But first baseman Joe Pepitone lost Boyer's peg in the white-shirted crowd background; the ball struck Pepitone in the arm and rolled down the right field line, allowing Gilliam to scamper all the way to third base. Sandy Koufax with Ed Linn, Sandy Koufax, New York: Viking Press, August 30, 1966, 299 pp. That's how close they came to a double no-hitter evening. Koufax pitched two relief innings in Game 1 of that series and started Game 5 at the Los Angeles Coliseum before more than 92,000 fans. Mantle wasnt alone; Koufax struck out 15 Yankees as the Dodgers won, 5-2. In order to harness his immense talent, Koufax had to learn to trust and tame Dan Quisenberry was certain of the game's inequities, based on the layout of the field. Frank Finch, Its a No-Hitter for Sandy And 9 Whiffs, Too!, Los Angeles Times, April 10, 1966, p. G-1. Even Wilt, Whitey and Yogi seldom were identified in their city's newspaper reports in such an informal manner. More remarkable was that Koufax was the losing pitcher in each of the other instances. Koufax's ERA in those games was 3.65. And even then his arm would swell an inch. A NEW Mickey Mantle memory kicked in this week, replacing its evil twin. To make room for him, the Dodgers optioned their future Hall of Fame manager, Tommy Lasorda, to the Montreal Royals of the International League. American League winners of the pitching Crown in more recent years have been Roger Clemens of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1997 and 1998, and Pedro Martinez of he Boston Red Sox in 1999. Martin showed up about 15 minutes before a game in Arlington, Texas, one night, a particularly embarrassing scene because the players were goofing around like kids with a substitute teacher, and coach Jackie Moore, fearing Billy might not make it at all, had assumed tenuous control of the club. Since Koufax won his last of three Triple Crowns in 1966, there have only been four other National League pitchers who have won Triple Crowns Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1972; Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets in 1985; Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2002; and Jake Peavy in 2007. In 1959, the Dodgers won the National League pennant race and beat the Chicago White Sox in the World Series. Joe Jares, Sandy Makes A Pitch For Posterity, Sports Illustrated, August 2, 1965. amzn_assoc_linkid = "8c083521b8631f9e22b58f0cb91ed1bc"; Lasorda w WebBoth Ford and Koufax pitched scoreless first innings. October 2, 1966 The day Hendley allowed just one hit, Koufax was perfect Trouble was, said Brock, with Koufax on the mound, nobody got on base too often., To find more sports stories at this website, please visit the Annals of Sport category page, or Baseball Stories, a topics page with thumbnail sketches and links to 14 other baseball stories. 1 Hero, Life, August 2, 1963, pp. Jim Bouton, making his first World Series start, dueled Drysdale throughout, permitting only four hits in seven innings for a losing cause. In his major league career, Koufax set some dazzling marks. Sandy Koufax in the 1960s no doubt, thinking about a strikeout. At the time Koufax was only the sixth pitcher of the modern era to throw a perfect game. Frank Howard homered into the second deck down the left-field line, a feat that went unmatched at Dodger Stadium for years. By 1965, he had almost unmatched cachet throughout the game. On bad days hed have to bend his neck to get his face closer to his left hand so that he could shave. When Stan Musial struck out looking and Ken Boyer flied out to left, it appeared Koufax had found his groove, but he walked Bill White, loading the bases. It may have been a surprise to many fans when Koufax retired, but in 1965-1966, he was having regular and severe arm pain and had adopted various remedies to keep pitching. amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; But this pinnacle performance of pitching wouldn't be a prominent part of our past if this oft-times pedestrian pitcher had permitted one more hit in his extraordinary eight innings. In the 1965 World Series, the Dodgers faced the Minnesota Twins, and Koufax was the likely candidate to pitch Game 1 on October 6th, 1965. "He actually sent me a card," Hendley said. Burdette, who was the winning pitcher, allowed 12 hits in his complete game victory, though. Koufax Peddles His Biography for Tidy Advance of $110,000, Los Angeles Times, March 19, 1966, p. A-1. Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. amzn_assoc_region = "US"; He struck out double digits And Koufax admitted in one interview to having a good bit of trouble with Roberto Clemente of the Pittsburgh Pirates, especially in 1963. Sandy Koufax Greatest Baseball Pitcher Ever And Koufax was routinely identified in Los Angeles newspapers as Sandy, no surname necessary. Writing for CBSSports.com, Doyel blew Hendley's cover in a column on April 30, 2015, the coach's 75th birthday. This series was also the first meeting between teams from New York City and Los Angeles for a major professional sports championship. background-image:unset; Koufax played his entire career with the Dodgers organization, from Brooklyn, New York through Los Angeles, California,1955 to1966. It was the first time since 1924 that both leagues had pitching Triple Crown winners in the same season. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". At one point in that visit, Campanis assumed the hitters stance in the batters box with Koufax on the mound. Click for card. Sandy Koufax was tapped to pitch Game 1 on October 2, 1963, as Whitey Ford, the Yankee ace, went to the mound for New York. Their only six confrontations occurred in the first four seasons of a five-season sequence, 1962-66, when Koufax was at the peak of his career. Merely Koufax vs. Whitey Ford. Haddix carried a perfect game into the 13th against a most formidable Braves lineup. 1963 Dodgers: Frank Howard ignites the offense, Sandy Koufax News reports called it a circulatory problem in the index finger of his left hand. The Yankees tied it on a Mickey Mantle home run in the top of the seventh. WebKoufax only had two pitches: a 97 mph fastball that physicists denied but all facing batters said was gospel truth: the ball would suddenly hop up before crossing the plate. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. And Sandy needed to be perfect to gain that one victory. A young Sandy Koufax in his Brooklyn Dodgers uniform.Brooklyn Born. Scores from any date in Major League history, Minor, Foreign, College, & Black Baseball, Frequently Asked Questions about MLB and Baseball, Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREE. The event they created, known as nothing more than "CHI at LA" before it began, stands among the most astonishing games ever played at any point of any baseball season. They had Harvey Kuenn hit for me [with two out in the ninth inning]. His strikeouts were an otherworldly 306, He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers | Leave a Comment. The quirky Royals reliever often noted that fair territory was 90 degrees of a circle, and foul territory occupied 270 degrees. Frank Finch, Spencers Hit Ruins Koufax Sparkler, 1-0 , Los Angeles Times, June 2, 1963, p. J-1. Hendley beat him three times and lost but once. Who has the most NL Gold Glove awards? We both retired early [Hendley at 28, Koufax at 30], we both had elbow problems." The results clearly suggested that. Koufax had pitched in Brooklyn, but he never performed in the borough where he'd been raised as he did in Los Angeles. Sandy Koufax Society for American Baseball Research Koufax, meanwhile, was perfect no runs, no hits, no walks. He'll start screaming at you. He had thrown a no-hitter in each of the preceding three seasons. In that game, Koufax struck out the first five Yankees he faced. The dominance of the Dodgers pitchers was so complete that at no point in any of the four games did the Yankees have the lead. Howard added a home run in the seventh. L.A. rightfully claimed him as its own. At an age when he should be acting like one of the game's respected veterans, Tony Phillips has become the biggest hothead in baseball. 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. "In the latter part of the game, [Sandy] was awesome," Hendley said. The Dodgers scored first in the bottom of the fifth on a monumental Frank Howard home run into the second (Loge) level at Dodger Stadium. As well as he was throwing and setting people down, there was very little chance of overcoming him. Bavasi began by meeting separately with each man. The Koufax perfect game against the Cubs was also noted for the play-by-play call by broadcaster Vin Scully, the venerable voice of the Dodgers for more than 50 years. amzn_assoc_linkid = "8d4cde52eff6bfe761392f95d7780402"; Some defensive statistics Copyright Sports Info Solutions, 2010-2023. A tremendous blast by any standards. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. ", Hendley has regained a small measure of celebrity. We didn't get American League baseball until 1961 during my youth in Southern California, and even then, for most Dodger fans, the Angels were a joke. Do you have a sports website? Did Sandy Koufax ever hit a home run? If he had got out of that first inning, Dodgers manager Walter Alston said about Koufax, no telling how long he might have gone., Asked whether the left index finger still bothered him, Koufax replied, My finger doesnt feel 100 percent but it does feel as good as it did the two or three games before I went under the doctors care., Two years later, April 22, 1964, James hit another first-inning home run off Koufax, a three-run shot in a 7-6 Cardinals victory. Yogi Berra, the famous Yankee catcher known for his quips and his play. James hadnt hit a home run or driven in a run all month. . Sandy was family in L.A. The other memory has been with me since 1982, Billy Martin's downfall season as the A's manager. He still held his fork in his left hand, but sometimes he had to bend closer to the plate to get the food into his mouth. Even for a pitcher, Koufax was a weak hitter, batting just . That was the only way you could hit it.. The St. Louis Cardinals took the pennant and beat the New York Yankees in the World Series. 097 in his career. . Video: 2015 ASG: MLB's 'Greatest Living Players' announced. Sandy Koufax makes final pitch of 63 World Series. Even today, baseball has but one Sandy, as it has one Babe. ), Video: 50 Greatest Moments: #2 Koufax's perfect game, "We pitched against each other twice in six days," Hendley recalls. For our purposes today, though, the dazzling Koufax is merely half the story. Don Zimmer just staged the greatest retirement in memory. Ive since heard a tape of that half inning: Theres not a single misstep. did The Dodgers' road to the World Series was much more challenging. . Koufax also tied a World Series record when he fanned the first five Yankees he faced. ". And on the worst days he had to shave with his right hand. Sandy Koufax Home Runs | Baseball Almanac In that game he allowed only one run in seven innings, but the Dodgers lost, 1-0. Hendley, left-handed and born in Macon, Ga., pitched in the big leagues for seven seasons, three with the Milwaukee Braves, 1 1/2 with the Giants and two-plus with the Cubs before ending his career with the Mets in 1967. Sandy Koufax In one of the games we will get to in a minute, the two starting pitchers pitched 23+ innings, struck out 29 In early 1960, Koufax asked the Dodgers to trade him because he wasnt getting enough playing time. Koufax homered off 2 different pitchers during his career, "This game is the most recognizable thing I've ever done in baseball," Hendley said after the game. Runnels the Slugger. And it came off the top of his head, at a moment when, like the man whose feat he was describing, he knew he had to be at the top of his game. How Many Batters Did Sandy Koufax Strikeout In His Career So the uniqueness of the game is derived from Hendley exclusively. Koufax and Drysdale Sign Pactsas Movie Actors, Los Angeles Times, March 18, 1966, p. B-1. James told New York Times columnist Arthur Daley the grand slam gave me the most personal satisfaction and the most surprise of any home run he hit. Also, of the seven championships from the Dodgers franchise, it remains the only one won at home. 32, Sandy Koufax. Cy Young Award winner. won't be missed at all. It had tension, rising and falling drama, great turns of phrase. However, more signs of serious arm problems followed that year for Koufax, having jammed his arm in a base-running slide. On that night, Sept. 9, 1965, with both pitchers and Scully at their bests, Hendley was nearly the equal of Koufax. Koufax finished with just four strikeouts. Willie Davis doubled in two runs in the first inning, former Yankee Bill Skowron homered in the fourth, and Tommy Davis had two triples, including an RBI triple in the eighth to lead the Dodger offense. Explore Which team has won the most World Series since 2000? Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. WebSandy Koufax Edition - Baseball Roundtable Braves right-handed pitcher (and 1957 World Series hero, Lew Burdette hit as many home runs and drove in as many runs off Sandy Frank Finch, Big D, Sandy Give Bavasi News Today, Los Angeles Times, February 24, 1966, p. B-1. Baseballs overlooked superstar finally gets his due in a new documentary, It Aint Over. ", Hendley has regained a small measure of celebrity. Merton Hanks also will be honored that night, receiving the Matt Hazeltine award as the 49ers' defensive player of the year. In 2007, Koufax was drafted by the And in the post-WWII period the more modern era of baseball Koufax would be the only guy to win three Triple Crowns for pitching (see Triple Crown sidebar below). Gibson was 15-13 with a 2.85 ERA. 555 N. Central Ave. #416 WebSandy Koufax gave up 204 home runs in his career. We both retired early [Hendley at 28, Koufax at 30], we both had elbow problems." Boxscore. Ralph Terry, in relief, allowed Davis's RBI triple. And that's as far as it went. Sandy Koufax, Sports Illustrated cover, March 4, 1963. And seven of the 22, including Koufax's, have been decided by 1-0 scores. The game proved to be something of a pitchers duel, as both Koufax and the Cubs pitcher, Bob Hendley, had no-hitters going until the seventh inning. Join our linker program. 