Sanford "Sandy" Koufax is a former
left-handedLeft-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. In ancient times it was seen as a sign of the devil, and was abhorred in many cultures...
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
pitcherIn baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
who played his entire 12-year
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
(MLB) career for the
Brooklyn/Los Angeles DodgersThe Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
(1955–66). He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972, the youngest former player to receive that honor.
Koufax's career peaked with a run of six outstanding seasons from to 1966, before arthritis in his left elbow ended his career prematurely at age 30. He was named the
National LeagueThe National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
's
Most Valuable PlayerThe Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award is an annual Major League Baseball award, given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America...
in . He also won the 1963, , and 1966
Cy Young AwardThe Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
s by unanimous votes, making him the first 3-time Cy Young winner in baseball history. In each of his Cy Young seasons, Koufax won the
pitcher's triple crownIn Major League Baseball, a player earns the Triple Crown when he leads a league in three specific statistical categories. For batters, a player must lead the league in home runs, run batted in , and batting average; pitchers must lead the league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average...
by leading the NL in
winsIn professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only...
,
strikeoutIn baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
s, and
earned run averageIn baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
. Koufax's totals would also have led the American League in those seasons.
Koufax was the first major leaguer to pitch four
no-hitterA no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
s (including the eighth
perfect gameA perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any...
in baseball history). Despite his comparatively short career, Koufax's 2,396 career strikeouts ranked 7th in history as of his retirement, trailing only
Warren SpahnWarren Edward Spahn was an American Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in the National League. He won 20 games each in 13 seasons, including a 23-7 record when he was age 42...
(2,583) among left-handers. Retiring at the peak of his career, he became, at age 36 and 20 days, the youngest player ever elected to the Hall of Fame.
Koufax is also remembered as one of the outstanding Jewish athletes in American sports. His decision to not pitch Game 1 of the
1965 World SeriesThe 1965 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers against the American League champion Minnesota Twins, who had won their first pennant since 1933 when the team was known as the Washington Senators...
because it fell on
Yom KippurYom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
garnered national attention as an example of conflict between social pressures and personal beliefs.
Early life
Koufax was born in
BrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York, to a Jewish family, and raised in Borough Park. His parents, Evelyn (née Lichtenstein) and Jack Braun, divorced when he was three years old; his mother was remarried when he was nine, to Irving Koufax. Shortly after his mother's remarriage, the family moved to the
Long IslandLong Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
suburb of
Rockville CentreRockville Centre is a village located in Nassau County, New York, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the village had a total population of 24,023. The town is made up of middle to upper middle class residents, most of the wealthier residents residing on the north side of town near the...
. Before tenth grade, Koufax's family moved back to the
BensonhurstBensonhurst is a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn.-Geography:Sometimes erroneously thought to include all or parts of such neighborhoods as Bath Beach, Dyker Heights, and Borough Park, or to be defined by the streets where the concentration of...
section of Brooklyn.
Koufax attended Brooklyn's
Lafayette High SchoolLafayette High School is a large secondary school located in the Bath Beach section of Brooklyn, New York City, New York . It is currently one of the low performing high schools of the city and is operated by the New York City Department of Education.-History:...
, where he was better known for
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
than for baseball. At the time, school sports were not available because New York's teachers were refusing to supervise extracurricular activities without monetary compensation. As an alternative, Koufax started playing basketball for the
Edith and Carl Marks Jewish Community House of BensonhurstThe Edith and Carl Marks Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst, known as "the J", was incorporated in 1927 and has helped over one million Jews in the Bensonhurst section of New York City's borough of Brooklyn. It initially served as a community center for Eastern European Jewish immigrants and...
local community center team. Eventually, Lafayette had a basketball team; Koufax became team captain in his senior year, and ranked second in his division in scoring, with 165 points in 10 games.
In 1951, at the age of 15, Koufax also joined a local youth baseball league known as the "Ice Cream League". He started out as a left-handed catcher (who are extremely rare in MLB history), before moving to first base. While playing first base for Lafayette High School's baseball team, he was spotted by Milt Laurie, the father of two Lafayette teammates and a baseball coach. Laurie recognized that Koufax might be able to pitch, and recruited the 17-year old Koufax to pitch for the Coney Island Sports League's Parkviews.
Koufax attended the
University of CincinnatiThe University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
and was a walk-on on the freshman basketball team, a complete unknown to coach Ed Jucker. In spring 1954, he made the college baseball
varsity teamIn the United States and Canada, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a college, university, high school or other secondary school. Such teams compete against the principal athletic teams at other colleges/universities, or in the case of secondary schools, against...
. That season, Koufax went 3–1 with 51
strikeoutIn baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
s and 30
walksA base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
, in 31 innings.
Bill ZinserWilliam Francis "Bill" Zinser was a Major League Baseball player for the Washington Senators and scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers....
, a scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers, sent the Dodgers front office a glowing report that apparently was filed and forgotten.
After trying out with the
New York GiantsThe San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
at the
Polo GroundsThe Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
, Koufax did the same for the
Pittsburgh PiratesThe Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
at
Forbes FieldForbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to 1971. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's National Football League franchise...
. During his Pirates tryout, Koufax's fastball broke the thumb of
Sam NarronSamuel Woody Narron was an American Major League Baseball player and coach. Born in Middlesex, North Carolina, Narron batted and threw right-handed; he stood 5'10" tall and weighed 180 pounds ....
, the team's bullpen coach.
Branch RickeyWesley Branch Rickey was an innovative Major League Baseball executive elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967...
, then the
general managerIn Major League Baseball, the general manager of a team typically controls player transactions and bears the primary responsibility on behalf of the ballclub during contract discussions with players....
of the Pirates, told his scout
Clyde SukeforthClyde Leroy Sukeforth , nicknamed "Sukey," was a former Major League Baseball catcher, coach, scout and manager who was best known for scouting and signing the Major Leagues' first black player in the modern era, Jackie Robinson.Sukeforth was born in Washington, Maine...
that Koufax had the "greatest arm [he had] ever seen". The Pirates, however, failed to offer Koufax a contract until after he was already committed to the Dodgers.
