Happy Birthday to the great Sandy Koufax. In a twelve-year career that only saw him pitch for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, Koufax established himself as not only one of the greatest lefthanders of all time but also as one of the greatest starting pitchers of all time. While his career was short, his peak was as dominant or even more dominant than any other pitcher in baseball history.

Career Statistics/Accolades (1955-1966):

165-87 W-L 2.76 ERA 2,324.1 IP 2,396 K 1.106 WHIP

  • 7x All-Star
  • 4x World Series Champion (1955, 1959, 1963 & 1965)
  • 3x Cy Young (1963, 1965 & 1966)
  • 3x Pitching Triple Crown (1963, 1965 & 1966)
  • 2x World Series Champion (1963 & 1965)
  • 1963 NL MVP

As a Pitcher

Known as a power pitcher, he had a high leg kick during his wind-up. Also, Koufax was blessed with large hands that allowed him to put a heavy spin on his pitches and control the direction. Koufax’s best pitches were his four-seam fastball and curveball while occasionally throwing a changeup. While it took some years and struggles for Koufax to find it, when he found it, he was unstoppable. During his era, which was considered the Dominant Starting Pitching Era, Koufax was by far the best starter of that era. Not only was Koufax the first pitcher to win three Cy Young Awards, but he did it when the league only gave out one award instead of one to each league.

Best Years

Very few pitchers, or should I say players, have ever had the height of dominance that Sandy Koufax had from 1962-66. In that five-year stretch, Koufax led in ERA every year, as well as in Wins, Strikeouts, and WHIP three times. During that five-year stretch, opposing batters hit .192 against him. He took home the Cy Young Award and the Pitching Triple Crown in 1963, 1965 & 1966. While in 1963, he also took home the MVP award, I would argue that his 1965 campaign was slightly better.

1962 14-7 W-L 2.54 ERA 184.1 IP 216 K 1.036 WHIP (26 Starts)

1963 25-5 W-L 1.88 ERA 311.0 IP 306 K 0.875 WHIP (40 Starts)

1964 19-5 W-L 1.74 ERA 223.0 IP 223 K 0.928 WHIP (29 Starts)

1965 26-8 W-L 2.04 ERA 335.2 IP 382 K 0.855 WHIP (41 Starts)

1966 27-9 W-L 1.73 ERA 323.0 IP 317 K 0.985 WHIP (41 Starts)

Despite having severe arthritis in his throwing arm, constantly pitching through pain over the last couple of years in his career, he ended his career with back-to-back Cy Youngs.

The Postseason

There have been a lot of great pitchers who have been great in the regular season, but people will forever remember Koufax for his dominance in the Postseason. By not having the proper run support from his team, his win-loss record was 4-3; however, in 57 Innings Pitched, he struck out 61 batters with a 0.95 ERA and 0.825 WHIP. In 1963 and 1965, he was named the MVP of the World Series. In the three starts that Koufax lost in each game, Koufax only allowed one earned run, and in two of those games, the Dodgers didn’t even score a run.

Legacy

Retiring at 30, based on how Koufax was pitching, Koufax could’ve easily had more years of dominance. He would’ve been able to pitch for a couple more years with the extended strike zone and the higher mounds. A Hall of Fame career usually lasts longer than twelve seasons, and their prime typically lasts longer than five years. Now, with that being said, Koufax’s five years were so dominant that you can’t keep him out of the Hall of Fame. While I do think Koufax and others benefitted from the extended strike zones and higher mounds, I would also say that not only was he the best pitcher during the greatest era of starting pitching, but unlike others, he was just as dominant in the postseason. With that being said, Koufax shouldn’t be remembered as an all-time great; he should be remembered as an IMMORTAL. In 1972, Koufax was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. As well as his #32 being retired by the Dodgers, in 1999, he was ranked #26 on The Sporting News list of 100 Greatest Ballplayers.

References

  1. Sandy Koufax via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Koufax#
  2. Sandy Koufax Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/koufasa01.shtml