’s no telling where he was headed Wednesday beyond 85 pitches. But he also seemed more than fine being safe rather than sorry, sporting a wide smile as he fist-bumped and hugged his teammates in the dugout. Being a three-time Cy Young Award winner, World Series champion and future first-ballot Cooperstown pick definitely helped him be more comfortable with his exit. He already has a no-hitter, too.

The numbers that most influenced Wednesday’s decision was Kershaw never going past 75 pitches in his any of his spring training starts, and the way staffs are carefully handled these days, his departure wasn’t shocking. Disappointing, sure. But almost expected.

“It's a special thing. I don't take that for granted,” Kershaw said. “I understand the history of the game, I understand what it means to the game of baseball . . .  But I said it the other day — the individual stuff is not why I continue to play the game. I wanna win. That supersedes anything individual for me.”

Jay’s day

It’s already been a busy homestand for the Mets, with Friday’s Opening Day dedication of the Tom Seaver statue followed by the Gil Hodges celebration before Saturday’s matinee against the Diamondbacks.

So it’s only natural that on Sunday, the team will name the Citi Field press box after longtime PR guru/now Mets alumni czar Jay Horwitz, who also will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

The timing is fitting. Not only is Horwitz as identifiable to the Mets as the Home Run Apple, but he was instrumental in making the Seaver monument a reality as well as getting Hodges into Cooperstown after the longest drought (0-for-34 attempts) in Hall of Fame history. The Hodges family personally thanked Horwitz Saturday for his efforts.

“Jay is a mensch,” Gil Hodges Jr. said. “It’s another great tribute to another great member of the organization.”

That the Hodges news conference wrapped up with an affectionate nod to Horwitz shouldn’t be surprising. Since the 50th anniversary of the ’69 title team three years ago, Horwitz has called Hodges’ 96-year-old widow, Joan, every day to check in on her. He also worked behind the scenes lobbying members of the Golden Days Era committee on Hodges’ behalf, or enlisting other prominent allies to do so.

Said Horwitz, “We felt like this was his last chance.”

By David Lennon

dave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.