Dodgers scout
Al CampanisAlexander Sebastian Campanis was an American executive in Major League Baseball. He had a brief Major League career as a second baseman, playing for both the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Montreal Royals, the Dodgers' minor-league team...
heard about Koufax from a local sporting goods store owner. After seeing Koufax pitch for Lafayette, Campanis invited him to an
Ebbets FieldEbbets Field was a Major League Baseball park located in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York, USA, on a city block which is now considered to be part of the Crown Heights neighborhood. It was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League. It was also a venue for professional football...
tryout. With Dodgers manager
Walter AlstonWalter Emmons Alston , nicknamed "Smokey," was an American baseball player and manager. He was born in Venice, Ohio but grew up in Darrtown. He is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he lettered three years in both basketball and baseball and is a member of the University's Hall...
and scouting director
Fresco ThompsonLafayette Fresco Thompson was a Major League Baseball second baseman and executive. He was born in Centreville, Alabama, but attended George Washington High School and Columbia University in New York City...
watching, Campanis assumed the hitter's stance while Koufax started throwing. Campanis later said, "There are two times in my life the hair on my arms has stood up: The first time I saw the ceiling of the
Sistine ChapelSistine Chapel is the best-known chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City. It is famous for its architecture and its decoration that was frescoed throughout by Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio...
and the first time I saw Sandy Koufax throw a fastball." The Dodgers signed Koufax for a $6,000 ($ today) salary, with a $14,000 ($ today)
signing bonusA signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive to the employee, e.g., if the annual salary is lower than he or she desires...
. Koufax planned to use the signing bonus as tuition to finish his university education, if his baseball career failed.
Early years (1955–60)
Because Koufax's signing bonus was greater than
$The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
4,000 ($ today), he was known as a
bonus babyThe Bonus Rule was a rule instituted by Major League Baseball in 1947 that prevented teams from assigning certain players to farm clubs. The rule stipulated that when a Major league team signed a player to a contract in excess of $4,000 , the Major League team was required to keep that player on...
. This forced the Dodgers to keep him on the major league roster for at least two years before he could be sent to the
minorsMinor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
. To make room for him, the Dodgers optioned their future manager,
Tommy LasordaThomas Charles Lasorda is a former Major League baseball player and manager. marked his sixth decade in one capacity or another with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers organization, the longest non-continuous tenure anyone has had with the team, edging Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully...
, to the
Montreal RoyalsThe Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec, that existed from 1897–1917 and from 1928–60 as a member of the International League and its progenitor, the original Eastern League...
of the
International LeagueThe International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
. Lasorda would later joke that it took Koufax to keep him off the Dodger pitching staff.
Koufax made his major league debut on June 24 against the
Milwaukee Braves- Offseason :* March 4, 1955: Catfish Metkovich was released by the Braves.* Prior to 1955 season: **Marshall Bridges was acquired by the Braves from the New York Giants.**Chi-Chi Olivo was signed as an amateur free agent by the Braves....
, with the Dodgers trailing 7–1 in the fifth inning.
Johnny LoganJohn Logan, Jr. is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball. Logan was signed by the Boston Braves in 1947. He was a four-time All-Star and led the National League in doubles in 1955...
, the first batter Koufax faced, hit a bloop single.
Eddie MathewsEdwin Lee "Eddie" Mathews was an American Major League Baseball third baseman. He is regarded as one of the greatest third basemen ever to play the game.-Early life:...
bunted, and Koufax threw the ball into center field. Koufax walked Hank Aaron on four pitches to load the bases, then struck out
Bobby ThomsonRobert Brown "Bobby" Thomson was a Scottish-born American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "The Staten Island Scot", he was an outfielder and right-handed batter for the New York Giants , Milwaukee Braves , Chicago Cubs , Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles .His season-ending three-run...
on a
full countIn baseball and softball, a full count is the common name for a count where the batter has three balls and two strikes. The term may derive from older scoreboards, which had three spaces for balls and two for strikes, since this is the maximum number of each that can be achieved before some type...
.
Koufax's first start was on July 6. He lasted only innings, giving up eight walks. He did not start again for almost two months, but on August 27, Koufax threw a two-hit, 7–0
complete gameIn baseball, a complete game is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher.As demonstrated by the charts below, in the early 20th century, it was common for most good Major League Baseball pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start. Pitchers were...
shutoutIn team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....
against the
Cincinnati RedsThe Cincinnati Redlegs season was a season in American baseball. It consisted of the Redlegs finishing in fifth place in the National League, with a record of 75-79, 23½ games behind the NL and World Series Champion Brooklyn Dodgers...
for his first major league win. Koufax made only 12 appearances in 1955, pitching innings and walking almost as many men (28) as he struck out (30). His only other win in 1955 was also a shutout.
During the fall, he enrolled in the
Columbia University School of General StudiesThe School of General Studies, commonly known as General Studies or simply GS, is one of the three official undergraduate colleges at Columbia University. It is a highly selective Ivy League undergraduate liberal arts college designed for non-traditional students and confers Bachelor of Art and...
, which offered night classes in architecture. The
DodgersIn , the Brooklyn Dodgers finally fulfilled the promise of many previous Dodger teams. Although the club had won several pennants in the past, and had won as many as 105 games in 1953, it had never won a World Series. This team finished 13.5 games ahead in the National League pennant race, leading...
won the
1955 World SeriesThe 1955 World Series matched the Brooklyn Dodgers against the New York Yankees, with the Dodgers winning the Series in seven games to capture their first championship in franchise history. It would be the only Series the Dodgers won in Brooklyn . The last time the Brooklyn franchise won a World...
for the first title in franchise history, but Koufax did not appear in the series. After the final out of Game Seven, Koufax drove to Columbia to attend class.
The year 1956 wasn't very different from 1955 for Koufax. Despite the blazing speed of his fastball, Koufax continued to struggle with control problems. He saw little work, pitching only 58.7 innings with a 4.91 ERA, walking 29 and striking out 30. He was rarely allowed to work out of a jam. As soon as Koufax threw a couple of balls in a row, Alston would signal for a replacement to start warming up in the bullpen.
Jackie RobinsonJack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
, in his final season, clashed with Alston on several different subjects, including Koufax. Robinson saw that Koufax was talented and had flashes of brilliance, and objected to Koufax being benched for weeks at a time.Koufax had artritis in his left elbow.
