Sandy Koufax

While with the college baseball team, Koufax began to attract scouts. Bill Zinser, a scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers, sent the Dodgers front office a glowing report that was apparently filed and forgotten.[18] Gene Bonnibeau, a scout for the New York Giants, found out about Koufax through a Cincinnati newspaper and invited him to work out at the Polo Grounds. At the end of his freshman year, Koufax returned to Brooklyn and went to try out for the Giants at the Polo Grounds. The work out did not go well for the inexperienced Koufax and he never heard from the Giants again.[19]

In September, a scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Ed McCarrick showed interest in Koufax after seeing him in a few sandlot games with the Parkviews.[20] At McCarrick's behest, Branch Rickey, general manager of the Pirates at the time, sent his scout Clyde Sukeforth to see Koufax. Sukeforth was impressed with Koufax and invited him to Forbes Field for a tryout for the Pirates front office. Upon seeing Koufax pitch in person, Rickey remarked to Sukeforth, "This is the greatest arm I've ever seen."[21] The Pirates, however, failed to offer Koufax a contract until after he was already committed to the Dodgers.[22][11]

Al Campanis, a Dodgers scout, heard about Koufax from Jimmy Murphy, a reporter from the Brooklyn Eagle who covered sandlot teams in Brooklyn and who had seen him pitch a few times for the Parkviews.[23] He was also urged by Pat Auletta, the owner of a sporting goods store and the father of author Ken Auletta, to come and see Koufax pitch and arranged a workout at the Lafayette High baseball field. After watching him, Campanis arranged a tryout for him in Ebbets Field.[24][25] With Dodgers manager Walter Alston and scouting director Fresco Thompson watching, Campanis assumed the hitter's stance while Koufax started throwing; he 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 Chapel and the second time, I saw Sandy Koufax throw a fastball."[26]

Koufax also had a tryout with the Milwaukee Braves, to which he had previously committed to, after returning to university. John Quinn, general manager of the Braves, made him an offer of $30,000.[27] However, as he was already committed to signing with the Dodgers, Koufax declined. Irving Koufax negotiated with the Dodgers on behalf of his son. Koufax signed with the Dodgers for $20,000 ($202,000 today) - $6,000 salary (the league minimum at the time), with a $14,000 signing bonus; he had planned to use the money as tuition in order finish his college education should his baseball career have failed.[28][29][11]

Koufax early in his Dodger career

Because Koufax's signing bonus was greater than $4,000 ($40,000 today), he was known as a bonus baby. This forced the Dodgers to keep him on the major league roster for at least two years before he could be sent to the minors. To make room for him, the Dodgers optioned their future Hall of Fame manager, Tommy Lasorda, to the Montreal Royals of the International League. Lasorda would later joke that it took Koufax to keep him off the Dodger pitching staff.[30] Koufax made his major league debut on June 24, 1955, against the Milwaukee Braves, with the Dodgers trailing 7–1 in the fifth inning. Johnny Logan, the first batter Koufax faced, hit a bloop single. Eddie Mathews bunted, and Koufax threw the ball into center field. He then walked Hank Aaron on four pitches to load the bases, but struck out Bobby Thomson on a 3–2 fastball—an outcome Koufax later came to view as "probably the worst thing that could have happened to me," leading, as it did, to five seasons spent "trying to get out of trouble by throwing harder and harder and harder."[31]

Koufax's first start was on July 6.[32] He lasted only 4+2⁄3 innings, giving up eight walks.[33] He did not start again for almost two months, but on August 27, Koufax threw a two-hit, 7–0 complete game shutout against the Cincinnati Reds for his first major league win.[33][34] Koufax threw 41+2⁄3 innings in 12 appearances that season, striking out 30 batters and walking 28. He had two wins in 1955, which were both shutouts.[35] During the fall, he enrolled in the Columbia University School of General Studies, which offered night classes in architecture. The Dodgers won the 1955 World Series for the first title in franchise history, but Koufax did not appear in the series. After the final out of Game 7, Koufax drove to Columbia to attend class.[36]

