The Left Arm of God
“LOL” – Typical reaction upon seeing Koufax’s statistics
Sandy Koufax didn’t become “Sandy Koufax” until the move to Dodger Stadium. Koufax certainly had the stuff, as shown in his 18 K performance against the Giants in 1959. But nothing else looked good. While the 251-foot left field line at the Coliseum didn’t help matters, Koufax had serious command issues early in his career. Here are his stats from 1957-1961:
Year|IP|K/9|BB/9|HR/9|ERA|FIP|ERA+ :--:--:--:--:--:--:--:-- 1957|104.1|10.52|4.40|1.21|3.88|3.39|106 1958|158.2|7.43|5.96|1.08|4.48|4.38|93 1959|153.1|10.15|5.40|1.35|4.05|4.04|105 1960|175.0|10.13|5.14|1.03|3.91|3.49|101 1961|255.2|9.47|3.38|0.95|3.52|3.00|122
You see significant improvement beginning in the 1961, his age 25 season. After nearly retiring in 1960, he returned to spring training in better condition than he had been in previous seasons. Two important events occurred during spring training. A hitch was discovered in Koufax’s windup: he would rear back so far that his vision was obstructed and he couldn’t see the target. Second (like, literally the day after), Koufax was advised to not throw as hard as he used to. The result: Koufax became a permanent fixture in the starting rotation, and broke the NL record for most Ks in a season with 269 strikeouts, the previous record held by Christy Mathewson set in 1903 (take that, Giants!). After the move to Dodger Stadium the following season, umm...holy shit:
Year|IP|K/9|BB/9|HR/9|ERA|FIP|ERA+ :--:--:--:--:--:--:--:-- 1962|184.1|10.55|2.78|0.63|2.54|2.15|143 1963|311.0|8.86|1.68|0.52|1.88|1.85|159 1964|223.0|9.00|2.14|0.52|1.74|2.08|186 1965|335.2|10.24|1.90|0.70|2.04|1.93|160 1966|323.0|8.83|2.15|0.53|1.73|2.07|190
Not really much more to add here other than the fact that Koufax threw a no-hitter every year from 1962 to 1965, with the ’65 rendition the only perfect game in Dodgers history (striking out 14 batters in the process). All this despite tipping his pitches to batters. “I knew every pitch he was going to throaw and still I couldn’t hit him.” – Willie Mays
Sadly, Koufax’s peak was short lived. During spring training prior to the 1965 season, Koufax awoke one morning to find his entire left arm black and blue from hemorrhaging. After years of throwing too hard, Koufax’s elbow was left permanently damaged, forcing him to pitch under excruciating pain towards the end of his career. During the last two years of his career, Koufax resorted to using various painkillers and ointments to deal with the pain and inflammation. Koufax suffered from arthritis in his left elbow, and it’s widely believed that Koufax had a damaged UCL, which would have required Tommy John surgery (but would not be first performed until 1974). Despite the pain, Koufax managed to pitch over 650 regular season innings during his last two seasons. Koufax would after the 1966 season, his age 30 season.
Perhaps his most impressive performance was the 1965 World Series against the Twins. After missing Game 1 in observance of Yom Kippur, Koufax pitched six innings in Game 2 in a 5-1 loss. However, he would return in Game 5 to pitch a complete game shutout. On two days rest, he started Game 7, where he would once gain pitch a complete game shutout, this time to win the World Series.
Dodgers Success in the 60s
The early to mid 1960s was one of the most successful stretches in the Dodgers’ long history. Managed by the great Walter Alston, the Dodgers won three NL pennants during this time (1963, 1965, 1966) while narrowly missing out on one in 1962, and won two World Series titles in 1963 (sweeping the hated Yankees) and 1965.
These teams relied on great pitching. After Koufax, the Dodgers could rely on Hall of Famer Don Drysdale. Although not nearly as impressive as Koufax (very few pitchers in history are), Drysdale was nonetheless very impressive. His best season came during the 1964 season, in which he had a 2.18 ERA, 2.46 FIP, and 147 ERA+. The Dodgers could also rely on another terrific #3 pitcher. From 1960-1963, it was longtime Dodgers pitcher Johhny Podres, who had a career ERA of 3.68 and a career FIP of 3.65. In 1965, the Dodgers traded for Claude Osteen, who went on to pitch nine excellent seasons with the Dodgers. Osteen had a career ERA of 3.30 and a career FIP of 3.38, and provided the Dodgers with a legitimate third ace for the ’65 World Series Championship Team. In the bullpen, the Dodgers relied on Ron Perranoski, who recorded 101 saves during his 7 year stretch with the team. Although his statistics are pretty pedestrian, he rarely gave up homeruns, and opposing batters never seemed to hit with any power against him, with an ISO of only .074.
Although the pitchers overshadowed the fielders, Walter Alston had a number of young homegrown talent at his disposal. Perhaps the most well-known fielder was speedster Maury Wills, who famously stole 104 bases in 1962, breaking Ty Cobb’s record and securing the MVP award. There was also the Davis brothers, Tommy and Willie, in the outfield.* Tommy won the batting crown in 1962 and 1963, going .346/.374/.535 in ’62 and .326/.359/.457 in ’63. Willie was a spectacular fielder, but inconsistent batter due to his lack of interest in getting walks. But the rock of the lineup was catcher John Roseboro. Roseboro replaced Roy Campanella after he was tragically paralyzed in a car accident. He was typically a below average batter, as you would expect from a catcher, but had an excellent walk rate (career 9.9%). But he was a fantastic catcher who had the ability to shut down the running game. Career-wise, he threw out 42.2% of opposing baserunners, and in 1959 and 1964, he threw out a stunning 60% of baserunners. He was also excellent at blocking the plate, and completely fearless, once losing nine teeth during a collision with a baserunner. He’s most well-known for being on the receiving end of the infamous 1965 brawl at Candlestick Park, in which Juan Marichal swung a bat at Roseboro’s head twice, hitting him the second time, leaving a bloody two inch gash on Roseboro’s face. After the 1966 season, Koufax retired and the team unloaded Maury Wills. The team would undergo a long rebuilding period.
Not actually brothers*
**I don’t think so, anyway