To prepare for the season, the
DodgersThe 1957 Brooklyn Dodgers season was overshadowed by Walter O'Malley's threat to move the Dodgers out of Brooklyn if the city did not build him a new stadium in that borough. When the best the mayor could promise was a stadium in Queens, O'Malley made good on his threats and moved the team to Los...
sent Koufax to
Puerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
to play winter ball. On May 15, the restriction on sending Koufax down to the minors was lifted. Alston gave him a chance to justify his place on the major league roster by giving him the next day's start. Facing the
Chicago Cubs- Offseason :* November 13, 1956: Don Hoak, Warren Hacker, and Pete Whisenant were traded by the Cubs to the Cincinnati Redlegs for Ray Jablonski and Elmer Singleton....
at
Wrigley FieldWrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
, Koufax struck out 13 while pitching his first complete game in almost two years. For the first time in his career, he was in the starting rotation, but only for two weeks. Despite winning three of his next five with a 2.90 ERA, Koufax didn't get another start for 45 days. In that start, he struck out 11 in seven innings, but got a no-decision. On September 29, Koufax became the last man ever to pitch for the Brooklyn Dodgers before their move to Los Angeles, by throwing an inning of relief in the final game of the season.
Over the next three seasons, Koufax was in and out of the Dodger starting rotation due to injuries. In 1958, he began 7–3, but sprained his ankle in a collision at first base, finishing the season at 11–11 and leading the NL in wild pitches. In June 1959, Koufax set the record for a night game with 16 strikeouts. On August 31, 1959, he surpassed his career high with 18 strikeouts, setting the NL record and tying
Bob FellerOn December 8, 1941, Feller enlisted in the Navy, volunteering immediately for combat service, becoming the first Major League Baseball player to do so following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7. Feller served as Gun Captain aboard the USS Alabama, and missed four seasons during his service...
's major league record for strikeouts in one game.
In , the Dodgers won a close pennant race against the
BravesThe 1959 Milwaukee Braves season was the seventh season for the franchise in Milwaukee and its 84th season overall. The Braves ended the National League regular season in a first-place tie with the Los Angeles Dodgers. With both clubs finishing with records of 86-68, a special best-of-three...
and the
GiantsThe 1959 San Francisco Giants season involved the 83-71 team's third-place finish in the National League standings, four games behind the World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers...
, then beat the
Chicago White SoxThe Chicago White Sox season was the team's 59th season in the major leagues, and its 60th season overall. They finished with a record 94-60, good enough to win the American League championship, five games ahead of the second place Cleveland Indians...
in the
World SeriesThe 1959 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers beating the American League champion Chicago White Sox, four games to two. It was the first pennant for the White Sox in 40 years . They would have to wait until 2005 to win another championship...
. Koufax pitched two perfect relief innings in the Series opener, though they came after the Dodgers were already behind 11–0. Alston gave him the start in the fifth game, at the Los Angeles Coliseum in front of 92,706 fans. Koufax allowed only one run in seven innings, but lost the 1–0 game when
Nellie FoxJacob Nelson Fox was a Major League Baseball second baseman for the Chicago White Sox. Fox was born in St. Thomas Township, Pennsylvania. He was selected as the MVP of the American League in...
scored on a double play. Returning to Chicago, the Dodgers won the sixth game and the Series.
In early , Koufax asked Dodgers GM
Buzzie BavasiEmil Joseph "Buzzie" Bavasi was an American executive in Major League Baseball who played a major role in the operation of three franchises from the late 1940s through the mid-1980s....
to trade him because he wasn't getting enough playing time. By the end of
1960The Los Angeles Dodgers finished the season at 82-72, in fourth place in the National League race, 13 games behind the NL and World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates.-Offseason:...
, after going 8–13, Koufax was thinking about quitting baseball to devote himself to an
electronicsElectronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
business that he'd invested in. After the last game of the season, he threw his gloves and spikes into the trash. Nobe Kawano, the clubhouse supervisor, retrieved the equipment to return to Koufax the following year (or to somebody else if Koufax did not return to play).
1961 season
Koufax decided to try one more year of baseball and showed up for the 1961 season in better condition than he had in previous years. Years later he recalled, "That winter was when I really started working out. I started running more. I decided I was really going to find out how good I can be." During spring training, Dodger scout Kenny Myers discovered a hitch in Koufax's windup: he'd rear back so far that his vision was obstructed and he couldn't see the target.
A day later, Koufax was pitching for the "B team" in
OrlandoOrlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. Teammate Ed Palmquist missed the flight, so Koufax was told he would need to pitch at least seven innings. In the first inning, Koufax walked the bases loaded on 12 straight pitches. Catcher
Norm SherryNorman Burt Sherry is an American former catcher, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball. He is best known as the man who, while still an active player as the second-string catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, helped the great lefthanded pitcher Sandy Koufax harness his talent and transform...
reminded Koufax to take something off the ball to get better control. The advice worked, as Koufax struck out the side, going on to pitch seven no-hit innings.
It was the beginning of Koufax's breakout season. Posting an 18–13 record, Koufax led the league with 269 strikeouts, breaking
Christy MathewsonChristopher "Christy" Mathewson , nicknamed "Big Six", "The Christian Gentleman", or "Matty", was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played his entire career in what is known as the dead-ball era...
's 58-year-old NL mark of 267. Koufax made his first two
All-Star GameThe Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
appearances (two All-Star games were played per year at that time), pitching two scoreless innings.
1962 season
In , the Dodgers moved from Los Angeles Coliseum, which had a 250-foot left field line, to pitcher-friendly
Dodger StadiumDodger Stadium, also sometimes called Chavez Ravine, is a stadium in Los Angeles. Located adjacent to Downtown Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium has been the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers team since 1962...
. The new park had a large foul territory and a comparatively poor hitting background. Koufax was an immediate beneficiary of the change, lowering his home ERA from 4.29 to 1.75. On June 30 against the expansion
New York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
, Koufax threw his first no-hitter. In the first inning of that game, Koufax struck out three batters on nine pitches to become the sixth National League pitcher and the 11th pitcher in Major League history to accomplish a
nine-pitch/three-strikeout half-inningIn Major League Baseball, 43 pitchers have thrown a nine-pitch, three-strikeout half-inning, throwing nothing but strikes...
. With the no-hitter and a 1.23 ERA for June, he was named
Player of the MonthThe Player of the Month Award is a Major League Baseball award named by each league every month of the regular season. The National League started recognizing the award on June 4, 1958. National League president Warren Giles conducted a poll of baseball writers in each Major League city and...
.
Koufax had his strong season despite an injured pitching hand. While batting in April, Koufax had been jammed by a pitch from
Earl FrancisEarl Coleman Francis was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1965. He was born in Slab Fork, West Virginia....
. A numbness developed in Koufax's index finger on his left hand, and the finger became cold and white. Koufax was pitching better than ever before, however, so he ignored the problem, hoping that the condition would clear up. By July, though, his entire hand was becoming numb and he was unable to complete some games. In a start in Cincinnati, his finger split open after one inning. A vascular specialist determined that Koufax had a crushed artery in his palm. Ten days of experimental medicine successfully reopened the artery. Koufax finally was able to pitch again in September, when the team was locked in a tight pennant race with the Giants. But after the long layoff, Koufax was ineffective in three appearances as the Giants caught the Dodgers at the end of the regular season, forcing a three-game playoff.