A ticket from the game where Koufax earned his first career win

The year 1956 was not very different from 1955 for Koufax. Despite the blazing speed of his fastball, Koufax continued to struggle with his control.[37] He saw little work, pitching only 58+2⁄3 innings with a 4.91 earned run average, 29 walks and 30 strikeouts. When Koufax allowed baserunners, he was rarely permitted to finish the inning. Teammate Joe Pignatano said that 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 Robinson, in his final season, clashed with Alston on Koufax's usage. Robinson saw that Koufax was talented and had flashes of brilliance, and objected to him being benched for weeks at a time.[38]

To prepare for him the 1957 season, the Dodgers sent Koufax to Puerto Rico to play winter ball for the Criollos de Caguas.[39] 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 at Wrigley Field, 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 earned run average, Koufax did not get another start for 45 days. In that start, he struck out 11 in seven innings, but got no decision. On September 29, he became the last man to pitch for the Brooklyn Dodgers before their move to Los Angeles, throwing an inning of relief in the final game of the season.[40]

Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax changing parts on a 2 1/2-ton truck at the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Van Nuys, California

Koufax and fellow Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale served six months in the United States Army Reserve at Fort Dix in New Jersey after the end of the 1957 season and before spring training in 1958.[41][42]

Over the next three seasons, Koufax was in and out of the 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 against the Giants, he set the NL single-game record and tied Bob Feller's modern major league record of 18, also scoring on Wally Moon's walk-off home run for a 5–2 win.[43][44]

In 1959, the Dodgers won a close pennant race against the Braves and the Giants, then beat the Chicago White Sox in the World Series. 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 Game 5, 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 Fox scored on a double play.[45] Returning to Chicago, the Dodgers won Game 6 and the Series.[46][47]

In early 1960, Koufax asked Dodgers general manager Buzzie Bavasi to trade him because he was not getting enough playing time. On May 23, he pitched a 1–0, one-hit shutout in Pittsburgh, allowing only a second-inning single by pitcher Bennie Daniels. By the end of the year, after going 8–13, Koufax was thinking about quitting baseball to devote himself to an electronics business in which he had invested. After the last game of the season, he threw his gloves and spikes into the trash. Nobe Kawano, the clubhouse supervisor, retrieved the equipment in case Koufax returned to play the following year.[48]

Koufax in 1961

Koufax decided to try one more year to succeed in baseball; 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."[49] During spring training, Dodger scout Kenny Myers discovered a hitch in Koufax's windup, where he would rear back so far he would lose sight of the target.[50] As a result, Koufax tightened up his mechanics, believing that not only would it help better his control but would also help him disguise his pitches better.[51]

During a B-squad game against the Minnesota Twins in Orlando, Florida, Koufax was chosen by teammate Gil Hodges (acting as manager of the team) to pitch. As teammate Ed Palmquist had missed the flight, Hodges told Koufax he needed to pitch at least seven innings. Prior to the game, catcher Norm Sherry told Koufax: "If you get behind the hitters, don't try to throw so hard." Koufax had a tendancy to lost control of his temper and throw hard when he got into trouble.<refname="theatlantic"> The strategy worked initially before Koufax temporarily reverted back to throwing hard and walked the bases loaded with no out in the fifth. Sherry reminded Koufax of their discussion, advising him to settle down and throw to his glove and to throw more breaking pitches. The advice worked; Koufax struck out the side and then went on to pitch seven no-hit innings.[52]

Additionally, Dodgers statistician Allan Roth helped Koufax tweak his game in the early 1960s, particularly regarding the importance of first-pitch strikes and the benefits of off-speed pitches. Like Sherry, Roth also urged him to take a little speed of his pitches to improve his control.[53][11]

As a result of all these improvements, 1961 became Koufax's breakout season. He posted an 18–13 record and led the league with 269 strikeouts, breaking Christy Mathewson's 58-year-old NL mark of 267.[54] Selected as an All-Star for the first time, he appeared in both All-Star Games that year (two All-Star games were held for the years from 1959 to 1962).[55] In the first game he faced only one batter, giving up a hit to Al Kaline in the ninth inning. In the second game, he pitched two scoreless innings.[56]

In 1962, the Dodgers moved from the Los Angeles Coliseum, which had a 250-foot (75 m) left-field line – an enormous disadvantage to lefthanded pitchers – to pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium. The new park had a large foul territory and a comparatively poor hitting background. Koufax was an immediate beneficiary of the change, lowering his earned run average at home from 4.29 to 1.75.[57] On April 24, he tied his own record of 18 strikeouts in a 10–2 win over the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field.[58] On June 13, at Milwaukee County Stadium, Koufax hit his first career home run off future Hall of Famer Warren Spahn of Milwaukee Braves, providing the winning margin in a 2–1 victory.[59]