32 -- like Joe D. in New York and Johnny U. in Baltimore. It shows Mantle homering off Sandy Koufax, and in these difficult times for the Yankee great, it's the one I'd prefer to keep. Tommy Thompson, Good Life of Baseballs No. You could tell how much he wanted it. Sabermetricians put little stock in pitchers' victories these days. Phoenix, AZ 85004 He lasted just 4 innings. Koufax won the first of his three Triple Crowns that year, leading the league with 25 wins, 306 strikeouts, and a 1.88 ERA. The game is also featured in Jane Leavys 2002 biography of Koufax. With that, the two decided to negotiate their contracts as a package, demanding $1 million (about $6.7 million in current dollars) between them over three years. Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference Database. When the award was given to Koufax at a luncheon in New York City, he was presented with a new carwhile the luncheon was taking place, a New York City police officer put a parking violation ticket on the car's windshield. He walked SF tourists go in droves to In-N-Out. Relying mostly on fastballs against the Cardinals, Koufax walked the first two batters, Julian Javier and Curt Flood. The end can come any day or 10 years from now. Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax (cover story), Sporting News, July 17, 1965. At the time, many thought that Sandy Koufax was the best pitcher of his era. Change). Sandy Koufax Man of the Year for Sport magazine, February 1964. Roscoe McGowen, Dodgers Win; Koufax Is Victor Dodger Allows 2 Hits, Fans 14 in Beating Redlegs, 7 to 0, New York Times, August 28, 1955. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. According to base-stealing threat Lou Brock of the St. Louis Cardinals, Koufax couldnt field bunts well or hold runners on base too well. Despite injuries that limited Mickey Mantle to just 65 games, the Yankees went 10457 to win their fourth straight American League pennantthis one by 10+12 games. Fifty years ago on October 6, at the tender age of 30, Sandy Koufax bowed out of baseball. "To be beaten by class, beaten by the guy who is one of the best, if not the best ever. Wearing new spikes, Gibson participated in batting practice. But in the bottom of the inning, Gilliam hit a high hopper to Yankee third baseman Clete Boyer; Boyer leaped to make the grab, and fired an accurate throw to first base. . They expressed similar admiration for Aaron. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Top 10 Vin Scully calls of all time - MLB Koufax sought to rest more and not throw as much between starts. He and the city were connected like JFK and Hyannisport, like Elvis and Memphis. And the run he surrendered, in the fifth inning, was unearned. Southern California felt a warm and close relationship with No. amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "thpohidill-20"; in journalistic studies in 1971. At the University of Cincinnati he became a walk-on freshman basketball player. Use of his left arm was severely limited when he wasnt pitching. His dad forgives him for that. Michael Leahy, The Last Innocents: The Collision of the Turbulent Sixties and the Los Angeles Dodgers (2016), Harper, 496pp. His column ended thusly: "Today he turns 75. [7]. Click for copy. The Dodgers had spotted Koufax a 4-0 lead in the first with the help of a triple by Willie Davis, singles by Tommy Davis and Frank Howard surrounding a walk, John Roseboros two-run double and a single by Larry Burright. Gibson vs. Sandy Koufax: Grand game for Charlie James Brian M. Endsley, Koufax Throws a Curve: The Los Angeles Dodgers at the End of an Era, 1964-1966 (2018), McFarland, 215pp. "He was great," Hendley said. The Yankees scored twice in the eighth inning when Tony Kubek singled with one out and Tom Tresh homered with two outs to cut the lead to 52. Associated Press, Koufax, Dodger Pitching Star, Retires Because of Ailing Arm; Fearing a Permanent Injury to Elbow, Hurler, 30, Stops at Peak of His Career,New York Times, Saturday, November 19, 1966, p. 1. Sandy attended Brooklyns Lafayette High School, but sports were not played there for a few years due to a teachers dispute. amzn_assoc_title = "Related Reading"; Sandy Koufax in what appears to be an impromptu locker room press conference following his no-hitter against the New York Mets of June 30, 1962. Bob Gibson vs. Sandy Koufax: Grand game for Charlie James However, during this time, the commissioner of the MLB, Bowie Kuhn, and Aaron began to butt heads. It became the gold standard the instant Koufax struck out Harvey Kuenn for the the 27th out. Dick Groat, eight-time MLB All-Star and two-sport hall of famer in His only grand slam was the one off Koufax. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. He also threw 11 shutouts, a total that only Bob Gibson would later surpass. "To be beaten by class, beaten by the guy who is one of the best, if not the best ever. Maybe Ill go back to where I came from and finish college.. What could have happened? Daily Mirror/LATimes blog says this 1966 photo by Art Rodgers shows Sandy Koufax wincing in pain, but wining his 4th consecutive game, and seven for eight, May 23, 1966. An old interview of Hall of Fame pitchers Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax made the rounds on social media Friday. His elbow was shot full of cortisone several times a season. Those were the years when a number of great players roamed the fields of big league parks. Consider that great fastball pitchers are tiny increments ahead of one another, and that the great Koufax was never timed faster than 93.2; the notion that Feller threw more than 7 mph faster than Ryan is dazzling. He had allowed eight walks combined in his three, earlier no-hitters. The next delivery was high and away. He cant pitch on Yom Kippur [and] I cant pitch., Sandy would strike me out two or three times a game, said Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants. No estimate has ever been given for its length, although it is safe to say it was easily over 500 feet, and may have approached 600 feet. One to tie, two to win. Hendley finally allowed one-hit the only hit in the game for either side. Sandy was throwing so hard, he was coming out from under his cap. Switch teams or you have no chance. A baseball day doesn't get a whole lot better than this one: a Hall of Famer who is included on any serious list of the top 10 pitchers of all time; an iconic announcer who tops almost every list of illustrious play-by-play men and, arguably, the best-pitched game -- both sides considered -- in the long history of the big leagues. In 2011, Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Justin Verlander, then with the Detroit Tigers, won the National and American League Triple Crowns, respectively. I was at Koufax's perfect game in '65, and Cubs pitcher "Sandy always has been gracious toward me," he said. After going 8-13 that year, Koufax thought about quitting. Who is the youngest person in the Baseball Hall of Fame? And that's as far as it went. WebIn this game, Mantle would hit a homer off Koufax in the 7th inning ( Mantles 15th in World Series play) which tied the game temporarily at 1-1. No speeches, no press conferences, no tears, no tributes. Up 4-0, Koufax picked up where he left off, striking out Mantle and Maris, then getting Elston Howard on a foul pop up. Hendley was a spot starter in 1965. Sanford Koufax, who was actually born Sanford Braun, was a Major League Baseball player who pitched for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1955-1957) and Los Angeles Dodgers (1958-1966). Hendley, pitching for the Cubs that night in Los Angeles, warrants none of the superlatives applied above. Mays' home run came on Spahn's 201st pitch. Koufax only missed a perfect game that day by walkingtwo batters: Ed Bailey in the eighth inning, and an intentional walk to Willie McCovey in the ninth. The momentum he created for himself brought out the best in Scully and a powerful sense of resignation for Hendley. Tony Kubek had two of the Yankees' three hits, but none of the hits were extra-base hits. Koufax, a Jew, refused to pitch. There was no success to be had on Sept. 9 that year, despite his brilliant pitching; strange because the Cubs pitcher often prospered when he opposed Koufax. New York was held to a .171 team batting average, the lowest ever for the Yankees in the postseason. The other Sandys -- Amoros, Valdespino, Alomar and Alomar Jr., Leon, Martinez, Alderson, Johnson and Consuegra -- are relegated to identification by surname. "What a nice man! There was no success to be had on Sept. 9 that year, despite his brilliant pitching; strange because the Cubs pitcher often prospered when he opposed Koufax. The 22 coolest things that happened during the 2022 MLB season over New York Yankees (A.L.). Koufax was obviously one of the greatest pitchers in MLB history, but his breaking balls were what was so devastating. Their only six confrontations occurred in the first four seasons of a five-season sequence, 1962-66, when Koufax was at the peak of his career. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. ), The World Series Most Valuable Player Award went to Sandy Koufax, who started two of the four games and had two complete game victories. He had thrown a no-hitter in each of the preceding three seasons. You could tell how much he wanted it. And Koufax did, initiating a 30-inning run during which he walked one batter. Ashburn struckout 11 times against Koufax. Web> Sandy Koufax.