The night before the National League playoffs began, Manager
Walter AlstonWalter Emmons Alston , nicknamed "Smokey," was an American baseball player and manager. He was born in Venice, Ohio but grew up in Darrtown. He is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he lettered three years in both basketball and baseball and is a member of the University's Hall...
asked Koufax if he could start the first game the next day. With an overworked pitching staff, there was no one else, as
Don DrysdaleDonald Scott "Don" Drysdale was a Major League Baseball player and Hall of Fame right-handed pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was one of the dominant starting pitchers of the 1960s, and became a radio and television broadcaster following his playing career...
and
Johnny PodresJohn Joseph Podres was an American left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who spent most of his career with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers...
had pitched the prior two days. Koufax obliged. Koufax later said, "I had nothing at all." He was knocked out in the second inning, after giving up home runs to Hall of Famer
Willie MaysWillie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
and
Jim DavenportJames Houston Davenport is a former Major League Baseball infielder who played his entire career with the San Francisco Giants . The right-handed batter and thrower attended The University of Southern Mississippi.He played in one World Series in 1962, as the Giants lost to the New York Yankees...
. After winning the second game of the series, the Dodgers blew a 4–2 lead in the ninth inning of the deciding third game, losing the pennant.
1963 season
In 1963, Major League Baseball expanded the
strike zoneIn baseball, the strike zone is a conceptual right pentagonal prism over home plate which defines the boundaries through which a pitch must pass in order to count as a strike when the batter does not swing.-Definition:...
. Compared to the previous season, National League walks fell 13 percent, strikeouts increased six percent, the league batting average fell from .261 to .245, and runs fell 15 percent. Koufax, who had reduced his walks allowed per nine innings to 3.4 in 1961 and 2.8 in 1962, reduced his walk rate further to 1.7 in 1963, which ranked fifth in the league. The top pitchers of the era – Don Drysdale,
Juan MarichalJuan Antonio Marichal Sánchez is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. Playing for the San Francisco Giants most of his career, Marichal was known for his high leg kick, pinpoint control and intimidation tactics, which included aiming pitches directly at the opposing batters'...
,
Jim BunningJames Paul David "Jim" Bunning is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher and politician.During a 17-year baseball career, he pitched from 1955 to 1971, most notably with the Detroit Tigers and the Philadelphia Phillies. When he retired, he had the second-highest total of career...
,
Bob GibsonRobert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
,
Warren SpahnWarren Edward Spahn was an American Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in the National League. He won 20 games each in 13 seasons, including a 23-7 record when he was age 42...
, and above all Koufax – significantly reduced the walks-given-up-to-batters-faced ratio for 1963 and subsequent years.
On May 11, Koufax no hit the San Francisco Giants and outdueled future Hall of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal. Koufax carried a
perfect gameA perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any...
into the eighth inning against the powerful
Giants- Offseason :* November 30, 1962: Manny Mota and Dick LeMay were traded by the Giants to the Houston Colt .45s for Joey Amalfitano.* December 15, 1962: Stu Miller, Mike McCormick, and John Orsino were traded by the Giants to the Baltimore Orioles for Jack Fisher, Jimmie Coker and Billy Hoeft.-...
lineup, including future Hall of Famers Willie Mays,
Willie McCoveyWillie Lee McCovey , nicknamed "Mac", "Big Mac", and "Stretch", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played nineteen seasons for the San Francisco Giants, and three more for the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics, between and...
, and
Orlando CepedaOrlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes is a former Puerto Rican Major League Baseball first baseman.Cepeda was born to a poor family. His father, Pedro Cepeda, was a baseball player in Puerto Rico, which influenced his interest in the sport from a young age. His first contact with professional baseball was...
. He walked
Ed BaileyLonas Edgar Bailey, Jr. was an American professional baseball player who played catcher in the Major Leagues from through . Bailey batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was born in Strawberry Plains, Tennessee...
on a 3-and-2 pitch, but preserved the no-hitter by closing out the ninth. As the Dodgers won the pennant, Koufax won the pitchers'
Triple CrownIn Major League Baseball, a player earns the Triple Crown when he leads a league in three specific statistical categories. For batters, a player must lead the league in home runs, run batted in , and batting average; pitchers must lead the league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average...
, leading the league in wins (25), strikeouts (306) and ERA (1.88). Koufax threw 11 shutouts, a total that only
Bob GibsonRobert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
has surpassed since. Koufax won the NL
MVP AwardThe Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award is an annual Major League Baseball award, given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America...
, the
Hickok BeltThe S. Rae Hickok Professional Athlete of the Year award, known as the Hickok Belt, was a trophy awarded for 27 years to the top professional athlete of the year in the United States...
, and was the first-ever unanimous selection for the
Cy Young AwardThe Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
.
Facing the
YankeesThe New York Yankees season was the 61st season for the team in New York, and its 63rd season overall. The team finished with a record of 104-58, winning their 28th pennant, finishing 10½ games ahead of the Chicago White Sox. New York was managed by Ralph Houk.The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium...
in the
1963 World SeriesThe 1963 World Series matched the two-time defending champion New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Dodgers sweeping the Series in four games to capture their second title in five years, and their third in franchise history....
, Koufax beat
Whitey FordEdward Charles "Whitey" Ford is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who spent his entire 18-year career with the New York Yankees. He was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.-Early life and career:...
5-2 in Game 1 and struck out 15 batters, breaking
Carl ErskineCarl Daniel Erskine is a former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Brooklyn & Los Angeles Dodgers from 1948 through 1959...
's decade-old record of 14 (Gibson would break Koufax's record by striking out 17
Detroit TigersThe Detroit Tigers won the 1968 World Series, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 3. The 1968 baseball season, known as the "Year of the Pitcher," was the Tigers' 68th since they entered the American League in 1901, their eighth pennant, and third World Series championship...
in the
1968 World SeriesThe 1968 World Series featured the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals against the Detroit Tigers, with the Tigers winning in seven games for their first championship since 1945, and the third in their history...
opener). After seeing Koufax's Game 1 performance,
Yogi BerraLawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra is a former American Major League Baseball catcher, outfielder, and manager. He played almost his entire 19-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
said, "I can see how he won 25 games. What I don't understand is how he lost five," to which
Maury WillsMaurice Morning "Maury" Wills is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and switch-hitting batter who played most prominently with the Los Angeles Dodgers , and also with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Montreal Expos...
responded, "He didn't. We lost them for him." In Game 4, Koufax completed the Dodgers' series sweep with a 2–1 victory over Ford, clinching the
Series MVP AwardThe World Series Most Valuable Player Award is given to the player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the Major League Baseball postseason...
for his performance.
