Clayton Kershaw left after 7 innings of a perfect game, and MLB fans were crushed

We haven’t seen a perfect game in Major League Baseball since 2012.

And as of Wednesday afternoon, we still didn’t get to see one from the all-time great, Clayton Kershaw.

The future Hall of Famer was on the mound Wednesday afternoon against the Minnesota Twins, and was PERFECT THROUGH SEVEN.

But then? Dave Roberts — or it could have been Kershaw’s call himself — called for Alex Vesia. The reliever gave up a walk and a hit, and that was the end of that.

Before you go calling for the Los Angeles Dodgers manager to be fired or something, we’ve got to run through why this makes a lot of sense:

Kershaw had reached 80 pitches. Perhaps if it was a different pitcher at a different time, he’d stay in to try to be perfect for the final two innings.

But … no.

Think about this:

And this:

Also: What if it wasn’t Roberts’ call?

Take it from a Mets fan who screamed when Johan Santana threw a no-hitter after throwing a bajillion pitches and was never the same: The short-term joy may not be worth the long-term pain. Kershaw throwing what might have been 100 to 120 pitches this early in the year.