Alot of people consider the great Sandy Koufax to be an enigma. For years they’ve wondered. Speculated. Postulated. Questioned. But to hell with em. Koufax isn’t an enigma. If you don’t believe me, just read Sandy Koufax: A lefty’s legacy by Jane Leavy, which I will say, is one of the best baseball books I’ve ever read. What’s so incredible about this book is the subtle uniqueness of which Leavy shapes her story. Leavy tells the story of Koufax’s perfect game on September 9th 1965, with a each inning of the game comprising its own individual chapter. Yet, instead of just bunching the game together and then telling anecdotes of Koufax’s career within these innings, Leavy tells the reader these individual stories in their own right, each one sandwiched between an inning of the perfect game. It ends up working to perfection (pardon the pun). Seriously, there’s so much that I never knew about Koufax, and Leavy chronicles his Brooklyn upbringing, being a Jew, how, for the first 5 or so years of his career, Dodger manager Walter Alston would sparingly use him. Or even more so, use his consecutively and then not pitch Koufax for months. Yes MONTHS! Perhaps what makes this book even more special are the subtle references to the major and minor events of the times. JFK’s in there, so are the Beatles. What is even more fascinating, is how at the beginning of the perfect game, Leavy introduces several fans, some of them kids at home listening to the radio in their beds when they should have been asleep. Others at the ballpark, one on a photography assignment for his school, another the friend of the Cubs young rookie catcher, Chris Krug. As the perfect game develops, Leavy introduces more characters, and builds upon the experiences and feelings that the fans are going through. It draws you in, enlightening the same connection that you feel as an individual when you watch the game at home or at the park yourself. What most people don’t realise, is that Bob Hendley, the opposing pitcher for the Cubs, actually threw a one hitter that day, and lost on an error by Krug, when he threw the ball into left field after trying to catch ‘Sweet Lou’ Johnson stealing third base. What you have then, is one of the best baseball games of all time. Pick up the book if you get the chance. You won’t get a better opportunity to discover more about arguably the most dominant left hander of all time, and one of the best games ever.

And if you don;’t agree with me, just consider that when Koufax was suffering from chronic arthritis in the last two years of his career, (so chronic that he would have to take several pain killers before his starts, compounded with rubbing his arms in capsolin ointment, which by the way, was so powerful that the Dodger trainer would wear gloves so he didn’t a) burn, and b) smell of the stuff!! After Koufax pitched, he’d sit his arm in a freezing cold bucket of what essentially amounts to ice until he’d consumed 3 beers that were left in the ice during the game. And if you want to know how powerful Capsolin is, just take it from the big leaguers, who called it ‘atomic balm’ at the time.) he won back to back Cy Young awards, and compiled 53 victories, 699 K’s in 658 2/3 innings, and an astonishing 1.88 ERA. (seriously, if I had the time, or the book handy, to calculate Koufax’ numbers from the last 6 years of his career, there’s no one who even comes close. Go grab the numbers, and then tell me what you think.

He really was unbelievable. 

Beginning my look at history and Hall of Famers is the great Sandy Koufax, a name I came across just recently yet again when browsing historical statistics over at the baseball cube, which have archived game by game logs all the way back to the late 50′s, which i found to be FASCINATING! Another great historical tool i found the other day was the Head to Head page over at baseball reference, which shows all time team vs team records for each major league club.

When anyone hears the name or speaks of Koufax, the topic of greatest major league lefty always comes up. Anyone can make a case for the likes of Lefty Grove, Warren Spahn, Steve Carlton, Randy Johnson, maybe even Tom Glavine. They each have their own individual cases that could comfortably make them the greatest. Spahn is the highest winning lefty of all time. Grove has 300 career wins to go with a record 9 ERA titles and an MVP award. Carlton’s resume features 4 Cy Young awards along with being 4th all time in strikeouts. The Big Unit on the other hand, has a no hitter and a perfect game under his belt along with 5 Cy Young awards, second only to Roger Clemens. Johnson also ranks third all time in strikeouts. Glavine meanwhile, is one of only 5 left handers to ever win 300 games and is a 2 time Cy Young award winner.

But let’s focus on Koufax, who has his own impeccable resume. Koufax began his career as a Brooklyn Dodger as a young and relatively wild pitcher who flashed tons of potential, but it was not until the early 60′s that Koufax became one of the greatest and most dominant pitchers of his era, after the Dodgers had moved to Los Angeles. From 1961 to 1966, the list of accomplishments is just unreal. In 61, Koufax broke the single season record for strikeouts previously held by Christy Mathewson at 269, and finished with 18 wins. In 62, Koufax threw the first of four no hitters, a mark that is only topped by the great Nolan Ryan with 7. Koufax also became the 11th pitcher in major league history that season to strike out the side on 9 pitches in the first inning of his first no hitter vs the New York Mets. Koufax then pitched his second no hitter in 63, whilst winning the pitchers triple crown leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts. He also collected his first of three Cy Young awards in leading the Dodgers to a world series victory over the Yankees, twice outpitching the great Whitey Ford. Koufax pitched his third no hitter in 64 and finished with 19 wins, but was diagnosed with arthritis in his left elbow. Throughout the 65 and 66 season, Koufax pitched in pain. But this didn’t stop Koufax. In 65, he won his second pitchers triple crown, and his 382 strikeouts that year was the single season record until Nolan Ryan notched 383 in 1973. Koufax won 26 games, and unanimously won his second Cy Young award. In addition, on September 9th 1965, he became the 6th pitcher to throw a perfect game, and his 4th no hitter to boot. Koufax also captured his second World series MVP award, as the Dodgers bested the Minnesota Twins in 7 games in the fall classic.

1966 would be Koufax’s last season in baseball, and he retired due to his arthritic condition. However, he did not disappoint, finishing with a 27-9 record and an astounding 1.73 ERA. Koufax captured his 3rd and final Cy Young award again by unanimous selection, and retired with extreme distinction at the age of 30. It is fascinating to think what Koufax’s career numbers would have looked like if he had continued right the way through his 30′s. In the end, Koufax’s numbers were incredible in their own right, as you can see for yourself. Koufax was elected as a first ballot hall of famer in 1972, and his number 32 is forever enshrined by the Dodgers, hanging from the bleachers at Dodger Stadium. For all his accomplishments and records, Koufax easily goes down as one of the greatest (if not the greatest) left handed pitcher of all time, and his dominant fastball and wicked curveball will remain in the minds of many a fan for years to come.