Aging Red Sox’ Corey Kluber thinks he’ll know when he has ‘had enough’

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Corey Kluber’s dominant major league career began right here at Progressive Field on Sept. 1, 2011. He pitched 1 ⅓ scoreless innings of relief against the Athletics as a 25-year-old.

His Cleveland resume is a mile long. He won two American League Cy Young awards (2014, ‘17) and finished third twice. He earned two wins in the 2016 World Series and won four games during Cleveland’s postseason run when he posted a 1.83 ERA (34 ⅓ innings, seven earned runs) in six starts.

He recorded a 3.16 ERA in 208 outings (203 starts) here from 2011-19. He led the AL in wins in 2014 and 2017. He led the league in ERA (2.25) in ‘17. He pitched more than 200 innings five straight seasons (2014-18).

But the 37-year-old is in a much different stage of his career right now following several major injuries. Boston demoted him to the bullpen May 24 after he posted a disappointing 6.26 ERA in nine starts.

It can’t be easy going from one of the game’s top starting pitchers to where he is now on the backend of his career. But he doesn’t view it that way and he still loves what he does.

“I think it would be difficult if I was sitting here saying, ‘Oh, I have to get back to the pitcher I was in 2015, ‘16, whatever year,’” Kluber said. “I think I’ve never looked at it as, ‘I want to be the version of myself I was prior.’ I think every year is different. The further you get away from stuff, I think the harder it is to replicate something from that point in time. So I think I just look at it as, ‘This is what I’m working with now and I’m going to do the best I can to try to get guys out with what I have now.’”

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There have been great moments sprinkled in like his no-hitter for the Yankees against the Rangers in May 2021 but he hasn’t been the same dominant starting pitcher he was in Cleveland since fracturing his right ulna in 2019 and tearing his teres major muscle in 2020.

He still enjoys pitching the same way as he did when he dominated for almost a decade with Cleveland.

“I don’t think my mindset has changed that much,” Kluber said. “It’s working with different stuff. I might have to go about it in a little bit of a different way. But I don’t think the mindset of things has really altered much. Even when it was those years, my focus in the moment was always the simplified approach.”

Kluber is unsure how much longer he will pitch. He hasn’t thought about when he might like to retire.

“I like to believe that I’ll know when the time is right to say that I’ve had enough,” Kluber said. “I don’t know if anyone has the right answer as to when that is. I think if you’re lucky enough to make that decision — and not have it made for you — I think guys just probably know. It’s different with everyone.”

Kluber also hasn’t given much thought to what he’ll do after baseball.

“I think that’s something that when we get there, I’ll do my best to figure it out,” Kluber said. “Maybe it will take some trial and error to figure out what that is. Cross that road when I get there.”

He has handled his move to the bullpen with professionalism. As manager Alex Cora said, “He’s a pro, man. Hardly any explanation. He understood and we moved on from there.”

“I think the most important thing is the team,” Kluber said. “It’s not myself. It’s not any of the 26 guys in here. It’s the collective effort of the team and what’s the best way to help us win ballgames. I feel like I’m at the point where it doesn’t matter to me what the label is attached to my name. It’s about being on a winning team and helping the team contribute as best I can.”

He has learned that perspective over time.

“I think a lot of it is through experiences of just realizing that trying to control things that are out of your control is sort of a wasted effort,” he said. “Not to say I haven’t done that at certain points. But I think when you go through those experiences and look back on them, you’re probably doing more harm than good a lot of times. So I’m really just trying to do the best I can to control the things I have control over. I think that is attitude, preparation, all that kind of stuff. I think more often than not, when you do a good job of controlling those things, it might not always work out your way, but it tends to make things a little bit easier when you get out there.”

He said he’s always treated every appearance the same.

“Regardless of the situation I’m pitching in or who it is against, I try to dumb it down or simplify it as much as possible,” Kluber said. “I think whether it’s a spring training game or Game 7 of the World Series, in general the same things are going to work for a pitcher regardless of the situation. Obviously there’s going to be times it doesn’t work your way. But throughout the long run, consistency and doing those kinds of things usually plays out.”

He enjoys returning to Cleveland but he doesn’t reflect on any personal achievements he accomplished here. He thinks more about his teams, teammates and coaches.

“I think it’s more about the guys I played with, the people that work for the team, the relationships and stuff like that more than specific individual memories,” Kluber said.

“I try to live in the now as much as I can,” the righty added. “I think that’s probably the sort of stuff I’ll pay more attention to, think back on more so when I’m done playing. For the most part right now, I try to live in the moment and look forward.”

There were plenty of huge individual moments for Kluber here in Cleveland. His first ever postseason game came here at Progressive Field against the Red Sox on Oct. 7, 2016. He pitched 7 scoreless innings and allowed just three hits and three walks while striking out seven to beat Boston 6-0 in Game 2 of the ALDS.

“Obviously those big games are fun,” Kluber said. “The fans have always been great to me here. It’s a fun spot to be for a good amount of time. It was an enjoyable experience and a big part of my life and my family’s life.”

Kluber recently returned from paternity leave after he and his wife Amanda had their fourth child through a surrogate.

“Amanda and I are thrilled the other kids are (so happy),” Kluber said. “It’s funny watching them fight over whose turn it is to hold him and all those sorts of things because they are all the age where they can do that stuff. They’ve also been really good as far as helpful and things like that. It’s been a good experience.”

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