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Kershaw: World Series in December would be 'a little iffy'

Victor Decolongon / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw isn't crazy about the possibility of Major League Baseball extending its 2020 campaign into December because of the current work stoppage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

"I think once you start getting into playing longer in the year, that starts affecting next year," Kershaw said Thursday on AM 570 LA Sports. "I think you get a little risky the further you go in the season.

"I think expanding it maybe a couple weeks on the back end, but if you go any further than that, you start talking about Thanksgiving and December for a World Series, that gets a little iffy, in my opinion."

Kershaw also disagreed with Toronto Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro, who said last week that it would likely take at least four weeks for teams to ramp up again before starting a new season.

"We are all pretty built up," Kershaw said. "Especially for hitters, I think that if you talk to any hitter, they don't need four weeks to get ready. It's really just the starting pitchers.

"So I think that if all starting pitchers came back with the mindset that we have the ability to throw three innings right out of the gate, you would only need 20 days and that gets you four starts ... and then you would be ready for the season."

The earliest the new MLB campaign could start is mid-May because of CDC recommendations on mass gatherings.

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