1964 season
Koufax's season started with great expectations. On April 18, he struck out three batters on nine pitches in the third inning of a 3–0 loss to the
Cincinnati RedsThe Cincinnati Reds season consisted of the Reds finishing in a tie for second place in the National League with the Philadelphia Phillies. Both teams finished at 92-70, one game behind the NL and World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals...
, becoming the only National League pitcher to have two
nine-pitch/three-strikeout half-inningIn Major League Baseball, 43 pitchers have thrown a nine-pitch, three-strikeout half-inning, throwing nothing but strikes...
s. On April 22, however, he felt something "let go" in his arm. Koufax ended up getting three
cortisoneCortisone is a steroid hormone. It is one of the main hormones released by the adrenal gland in response to stress. In chemical structure, it is a corticosteroid closely related to corticosterone. It is used to treat a variety of ailments and can be administered intravenously, orally,...
shots for his sore elbow, and missed three starts.
On June 4, playing at Connie Mack Stadium against the
PhilliesThe Philadelphia Phillies season was the 82nd season for the franchise in Philadelphia. The Phillies finished in a second-place tie in the National League with the Cincinnati Reds, while posting a record of 92-70. The teams finished one game behind the NL and World Series champion St. Louis...
, Koufax
walkedA base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
Richie AllenRichard Anthony Allen is a former Major League Baseball player and R&B singer. He played first and third base and outfield in Major League Baseball and ranked among his sport's top offensive producers of the 1960s and early 1970s...
on a very close full-count pitch in the fourth inning. Allen, who was thrown out trying to steal second, was the first and last Phillie to reach base that day. With his third no-hitter in three years, Koufax became only the second pitcher of the modern era (after
Bob FellerOn December 8, 1941, Feller enlisted in the Navy, volunteering immediately for combat service, becoming the first Major League Baseball player to do so following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7. Feller served as Gun Captain aboard the USS Alabama, and missed four seasons during his service...
) to pitch three no-hitters.
Koufax jammed his pitching arm in August while diving back to second base to beat a pick-off throw. He managed to pitch and win two more games. However, the morning after his 19th win, a shutout in which he struck out 13 batters, he could not straighten his arm. He was diagnosed by Dodgers' team physician
Robert KerlanRobert K. Kerlan was an American orthopedic surgeon and the co-founder, along with Dr. Frank Jobe, of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic...
with traumatic
arthritisArthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
. With the Dodgers out of the pennant race, the book was closed on Koufax and his 19–5 record.
1965 season
The 1965 season brought more obstacles for Koufax. On March 31, the morning after pitching a complete
spring trainingIn Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
game, Koufax awoke to find that his entire left arm was
black and blueA bruise, also called a contusion, is a type of relatively minor hematoma of tissue in which capillaries and sometimes venules are damaged by trauma, allowing blood to seep into the surrounding interstitial tissues. Bruises can involve capillaries at the level of skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle,...
from hemorrhaging. Koufax returned to Los Angeles to consult with Kerlan, who advised Koufax that he would be lucky to be able to pitch once a week. Kerlan also told Koufax that he would eventually lose full use of his arm. Koufax agreed not to throw at all between games—a resolution that lasted only one start. To get himself through the games he pitched in, Koufax resorted to Empirin with
codeineCodeine or 3-methylmorphine is an opiate used for its analgesic, antitussive, and antidiarrheal properties...
for the pain, which he took every night and sometimes during the fifth inning. He also took
ButazolidinPhenylbutazone, often referred to as bute, is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug for the short-term treatment of pain and fever in animals. In the United States, it is no longer approved for human use.-In humans:...
for inflammation, applied
capsaicinCapsaicin 2CHCH=CH4CONHCH2C6H3-4--3- ) is the active component of chili peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus Capsicum. It is an irritant for mammals, including humans, and produces a sensation of burning in any tissue with which it comes into contact...
-based Capsolin ointment (called "atomic balm" by baseball players) before each game, and soaked his arm in a tub of ice afterwards.
Despite the constant pain in his pitching elbow, Koufax pitched 335⅔ innings and led the
DodgersThe Los Angeles Dodgers finished the regular-season with a 97–65 record, which earned them the NL pennant by just two games over their arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants...
to another pennant. He finished the year by winning his second pitchers' Triple Crown, leading the league in wins (26), ERA (2.04) and strikeouts (382; the highest modern day total at the time.
Nolan RyanLynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. , nicknamed "The Ryan Express", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently principal owner, president and CEO of the Texas Rangers....
struck out 383 batters in ). Koufax captured his second unanimous Cy Young Award. Koufax held batters to 5.79 hits per nine innings, and allowed the fewest base runners per 9 innings in any season ever: 7.83, breaking his own record (set two years earlier) of 7.96. Koufax had 11-game winning streaks in both 1964 and 1965.
Koufax garnered headlines by declining to pitch Game 1 of the
World SeriesThe 1965 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers against the American League champion Minnesota Twins, who had won their first pennant since 1933 when the team was known as the Washington Senators...
due to his observance of Yom Kippur. Don Drysdale pitched the opener, but was hit hard by the
Minnesota TwinsThe Minnesota Twins won the 1965 American League pennant with a 102-60 record. It was the team's first pennant since moving to Minnesota, and the 102 wins was a team record.- Regular season :...
