Kershaw beat out last year's winner, Philadelphia's Roy Halladay, who came in second. Arizona's Ian Kennedy came in third.
Kershaw received 27 of 32 first-place votes, five seconds and two thirds for 207 points in voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America announced Thursday.
With a big curveball that might be baseball's best, Kershaw won the NL's pitching triple crown. Pitching on a team that went 82-79, he led the league with a 2.28 ERA and 248 strikeouts and with a 21-5 record tied Kennedy for most wins.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
