Why Clayton Kershaw really is out of this world
Since 2006, the mnemonic device used to remember the planets in our solar system has been something along the lines of, "My very educated mother just served us nothing." That's because the old ending to that phrase -- "nine pizzas" -- no longer applied after Pluto was downgraded from planet to something called a "dwarf planet," much to the chagrin of two-time National League Cy Young Award winner and 2014 NL MVP Clayton Kershaw.
It was way back in 1930 that Kershaw's great-uncle Clyde Tombaugh first discovered Pluto (yes, really). Kershaw's discussed the controversy surrounding the classification of his ancenstor's discovery (and played Neil Patrick Harris in ping-pong) on "Jimmy Kimmel Live." And he hasn't given up on fighting the good fight.
It was recently announced that researchers at the California Institute of Technology have discovered a previously unseen planet. It's further away from the sun than Pluto, has a mass approximately 10 times that of Earth and takes between 10,000 and 20,000 years to complete one orbit. It's been nicknamed "The Ninth Planet," but they're probably calling it something different in the Kershaw household.
You tell 'em, Clayton! As far as we're concerned, my very educated mother will always have just served us nine pizzas.