. In Game 2, Koufax pitched six innings, giving up two runs, but the Twins won the Game 5–1 and took an early 2–0 lead in the series. The Dodgers fought back in Games 3 and 4, with wins by
Claude OsteenClaude Wilson Osteen , nicknamed "Gomer" because of his resemblance to Gomer Pyle, is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched for six different teams: the Cincinnati Redlegs/Reds , Washington Senators , Los Angeles Dodgers , Houston Astros , St...
and Drysdale. With the Series tied at 2 to 2, Koufax pitched a complete game shutout in Game 5 for a 3–2 Dodgers lead as the Series returned to
Minnesota's Metropolitan StadiumMetropolitan Stadium was a sports stadium that once stood in Bloomington, Minnesota, just outside Minneapolis. The area where the stadium once stood is now the site of the Mall of America...
for Game 6. The Twins won Game 6 to force a seventh game. Starting Game 7 on just two days of rest, Koufax pitched through fatigue and arthritic pain, and despite giving up on his curveball early in the game after failing to get it over for strikes in the first two innings and pitching the rest of the game relying almost entirely on fastballs, he threw a three-hit shutout to clinch the Series. The performance earned him his second World Series MVP award. Koufax also won the
Hickok BeltThe S. Rae Hickok Professional Athlete of the Year award, known as the Hickok Belt, was a trophy awarded for 27 years to the top professional athlete of the year in the United States...
a second time, the first (and only) time anyone had won the belt more than once. He was awarded
Sports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
magazine's
Sportsman of the YearSince its inception in 1954, Sports Illustrated magazine has annually presented the "Sportsman of the Year" award to "the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement." Both Americans and non-Americans are eligible, though in the past the...
award.
Perfection
On September 9, 1965, Koufax became the sixth pitcher of the modern era, and eighth overall, to throw a perfect game, the first by a left-hander since 1880. The game was Koufax's fourth no-hitter, setting a Major League record (subsequently broken by
Nolan RyanLynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. , nicknamed "The Ryan Express", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently principal owner, president and CEO of the Texas Rangers....
). Koufax struck out 14 batters, the most recorded in a perfect game. The game also featured a quality performance by the opposing pitcher,
Bob HendleyCharles Robert Hendley is a former Major League Baseball pitcher.Born in Macon, Georgia, Hendley was signed by the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent in 1958. After the 1963 season, Hendley was traded to the San Francisco Giants in a six-player deal; one of the three players the Braves...
of the
Cubs- Offseason :* November 30, 1964: 1964 minor league draft**Bobby Cox was drafted by the Cubs from the Los Angeles Dodgers.**Chris Krug was drafted by the Cubs from the St...
. Hendley pitched a one-hitter and allowed only two batters to reach base. Both pitchers had no-hitters intact until the seventh inning.
This remains the only nine-inning major league game where the teams combined for just one hit. The game's only run, scored by the Dodgers, was
unearnedIn baseball, an earned run is any run for which the pitcher is held accountable . Any runner who tags his base and reaches home plate is scored against the pitcher as an earned run...
. The Dodger run was scored without a recorded at bat—
Lou JohnsonLouis Brown Johnson , nicknamed "Sweet Lou" and "Slick", is a former Major League Baseball outfielder...
walked, reached second on a sacrifice bunt, stole third, and scored when the throw to get him out at third went wild.
Holdout
Before the 1966 season began, Koufax and Drysdale met separately with Dodger GM
Buzzie BavasiEmil Joseph "Buzzie" Bavasi was an American executive in Major League Baseball who played a major role in the operation of three franchises from the late 1940s through the mid-1980s....
to negotiate their contracts for the upcoming year. After Koufax's meeting, he met Drysdale for dinner and complained that Bavasi was using Drysdale against him in the negotiations, asking, "How come you want that much when Drysdale only wants this much?" Drysdale responded that Bavasi did the same thing with him, using Koufax against him. Drysdale's first wife, Ginger Drysdale, suggested that they negotiate together to get what they wanted. They demanded $1 million ($ today), divided equally over the next three years, or $167,000 ($ today) each for the next three seasons. Both players were represented by an entertainment lawyer, J. William Hayes, which was unusual during an era when players were not represented by agents. At the time, Willie Mays was
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
's highest paid player at $125,000 ($ today) per year and multi-year contracts were very unusual.
Koufax and Drysdale didn't report to spring training in February. Instead, they both signed to appear in the movie
Warning ShotWarning Shot is a 1967 movie about a police sergeant who kills a man in self-defense while on a stakeout. He must clear his name when the gun pulled on him disappears...
, starring
David JanssenDavid Janssen was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Dr. Richard Kimble in the television series The Fugitive , the starring role in the 1950s hit detective series Richard Diamond, Private Detective , and as Harry Orwell on Harry O.In 1996 TV Guide...
. Drysdale was to play a TV commentator and Koufax a
detectiveA detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
. Meanwhile, the Dodgers waged a
public relationsPublic relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
battle against them. After four weeks, Koufax gave Drysdale the go-ahead to negotiate new deals for both of them. Koufax ended up getting $125,000 and Drysdale $110,000 ($ today). They rejoined the team in the last week of spring training.
1966 season
In April 1966, Kerlan told Koufax it was time to retire, that his arm could not take another season. Koufax kept Kerlan's advice to himself and went out every fourth day to pitch. He ended up pitching 323 innings and had a 27–9 record with a 1.73 ERA. Since then, no left-hander has had more wins, nor a lower ERA, in a season (Phillies pitcher
Steve CarltonSteven Norman Carlton , nicknamed "Lefty", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1965-1988 for six different teams in his career, but it is his time with the Philadelphia Phillies where he received his greatest acclaim as a professional and won four Cy Young Awards...
did match the 27-win mark in 1972). In the final game of the regular season, the Dodgers had to beat the Phillies to win the pennant. In the second game of a doubleheader, Koufax faced
Jim BunningJames Paul David "Jim" Bunning is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher and politician.During a 17-year baseball career, he pitched from 1955 to 1971, most notably with the Detroit Tigers and the Philadelphia Phillies. When he retired, he had the second-highest total of career...
for the second time that season, in a match-up between perfect game winners. Koufax, on two days rest, pitched a complete game, 6–3 victory to clinch the pennant. He started 41 games (for the second year in a row); only two left-handers started as many games in any season over the ensuing years through 2010.
The
DodgersThe Los Angeles Dodgers won the National League championship with a 95–67 record , but lost to the Baltimore Orioles in four games in the World Series.-Regular season:...
went on to face the
Baltimore OriolesThe Baltimore Orioles season involved the Orioles finishing first in the American League with a record of 97 wins and 63 losses, nine games ahead of the runner-up Minnesota Twins. It was their first AL pennant since 1944, when the club was known as the St. Louis Browns. The Orioles swept the NL...
in the
1966 World SeriesThe 1966 World Series matched the Baltimore Orioles against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Orioles sweeping the Series in four games to capture their first championship in franchise history...
