Sports Info Solutions (SIS) ranked Clayton Kershaw as one of baseball’s best defensive pitchers; he came in fifth place in the 2023 Fielding Bible Award voting.

Zack Greinke, a former teammate of Kerhsaw’s who is a veteran of the Kansas City Royals, grabbed the top spot with nine of 16 first-place votes. Together with Kershaw, Jesús Luzardo of the Miami Marlins, José Berríos of the Toronto Blue Jays, and Taijuan Walker of the Philadelphia Phillies completed the top five.

Despite missing a significant amount of the season due to a shoulder injury, Kershaw had one of his best defensive seasons to date.

Kershaw recorded a flawless fielding percentage in 24 starts, going 21-for-21 on his opportunities with five putouts and 16 assists. In 131.2 innings pitched, he also contributed to one double play being turned.

With four defensive runs saved, the future Hall of Famer achieved his highest total since 2015, when he had five in 100 more innings. With two career highs of six DRS—2012 and 2014—Kershaw was on track to set a new career record in 2023—had it not been for the shoulder injury.

A voting panel consisting of sixteen people chose the winners of the Fielding Bible Award. Eleven winners were chosen by the group, one for each position, along with a defensive performer of the year and the greatest performer across multiple positions.

The voting panel included John Dewan, who co-founded SIS, Bill James, Daniel Álvarez-Montes (El Extra Base), Chris Dial (sabermetrician), Alyson Footer (MLB.com), Eduardo Pérez (ESPN), Hal Richman (Strat-O-Matic), Travis Sawchik (The Score), Bobby Scales (SIS), Joe Sheehan, Mark Simon (SIS), Dani Wexelman (MLB Network Radio), and a combined vote from the SIS Video Scout staff.

Ten points were awarded for a vote in first place, nine for second, eight for third, and so on. The finest MLB defensive players have been recognized by SIS for the past eighteen seasons.

Fielding Bible Awards to be given to the Dodgers
The 2023 multi-position Fielding Bible Award went to Mookie Betts. After winning five Fielding Bible Awards in right field from 2016 to 2020 and 2022, Betts has now won six in his career.

As for the 2023 Fielding Bible Award, Dansby Swanson of the Chicago Cubs won the top slot unanimously, with Miguel Rojas coming in fifth place among shortstops.