Graphic by Social Recluse Graphx
Many baseball fans will tune in to tonight's Dodgers vs. Giants game because, well, it's the Dodgers and Giants. It's one of the game's great rivalries - and one of the bes in all of sports.
What makes this late-April tilt so big is the pitchers: reigning two-time Cy Young Award winner and league MVP Clayton Kershaw vs. reigning World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner.
It is the first time in MLB history the reigning league and World Series MVPs have met on the mound.
So, we at MaxPreps — a place (relatively) divided between Giants and Dodgers fans — present the million-dollar question: Who was a better prep player, Kershaw or Bumgarner?
As a senior at
Highland Park (Dallas) in 2006, Kershaw posted a 13-0 record with a 0.77 ERA and 139 strikeouts in 64 innings. He pitched a perfect game, striking out all 15 batters in a playoff win shortened due to the mercy rule. He was the Gatorade National Player of the Year his senior year.
Bumgarner was 23-4 over his last two seasons for
South Caldwell (Hudson, N.C.), leading his team to state 4A title games both years and winning in 2007. He had a 1.00 ERA and struck out 263 in 170 innings in that span and capped his prep career with a walk-off two-run homer to win the state title. He hit .424 with 11 home runs and 38 RBIs in those two seasons and was the Gatorade North Carolina Player of the Year his senior year.
OK fans, please vote below for who was a better as a prep. A friendly lunch wager is on the line.
Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
Getty images
