Baseball Legends: Sandy Koufax (Dodgers 1955-1966)
June 8, 2008“Pitching is the art of instilling fear.” — Sandy Koufax
Sandford “Sandy” Koufax is arguably the best pitcher baseball has ever seen. As Casey Stengel once said, “Forget the other guy (Walter Johnson) Sandy Koufax for four years was the best pitcher in baseball. Whether Koufax at his peak was the most dominating pitcher ever is debatable, but he definitely was the most artful Dodger — graceful, with body arching through his long stride, his overhand delivery would fool batters with pitches that could be heard, but not seen. Stengel also remarked that ”umpires often can’t see where Koufax pitches go, so they have to judge from the sound of them hitting the catcher’s glove.”
Koufax’s greatness was a long time in coming. Signed as a bonus baby for $20,000 he was resented by the Dodger veterans because he had to be kept on the roster for two years. Like most youngsters he tried to do too much too soon and came down with a sore arm. Wildness persisted year after year. He was so wild that the Dodgers worked him out privately so he wouldn’t embarrass the club. He led the league in wild pitches in 1958.
Going into 1961, after 6 years in the majors Koufax had a record of 36 wins and 40 losses. He seriously considered quitting baseball. For the six remaining years of his career he compiled 129 wins and 47 losses, a winning percentage of .732. From 1962 to 1966, his final five years, he led the league in ERA each year averaging under two runs per nine innings pitched. He led the league in strikeouts and shutouts in three of those years and for four consecutive years he pitched no-hitters, including a perfect game in 1965.
In his best season, 1965, the lefty was 26-8, with a 2.04 ERA. He had eight shutouts, 27 complete games, and set the major league record of 382 strikeouts, still the most by a lefthander, but superseded by Nolan Ryan with 383 in 1973.
Koufax was the league MVP in 1963 and unanimous Cy Young Award winner in 1963, 1965 and 1966, when only one winner was elected from both leagues. He fanned 18 in a game twice and had a 0.95 ERA in his World Series appearances.
His decision not to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur, gained national attention where his religious beliefs took precedence over social pressures.
It often appeared as if Koufax was putting his body through torture with his tremendous back and leg push. Most everyone understood that he put a great deal of strain on his arm, but no one expected the end would come so quickly. Koufax said, “I’ve got a lot of years to live after baseball and I would like to live them with the complete use of my body.” At the height of his career at age 30 he was forced to retire with arthritis that threatened to disable him.
Koufax was the youngest player ever elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 1972 with 86.87% of the vote.
