After signing record deal, could Highland Park native Clayton Kershaw be DFW's next hall of famer?

Clayton Kershaw set a record signing a contract that earns him $30.71 million per season. Here are the biggest annual salaries in MLB history.

From their first day together in 2008 as teammates with the Los Angeles Dodgers, newly minted Hall of Famer Greg Maddux has been fascinated by lefthander Clayton Kershaw of Highland Park.

“He’s a special pitcher,” Maddux said two weeks ago. “He does things with a baseball nobody can do.”

The Dodgers agree. On Wednesday, they met the price for greatness by working out a seven-year, $215 million deal for Kershaw. It is the biggest deal for a pitcher in baseball history, easily eclipsing the seven-year, $180 million contract that kicked in for Detroit ace Justin Verlander last season.

There are many ways to play with the Kershaw numbers.

He will earn nearly $1 million per start, or about $10,000 per pitch. The contract’s average annual value is nearly $5 million more than Houston’s total payroll last season.

The Dodgers have nearly as much committed to Kershaw through 2020 as the Rangers do with first baseman Prince Fielder and outfielder Shin-Soo Choo. That tandem will cost the club a total of $268 million over the next seven seasons.

The market determines prices, and Kershaw is worth every cent. He is the best pitcher on the planet.

Consider this: Kershaw will turn 26 during spring training and has already won two National League Cy Young awards, with three consecutive ERA titles. Maddux won the first of his four consecutive Cy Youngs at 26.

Maddux went into the Hall in a landslide, receiving 97.2 percent of the votes. During a charity event last weekend, Kershaw was asked if seeing Maddux elected to the Hall motivated him to reach for greater heights.

“I can’t even think about something like that,” Kershaw said. “Greg was such a great pitcher, probably the smartest pitcher ever. I learned a lot from him about preparation and how to attack hitters.

“He was getting people out when he was 42 and throwing 83. I hope I can just lift my arm when I’m 42.”

Kershaw is just now entering his prime. What will Kershaw be worth if he continues at this pace and exercises the reported right to opt out of this contract after the 2018 season? In that scenario, this deal will look like a bargain.

The money will not change Kershaw, who is mature beyond his years. The funds will make it easier for his foundation to work on projects ranging from an orphanage in Zambia to a sports complex near Hampton Road in West Dallas.

The expectations will be different. Just winning will not be enough.

To justify the deal, Kershaw must get the Dodgers into the World Series for the first time since 1988. In his six seasons, the Dodgers have gone as far as the National League Championship Series three times. They lost to St. Louis last season, proving that big payrolls do not always buy happiness.

The Dodgers had a $211 million payroll last season, about $56 million more than the second-place New York Yankees. World Series winner Boston took the approach of spreading out money to many players on short-term deals and had a $136 million payroll.

“We have to win,” Kershaw said. “That’s the biggest thing for us. We came close last year. All that individual stuff is great, but until you win a World Series, it’s all fleeting. That’s the goal.”

Dallas County has produced one Hall of Famer: Ernie Banks. He never reached the World Series in a 19-year career with the Chicago Cubs. The Dodgers will pay Clayton Kershaw a king’s ransom to avoid that fate.