. Game 2 marked Koufax's third start in eight days. Koufax pitched well enough—Baltimore first baseman
Boog PowellJohn Wesley Powell is a former major league first baseman who played for the Baltimore Orioles , Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Dodgers...
told Koufax's biographer, Jane Leavy, "He might have been hurtin' but he was bringin'"—but three errors by Dodger center fielder Willie Davis in the fifth inning produced three unearned runs. Baltimore's
Jim PalmerJames Alvin "Jim" Palmer , nicknamed "Cakes", is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played his entire 20-year baseball career for the Baltimore Orioles . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in .As of 2008, Palmer and his wife Susan have homes in Palm Beach, Florida, and...
pitched a four-hitter and the Dodgers ended up losing the game 6–0. Alston lifted Koufax at the end of the sixth inning with the idea of getting him extra rest before pitching a potential fifth Series game. It never happened; the Dodgers were swept in four, not scoring a single run in the last three. After the World Series, Koufax announced his retirement due to his arthritic condition.
Career overall
In his 12-season career, Koufax had a 165–87 record with a 2.76 ERA, 2,396 strikeouts, 137 complete games, and 40 shutouts. He was the first pitcher to average fewer than seven
hitsIn baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
allowed per nine
innings pitchedIn baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...
in his career (6.79) and to strike out more than nine batters (9.28) per nine innings pitched in his career. He also became the 2nd pitcher in baseball history to have two games with 18 or more strikeouts, and the first to have eight games with 15 or more strikeouts. In his last ten seasons, from 1957 to 1966, batters hit .203 against Koufax, with a .271
on base percentageIn baseball statistics, on-base percentage is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) (sometimes...
and a .315
slugging average.
Koufax's postseason record is impressive: a 4–3 won-lost record with a 0.95 earned run average, in four World Series. He is on the very short list of pitchers who retired with more career strikeouts than innings pitched. Koufax was selected for seven consecutive
All-StarThe Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
games (twice in 1961 (the last season with two All-Star Games), then 1962 to 1966).
Koufax was the first pitcher to win multiple Cy Young Awards, as well as the first pitcher to win a Cy Young Award by a unanimous vote. Each of Koufax's three Cy Young Awards were by unanimous vote. Koufax and Juan Marichal are the only two pitchers in the post-war era (1946-date) to have more than one 25-win season, with each pitcher recording three.
Among NL pitchers with at least 2,000 innings pitched who have debuted since , he has the highest career winning percentage (.655) and had the lowest career ERA (2.76) until surpassed by
Tom SeaverGeorge Thomas "Tom" Seaver , nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "The Franchise", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched from 1967-1986 for four different teams in his career, but is noted primarily for his time with the New York Mets...
, whose NL career mark is 2.73. While Seaver ended his career with an overall career ERA of 2.86, this included three seasons in the American League. Seaver passed Koufax's record in 1974 when he ended the season with more than 2,000 NL innings and an ERA of 2.47. Koufax is currently second on the list of overall career ERA in the live-ball era, surpassed only by Whitey Ford (2.75). Through 2010, he was first all-time in career strikeouts (ahead of
Ken HoltzmanKenneth Dale Holtzman is a left-handed former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics...
), second in wins (behind Holtzman) and ERA (behind
Barney PeltyBarney Pelty , was a major league baseball pitcher known as "the Yiddish Curver" because he was one of the first Jewish baseball players in the American League. His career ERA is 2.63, 60th-best of all pitchers in major league baseball...
), and seventh in games pitched (behind
Alan LevineAlan Brian "Al" Levine is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who currently pitches for the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League.-Early and personal life:...
) among Jewish major league baseball players.
Pitching style
Whereas many pitchers throw with a three-quarter or sidearm motion, Koufax threw with a pronounced over-the-top arm action. This may have increased his
velocityIn physics, velocity is speed in a given direction. Speed describes only how fast an object is moving, whereas velocity gives both the speed and direction of the object's motion. To have a constant velocity, an object must have a constant speed and motion in a constant direction. Constant ...
, but reduced the lateral movement on his pitches, especially movement away from left-handed hitters. Most of his velocity came from his strong legs and back, combined with a high kicking wind-up and long forward stretch toward the plate. Throughout his career, Koufax relied mostly on two pitches: his
four-seam fastballA four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family...
had a "rising" motion due to underspin, and not only appeared to move very late but also might move two or three distinct times; his overhand
curveballThe curveball is a type of pitch in baseball thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball causing it to dive in a downward path as it approaches the plate. Its close relatives are the slider and the slurve. The "curve" of the ball varies from pitcher to...
, spun with the middle finger, dropped vertically 12 to 24 inches due to his arm action. He also occasionally threw a
changeupA changeup is a type of pitch in baseball. Other names include change-of-pace, Bugs Bunny change-up, the dreaded equalizer, and simply change. The changeup is sometimes called an off-speed pitch, although that term can also be used simply to mean any pitch that is slower than a fastball...
and a
forkballThe forkball is a type of pitch in baseball. Related to the split-fingered fastball, the forkball is held between the first two fingers and thrown hard snapping the wrist....
.
At the beginning of his career, Koufax worked with coaches to eliminate his tendency to "tip" pitches (i.e. reveal which pitch was coming due to variations in his wind-up). Late in his career, and especially as his arm problems continued, this variation—usually in the position he held his hands at the top of the wind-up—became even more pronounced. Good hitters could often predict what pitch was coming, but were still unable to hit it.
Post-playing career
In 1967, he signed a ten-year contract with NBC for
$The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1 million ($ today) to be a broadcaster on the
Saturday Game of the WeekThe Major League Baseball Game of the Week is the de facto title for over-the-air, nationally televised coverage of regular season Major League Baseball games...
. He quit after six years, just prior to the start of the season.
Koufax married Anne Widmark, daughter of movie star
Richard WidmarkRichard Weedt Widmark was an American film, stage and television actor.He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, Kiss of Death...
, in 1969; the couple was divorced in the 1980s. He then remarried and divorced again in the 1990s.
In his first year of eligibility in , Koufax was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, just weeks after his 36th birthday. His election made him the Hall's youngest member ever, five months younger than
Lou GehrigHenry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...
upon his induction in 1939. On June 4 of that same year, Koufax's uniform number 32 was retired alongside those of Dodger greats
Roy CampanellaRoy Campanella , nicknamed "Campy", was an American baseball player, primarily at the position of catcher, in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball...
(39) and Jackie Robinson (42).
The Dodgers hired Koufax to be a minor league pitching coach in . He resigned in , saying he wasn't earning his keep, but most observers blamed it on his uneasy relationship with manager Tommy Lasorda. In , Koufax discontinued his relationship with the Dodgers when the
New York PostThe New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
(which, like the Dodgers, had become part of
Rupert MurdochKeith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
's business empire) published a story reporting rumors about his
sexual orientationSexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
, and implying that Koufax was gay. Koufax returned to the Dodger organization in when the Dodgers were sold to
Frank McCourtFrank McCourt is the owner and chairman of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine. In , he purchased a controlling interest of the Dodgers from Fox Entertainment Group, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation...