On June 30, against the expansion New York Mets, he threw his first no-hitter. In the first inning of that game, he struck out all three batters on nine total pitches, becoming the sixth National League pitcher and the 11th pitcher in Major League history to throw an immaculate inning.[60] His no-hitter, along with a 4–2 record, 73 strikeouts and a 1.23 earned run average, earned him the Player of the Month Award for June.[61][62] It would be the only time in his career he earned this distinction.[63]

1962 Bell Brand Sandy Koufax

Koufax had a strong season despite an injured pitching hand. While batting in April, he had been jammed by a pitch from Earl Francis. A numbness developed in the index finger on his left hand, and the finger became cold and white. Koufax was pitching better than ever, 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.[64]

The night before the playoffs began, manager Alston asked Koufax if he could start the next day. With an overworked pitching staff there was no one else, as Drysdale and Johnny Podres had pitched the prior two days, Koufax obliged; he later said, "I had nothing at all." He was knocked out in the second inning, after giving up home runs to future Hall of Famer Willie Mays and Jim Davenport. 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.[65]

In 1963 Major League Baseball expanded the strike zone.[66] Compared to the previous season, walks in the NL fell 13 percent, strikeouts increased 6 percent, the league batting average fell from .261 to .245, and runs scored declined 15 percent.[67] 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.[9] The top pitchers of the era – future Hall of Famers Don Drysdale, Juan Marichal, Jim Bunning, Bob Gibson, Warren Spahn, and Koufax himself – significantly reduced the walks-given-up-to-batters-faced ratio for 1963 and subsequent years.

On May 11 Koufax no-hit the Giants 8–0, besting Marichal—himself a no-hit pitcher on June 15. Koufax carried a perfect game into the eighth inning against the powerful Giants lineup, including Mays and fellow future Hall of Famers Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda. Koufax was perfect until the eighth inning, when he walked Ed Bailey on a 3-and-2 pitch. He closed out the game after walking pinch-hitter McCovey on four pitches in the ninth.[68][69]

From July 3 to July 16, he pitched 33 consecutive scoreless innings, pitching three shutouts to lower his earned run average to 1.65. On July 20, he hit the second and last home run of his career, coincidentally again in Milwaukee, a three-run shot to propel the team to a 5–4 win; it was his only game with three runs batted in. The Dodgers won the pennant, and Koufax won the first of three pitchers' Triple Crowns, leading the league in wins (25), strikeouts (306) and earned run average (1.88).[70] He threw 11 shutouts, eclipsing Carl Hubbell's 30-year post-1900 mark for a left-handed pitcher of 10 and setting a record that stands to this day. Only St. Louis Cardinal Bob Gibson, with 13 shutouts in his iconic 1968 season (known as "the year of the pitcher"),[71], has thrown more.[72]

Koufax won the National League Most Valuable Award and the Hickok Belt, and was the first-ever unanimous selection for the Cy Young Award (at a time when only one was award for both leagues; separate awards for each league began in 1967).[73][74] He was also named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the first time.

Facing the Yankees in the 1963 World Series, Koufax beat Whitey Ford 5–2 in Game 1. He struck out the first five batters and 15 overall, breaking Carl Erskine's decade-old record of 14 (his record fell when Bob Gibson struck out 17 in Game 1 of 1968 World Series vs. the Detroit Tigers). After seeing Koufax's Game 1 performance, Yankee's coach Yogi Berra remarked, "I can see how he won 25 games. What I don't understand is how he lost five,"[75] to which Dodgersshortstop Maury Wills responded, "He didn't. We lost them for him."[76] In Game 4, Koufax completed the Dodgers' series sweep with a 2–1 victory over Ford. For his performance, he was award the World Series MVP Award.[77][78]

Koufax's 1964 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 Reds, becoming the only NL pitcher to have two "immaculate innings".[62] On April 22, however, "he felt something let go in his arm," resulting in three cortisone shots for a sore elbow and three missed starts.[79]

