Clayton Kershaw wins NL MVP

— -- Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was named the 2014 National League MVP on Thursday night.

Kershaw, who also took home the NL Cy Young award for the third time Wednesday, is the first NL pitcher to sweep both awards since Bob Gibson in 1968.

"When you see that 'most valuable' in front of something, to have people think you really mean that much to your team, it really is a huge honor for me," Kershaw told MLB Network immediately after the announcement. "It's one of the coolest things ever."

With Kershaw on the mound, Los Angeles went 21-4. They were only three games over .500 when anyone else pitched.

Kershaw was baseball's most dominant pitcher despite missing over a month with a back injury. He led the majors in wins and ERA and had 239 strikeouts in just 198 1/3 innings.

"I feel like you always want to live up to, you know, your own expectations, first and foremost," Kershaw said. "But you feel like when the team puts such a big investment in you, you want to come through for them. Obviously, the regular season's one thing and I need to try to do it in the postseason now, too."

Said Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti, before results were announced: "Sometimes, you've got to look through another window. And when you look through that window at this guy, you say, 'Wow.' ... I'm someone who typically believes the Cy Young is the pitchers' MVP award, in most years. So to have a pitcher win the MVP, it takes an exception to the standards pitchers are typically measured by. Well, if you look at the season this guy's had, it's exceptional."

Kershaw also threw his first career no-hitter on June 18, when he had 15 strikeouts and did not walk a batter against the Colorado Rockies.

The Dodgers finished 94-68 and claimed their second straight NL West title.

ESPN.com's Jayson Stark contributed to this report.