.
In ,
The Sporting NewsSporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
placed Koufax at number 26 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Baseball Players". That same year, he was named as one of the 30 players on the
Major League Baseball All-Century TeamIn 1999, the Major League Baseball All-Century Team was chosen by popular vote of fans. To select the team, a panel of experts first compiled a list of the 100 greatest Major League Baseball players from the past century...
. Although he rarely makes public appearances, he went to
Turner FieldTurner Field is a stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, home to Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves since 1997. Turner Field was originally built as Centennial Olympic Stadium, it was completed in 1996 to serve as the centerpiece of the 1996 Summer Olympics...
in
AtlantaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
for the introduction ceremony before Game 2 of the
World SeriesThe 1999 World Series, the 95th edition of Major League Baseball's championship series, featured a rematch between the defending champions New York Yankees against the Atlanta Braves during the month of October, with the Yankees sweeping the Series in four games for their second title in a row,...
. Koufax threw out a ceremonial first pitch at opening day 2008 at Dodger Stadium, to help commemorate the Dodgers 50th Anniversary in Los Angeles.
Koufax was the final player chosen in the inaugural
Israel Baseball LeagueThe Israel Baseball League was a six-team professional baseball league in Israel. The first game was played on June 24, 2007...
draft in April 2007. Koufax, 71, was picked by the
Modi'in MiracleThe Modi'in Miracle is an Israeli baseball team from Modi'in in the Israel Baseball League.The Miracle finished the inaugrual 2007 season 22-19 in third place, and after upsetting the # 2 Tel Aviv Lightning in the semi-finals, lost to Ron Blomberg's Bet Shemesh Blue Sox 3-0 in the championship...
. "His selection is a tribute to the esteem with which he is held by everyone associated with this league," said
Art ShamskyArthur Louis Shamsky is a former Major League Baseball player. He played right field, left field, and first base from to for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, and Oakland Athletics. In he was the manager of the Modi'in Miracle of the Israel Baseball League.-Early life:Shamsky...
, who managed the Miracle. "It's been 41 years between starts for him. If he's rested and ready to take the mound again, we want him on our team." Koufax declined to join the Miracle.
On May 14, 2007, Upper Deck Authenticated signed Koufax to an exclusive autograph and memorabilia agreement.
Currently, Koufax serves as a member of the advisory board of the
Baseball Assistance TeamThe Baseball Assistance Team is a 501 non-profit affiliated with Major League Baseball. The organization's stated goal is to "help members of the baseball family who have come on hard times and are in need of assistance," and is guided by the principles of teamwork, caring, and sharing...
, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping former Major League, Minor League, and Negro League players through financial and medical difficulties.
White House recognition
On May 27, 2010, Koufax was included among a group of prominent Jewish Americans at the first White House reception in honor of
Jewish American Heritage MonthJewish American Heritage Month is an annual recognition and celebration of Jewish American achievements in and contributions to the United States of America. It is observed annually in the U.S. during the month of May....
. President
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
recognized how well known Koufax's decision not to play on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur was in a humorous mention in his welcome remarks. Saying that he had "something in common" with Koufax, President Obama continued: "He can't pitch on
Yom KippurYom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
. I can't pitch." The President also directly acknowledged the high esteem in which Koufax is held:
- "This is a pretty fancy ... pretty distinguished group," he said of the invited guests, which included members of the House and Senate, two justices of the Supreme Court, Olympic athletes, entrepreneurs, Rabbinical scholars, "and Sandy Koufax." The mention of his name brought the biggest cheer at the event.
Career statistics
Sandy Koufax's career statistics
| W | L | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO |
| 165 |
87 |
2.76 |
397 |
314 |
137 |
40 |
9 |
2324.1 |
1754 |
713 |
204 |
817 |
2396 |
See also
- List of baseball players who went directly to the major leagues
- Bonus rule
The Bonus Rule was a rule instituted by Major League Baseball in 1947 that prevented teams from assigning certain players to farm clubs. The rule stipulated that when a Major league team signed a player to a contract in excess of $4,000 , the Major League team was required to keep that player on...
- Triple Crown
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
- List of Major League Baseball ERA champions
- List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions
- List of Major League Baseball wins champions
- List of pitchers who have struck out 18 or more batters in a nine-inning MLB game
- Pitchers who have struck out three batters on nine pitches
- Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all time
In baseball, a strikeout occurs when the batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. Strikeouts are associated with dominance on the part of the pitcher and failure on the part of the batter....
- Major League Baseball titles leaders
At the end of each Major League Baseball season, the league leaders of various statistical categories are announced. Leading the league in a particular category is referred to as a title....
- Pitchers who have thrown a perfect game
A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any...
- List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
- Los Angeles Dodgers all-time roster
The following is a list of players, both past and current, who appeared at least in one game for the Los Angeles Dodgers National League franchise , and for the Brooklyn-based teams known as the Atlantics , Grays , Bridegrooms , Grooms , Superbas , Dodgers...
- List of select Jewish baseball players
Books
- Jews and Baseball: The Post-Greenberg Years, 1949–2008, Burton Alan Boxerman, Benita W. Boxerman, McFarland, 2010, ISBN 0-7864-2828-7
- The Baseball Talmud: The Definitive Position-by-Position Ranking of Baseball's Chosen Players, Howard Megdal, Collins, 2009, ISBN 0-06-155843-5
- The New Big Book of Jewish Baseball: An Illustrated Encyclopedia & Anecdotal History, Peter S. Horvitz, Joachim Horvitz, Perseus Distribution Services, 2007, ISBN 1-56171-821-1
- Jews and Baseball: Entering the American mainstream, 1871–1948, Burton Alan Boxerman, Benita W. Boxerman, McFarland, 2006, ISBN 0-7864-2828-7
- The Big Book of Jewish Baseball: An Illustrated Encyclopedia & Anecdotal History, Peter S. Horvitz, Joachim Horvitz, SP Books, 2001, ISBN 1-56171-973-0
- The Jewish Baseball Hall of Fame: a Who's Who of Baseball Stars, Erwin Lynn, Shapolsky Publishers, 1986, ISBN 0-933503-17-2
- Jewish Baseball Stars, Harold Uriel Ribalow, Meir Z. Ribalow, Hippocrene Books, 1984, ISBN 0-88254-898-0
External links