On June 4, playing at Connie Mack Stadium against the Philadelphia Phillies, Koufax walked Richie Allen on a very close full-count pitch in the fourth inning. Allen, who was thrown out trying to steal second, was the only Phillie to reach base that day. With his third no-hitter in three years, Koufax tied Feller as the only modern-era pitchers to hurl three no-hitters. He only needed 97 pitches and the only full count he had was against Allen in the fourth; he also faced the minimum 27 batters and struck out 13.[80][81]

On August 8, during a game against the Milwaukee Braves, Koufax jammed his pitching arm while diving back to second base to beat a pick-off throw by Tony Cloninger. 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 Kerlan with traumatic arthritis. With the Dodgers out of the pennant race he did not pitch again that season, finishing with a 19–5 record[82] and leading the National League with a 1.74 earned run average.

After resting during the off-season, Koufax returned to spring training in 1965 and initially had no problems from pitcher. On March 30, however, he woke up the morning after pitching a complete game against the Chicago White Sox to find his entire left arm swollen and black and blue from hemorrhaging. He returned to Los Angeles to consult with Kerlan who warned him that he would eventually lose the full use of his arm if he continued to pitch.[83]

Kerlan and Koufax came up with a schedule which he would follow for the last two seasons of his career. Koufax initially agreed to stop throwing between starts but, as it had been a part of his routine for a long time, he soon resumed it. Instead, he stopped throwing sidearm pitches (which he often did against left-hand batters) and removed his rarely-used slider from his repertoire. Before each start, he would get a cortisone shot in his elbow and have capsaicin-based Capsolin ointment (nicknamed the "Atomic Balm" by players) rubbed over his shoulder and arm. Afterwards, he would soak his arm in a tub of ice. Koufax took Empirin with codeine for the pain every night and, occasionally during a game, and also took Butazolidin for the inflammation, a drug that was eventually taken off the market due to its horrible side-effects.[84]

Despite the constant pain in his pitching elbow, Koufax pitched a major league-leading 335+2⁄3 innings and 27 complete games, leading the Dodgers to another pennant. Koufax captured his second unanimous Cy Young Award and was runner-up in the National League Most Valuable Player award race, behind Willie Mays.

He won his second pitchers' Triple Crown, leading the league in wins (26), earned run average (2.04) and strikeouts (382, the highest modern-day total at the time, topped only by Nolan Ryan's 383 in 1973 - though Ryan walked a lot more batters than Koufax did, 162 to Koufax's 71).[85] He held batters to 5.79 hits per nine innings, and allowed the fewest baserunners per nine innings in any season ever: 7.83, breaking his own record (set two years earlier) of 7.96.[9][86]

On September 9, 1965, Koufax became the sixth pitcher of the modern era, and eighth overall, to throw a perfect game.[87][88] The game was Koufax's fourth no-hitter,[88] setting a major league record (since broken by Ryan in 1981),[89] and the first by a left-hander in the modern era. He struck out 14 batters in the 1–0 win, the most recorded in a perfect game (since tied by Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants in 2012).[90]

The game also set a record for the fewest hits ever in a major league contest,[91][92] as the opposing pitcher, Bob Hendley of the Cubs pitched a one-hitter and allowed only two batters to reach base.[93] Both pitchers had no-hitters intact until the seventh inning.[94] The winning run was unearned, scored without a hit when the Dodgers' Lou Johnson walked, reached second on a sacrifice, stole third, and scored on a throwing error by Chicago catcher Chris Krug.[94]

Koufax declined to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series as it clashed with Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. His decision garnered national headlines, raising the conflict between professional pressures and personal religious beliefs to front-page news.[7] Drysdale pitched the opener, but was hit hard by the Minnesota Twins.[95]

In Game 2, Koufax pitched six innings, giving up two runs (one unearned), and the Twins won 5–1 to take an early 2–0 lead in the series. The Dodgers fought back in Games 3 and 4, with wins by Claude Osteen and Drysdale. With the Series tied at 2–2, Koufax pitched a complete-game shutout in Game 5 for a 3–2 Dodgers lead as the Series returned to Metropolitan Stadium for Game 6, which the Twins won to force a seventh game. Starting Game 7 on just two days of rest, Koufax pitched through fatigue and arthritic pain. Despite giving up on his curveball early in the game after failing to throw strikes with it in the first two innings, and pitching the rest of the game relying almost entirely his fastball, Koufax threw a three-hit shutout to clinch the Series.[9][96]

His performance earned him a second World Series MVP award, making him the first player to win the award twice. Koufax also won the Hickok Belt for a second time, also the first time anyone had won the belt more than once.[74] That year, he was awarded the Sportsman of the Year award by Sports Illustrated and was named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for a second time.

