Sandy Koufax: Difference between revisions

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	'''Sanford Braun "Sandy" Koufax''' (born ], ]) strung together five amazing seasons as a ] left-handed ] in the 1960s before ] ended his career at the age of 31. He played his entire career for the ] and ] (1955-66).

	Born in ], Koufax was a natural athlete as a child, excelling particularly on the ] court, which helped win him an athletic scholarship to the ]. While there, he pitched occasionally for the baseball team and caught the eye of scouts from his hometown Brooklyn Dodgers with whom he signed a contract in ]. Although he was a long way from being ready for the major leagues, the rules at the time stipulated that -- because he had received a then-substantial signing bonus -- he had to spend two years in the majors before being sent to the ]. Ironically, the Dodgers cut their future manager, ], to make room for Koufax.

	Blessed with a blazing ] but little command of it, Koufax played for Brooklyn for three seasons with limited success. He was still a fan favorite with the ]ish community, however. After the Dodgers moved to ] in ], Koufax continued in the same role, pitching long relief with an occasional start.

	He had been making slow but steady progress as a pitcher until ], when a teammate, catcher ], advised him he was overthrowing and could be a more effective pitcher if he would just "ease off a bit." Koufax took the advice to heart and had a fine season, winning 18 games that year.

	The next season, when the Dodgers moved into ], a ballpark which strongly favored a power pitcher, Koufax exploded all at once. He missed a third of the season with injuries -- predominantly a circulatory problem in his left index finger and a subsequent infection. By the time he had recovered in September of that year, the Dodgers were in the midst of blowing a once big lead over their arch rivals, the San Francisco Giants. Koufax made 3 unsuccessful appearances down the stretch drive as the Giants tied the Dodgers at the end of the regular season to force a 3 game playoff. Koufax started the first game of the play-offs and was shelled in a losing effort. The Dodgers would later lose the pennant in the 9th inning of the last play-off game when they blew yet another lead. Koufax sat in the bullpen, with another hall of famer, Don Drysdale, as they watched the pennant slip away. He did, however, lead the ] in ] with a mark of 2.54 and pitched Dodger Stadium's first ] against the ] on June 30, ].

	In ], Koufax won the pitchers' ], leading the league in ]s (25), ERA (1.88) and ]s (306). He finished the season as the winner of the ] (the first unanimous choice), ] award, and pitched his second no-hitter, this one against a powerful ] lineup including ] and ]. After throwing two ]s (giving up a total of 3 runs) in the Dodgers' sweep of the ] he was also chosen as MVP of the ]. Legendary Yankees catcher ] later said "I can see how he won 25 games. What I don't understand is how he lost 5." He was also awarded the 1963 ] as top professional athlete of the year.

	Whilst he repeated as ERA champ in ] while going 19-5, his shoulder problems increasingly troubled him causing him to miss 12 starts. Injuries did not preclude him tossing a third no-hitter, facing the minimum 27 ], striking out 12 and allowing only one base runner -- a fourth inning ].

	On September 9, ], he eliminated even that imperfection, throwing a ] against the ], becoming the first man to throw no-hitters in four consecutive seasons. (Cubs pitcher Bob Hendley also threw a complete game, giving up only one hit, a double, but lost the game 1-0). The same year, Koufax and the Dodgers won the World Series again, while he captured his second Cy Young (again unanimously). In the Series Koufax was widely praised for refusing to pitch Game One due to his observance of ], but was hit hard in Game Two as the ] took an early 2-0 lead. The Dodgers fought back, with ], ] and Koufax picking up vital wins to force a seventh game. Starting on only two days rest, Koufax took the ball and, despite not having good command of his curveball and pitching through tiredness and arthritic pain, threw a three hit ] to clinch the Series. The performance was enough to win him his second World Series MVP award. He won his second Triple Crown with a 26-8 record, a 2.04 ERA and 382 strikeouts; a major league record that stood until ] broke it by one in ].
	Also in 1965, he won the Hickok Belt a second time, the first (and only) time anyone had won the belt more than once, and '']'' magazine's "]" award.

	In the spring of 1964, Koufax and team-mate ] jointly requested a pay rise from Dodger owner ], each appointing an agent to handle the negotiations. Rebuffed by O'Malley, they held out during spring training but signed before the season started -- for a sum considerably below their initial request of $1 million over three years. Although unsuccessful, their stand was a precursor to the later challenges against baseball's ] and the onset of free agency.

	Still, Koufax won his third Cy Young Award and third Triple Crown in ], going 27-9 with a 1.73 ERA and 317 strikeouts. But after the Dodgers lost the World Series, he announced his retirement, stating that the arthritis in his left arm was making it too painful to continue and that the club doctor had advised him that to pitch on would run the risk of permanent arm injury. After a five year career as a colour commentator for ], retired from public life and into the privacy that had marked much of his playing career.

	In 14-seasons career, Koufax had a 165-87 record with a 2.76 ERA, 2486 strikeouts, 167 complete games, and 49 shutouts in 3432 innings. He was selected for seven ] games (twice in 1961, and once in 1962-66).

	In ], Koufax was elected to the ] in his first year of eligibility. He was the youngest man ever so honored, at age 36. On ] of that same year, his number 32 was retired alongside Dodger greats ] (39) and ] (42).

	==Koufax' mechanics==		==Koufax' mechanics==

Revision as of 01:31, 30 November 2004

Koufax' mechanics

Whereas most left handed pitchers throw, to some degree or other, with a three-quarter or sidearm motion, Koufax threw with a pronounced over-the-top arm action. This may have increased his velocity, but reduced the lateral movement on his pitches, especially movement away from left-handed hitters. Most of the velocity, however, came from his deceptively strong legs and back combined with a high kicking wind-up and long forward stretch toward the plate. Throughout his career he on relied two pitches: his four-seam fastball had a "rising" motion due to underspin and appeared to move very late; the overhand curveball, spun with the middle finger, dropped vertically ("12-to-6") due to his arm action. He also occasionally threw a changeup and a forkball.

At the beginning of his career he worked with coaches to eliminate his tendency to "tip" pitches (i.e. give away which pitch was coming due to variations in his wind up). By the end, and especially as his arm problems continued, this variation (usually in the position he held his hands at the top of the wind-up) was even more pronounced and good hitters were rarely unsure what pitch was coming. It did not usually help.

Career statistics

W	L	PCT	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	R	HR	BB	IBB	SO	WP	HBP
165	87	.655	2.76	397	314	137	40	9	2,324.1	1,754	713	806	204	817	48	2,396	87	18

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