Before the 1966 season began, Koufax and Drysdale met separately with general manager Buzzie Bavasi to negotiate their contracts for the upcoming year. After the meeting, the pitchers met for dinner, with Koufax complaining that Bavasi was using his teammate against him in the negotiations, taunting, "How come you want that much when Drysdale only wants this much?"[97] Drysdale responded that Bavasi had done the same thing with him, in reverse. Drysdale's wife Ginger suggested that they negotiate together to get what they wanted. They demanded $1 million (equivalent to $8.4 million in 2021), divided equally over the next three years, or $167,000 (equivalent to $1.39 million in 2021) each for each of the next three seasons. Both players were represented by an entertainment lawyer, J. William Hayes, which was unusual in an era when players were not even represented by agents.[98][99] At the time, Willie Mays was the highest paid player in the major leagues at $125,000 (equivalent to $1.04 million in 2021) per year, and multi-year contracts were extremely unusual.[100]

Koufax and Drysdale did not report to spring training in February. Instead, both signed to appear in the movie Warning Shot, starring David Janssen. Drysdale was to play a TV commentator and Koufax a detective. Meanwhile, the Dodgers waged a public relations 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 (equivalent to $0.92 million in 2021). They rejoined the team in the last week of spring training.[101]

In April 1966, Kerlan told Koufax it was time to retire and 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 with a third pitcher's Triple Crown, pitching 323 innings, posting a 27–9 record, and recording a 1.73 earned run average. Since then, no left-hander has had more wins, nor a lower earned run average; only Phillies pitcher Steve Carlton matched 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 Bunning for the second time that season,[102]. On two days rest, Koufax pitched a 6–3 complete-game victory to clinch the pennant.[103] He started 41 games (for the second year in a row); only two left-handers have started more games in any season over the ensuing years through 2021.[104]

The Dodgers went on to face the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series, and Game 2 marked Koufax's third start in eight days. He pitched well enough, allowing only one earned run, but three errors by Dodgers centerfielder Willie Davis in the fifth inning produced three unearned runs. He did not receive any run support either; Baltimore's 20-year-old future Hall of Famer Jim Palmer pitched a four-hit shutout, and the Orioles won 6–0.[105]

Alston lifted Koufax at the end of the sixth with the idea of getting him extra rest before a potential fifth game.[106] Instead, the Dodgers were swept in four games, not scoring a single run in the last two games.[107]

Less than six weeks after the series, on November 18, Koufax announced his retirement from baseball.[108][109]

In his 12-season major league career, Koufax had a 165–87 record with a 2.76 earned run average, 2,396 strikeouts, 137 complete games, and 40 shutouts. He was the first pitcher to average fewer than seven hits allowed per nine innings pitched (6.79) and to strike out more than nine batters (9.28) per nine innings pitched.[110] He also became the second 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 him, with a .271 on-base percentage and a .315 slugging average.[111]

Due to a lack of run support, Koufax's postseason record over the course of four World Series is an unimpressive 4–3; however, his 0.95 earned run average and two World Series Most Valuable Player awards testify to how well he pitched. In his three World Series losses, which were all starts, spread over three different Series, Koufax gave up one earned run in each; the Dodgers scored only one run in support across the three games, getting shut out twice.[9]

He remains, over half a century later, on the very short list of pitchers who retired with more career strikeouts than innings pitched. He was selected as an All-Star for six consecutive seasons[2] and made seven out of eight possible All-Star Game appearances those seasons (he was not on the roster for the second All-Star Game in 1962).[55] He pitched six innings in four All-Star games,[112] including being the starting pitcher for three innings in the 1966 All-Star Game.[113]

Koufax was the first pitcher to win multiple Cy Young Awards, an especially impressive feat because it was during the era when only one was given out for both major leagues. He is also the first pitcher to win the award by a unanimous vote—a distinction which he received twice more.[9][114] Koufax and Juan Marichal are the only two pitchers to have more than one 25-win season in the post-World War II era, with each man recording three.[115]