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Sandy Koufax

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   CAPTION: Sandy Koufax

                                  Sandy Koufax
                                 Personal Info
   Birth          December 30, 1935, Brooklyn, New York
                              Professional Career
   Debut          June 24, 1955, Brooklyn Dodgers vs. Milwaukee Braves, County
                  Stadium
   Team(s)        Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1955 to 1966)
   HOF induction: 1972
                               Career Highlights
     * Second in career no-hitters (4)
     * One of 17 pitchers to throw a perfect game ( 1965)
     * Set single-season record with 382 strikeouts (now is 2nd behind
       Nolan Ryan's 383 in 1973)
     * Holds single-season record for most shutouts by a left-handed
       pitcher (11), breaking previous record (9) set by Babe Ruth in 1916
     * Led National League in ERA 5 years in a row
     * Led National League in strikeouts 4 times
     * Led National League in shutouts 3 times
     * Led National League in wins 3 times
     * 0.95 ERA in 4 World Series
     * 6 All-Star appearances
     * NL MVP Award ( 1963)
     * Cy Young Award (One award for both leagues until 1967. All 3 times
       he was unanimously selected.) 3 times (1963, 1965, 1966)
     * World Series MVP 2 times ( 1963, 1965)

   Sanford Koufax ( IPA pronunciation: /'kofæks/), born Sanford Braun on
   December 30, 1935 in Brooklyn, New York, was a American baseball player
   during the 1950s and 1960s. A left-handed pitcher, Koufax played his
   entire 11-year career, 1955- 1966, for the Dodgers franchise of Major
   League Baseball. An accomplished athlete, the Baseball Hall of Fame
   inducted Koufax in 1972 and he was recognized as an National League
   All-Star every year between 1961- 1966.

   Between 1961-1966, Koufax won eighteen major awards. This slew of
   awards included the 1963 National League MVP Award, the 1963 NL
   Pitchers' Triple Crown, and the 1963 Cy Young Award. In 1965, Koufax
   again won the NL Triple Crown and the Cy Young Award. The following
   year, Koufax added another Cy Young Award to his trophy case.

   Koufax appeared in four separate World Series competitions while with
   the Dodgers. The team won three of those championships and Koufax
   helped by winning four games. One of Koufax's most notable career
   moments occurred during the 1965 World Series. Koufax, an American Jew,
   refused to pitch Game 1 because game day fell on Yom Kippur, the Jewish
   High Holiday.

   In recognition of his accomplishments on the field, the Dodgers retired
   the number 32. This was the number Koufax wore during his career.

Early life

   Sandy Koufax was born on December 30, 1935 to Evelyn and Jack Braun. He
   grew up in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, New York. His parents
   divorced when he was three-years-old and when his mother remarried,
   Koufax took the surname of her new husband Irving.

   Koufax attended High school Brooklyn's Lafayette High School. While
   there, he forayed into both basketball and baseball. By this time,
   Koufax had started to visit his local Jewish Community Centre and play
   basketball there. In 1940, at the age of 15, Koufax began to play in
   the Baseball Ice Cream League where he was noticed by baseball scouts.

   While at Lafayette, Koufax was spotted by Milt Laurie, the father of
   two of Koufax's teammates and coach of the Coney Island Sports League's
   Parkviews. Laurie got his sons to recruit Koufax to pitch for the
   Parkviews. Laurie would keep Koufax overnight in order to make sure he
   got to the baseball field on time.

   Koufax graduated from High School and decided to attend the University
   of Cincinnati on a basketball scholarship.. Koufax lived off-campus and
   joined the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity.

   During the school's 1953 spring break, the baseball team went to New
   Orleans and Florida. Before the team left, Koufax and his roommate,
   Norman Lefkowitz, decided to try out for the squad. Two catchers, Bill
   Hall and Joe Miller, quit the team during Koufax's tryout period.
   Finally, Danny Gilbert volunteered for the job. In 1954 , both Koufax
   and Gilbert made the varsity team. That season, Koufax went 3–1 with a
   2.81 ERA, 51 strikeouts and 30 walks, in 32 innings. Bill Zinser, a
   scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers, sent the Dodgers front office a glowing
   report which was promptly lost.

   Koufax's first tryout was with the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds.
   His next tryout was for the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field. During
   the tryout, Koufax threw so hard that he broke the thumb of his
   catcher, Sam Narron, the bullpen coach for the Pirates. Branch Rickey,
   then general manager of the Pirates, told his scout Clyde Sukeforth
   that Koufax had the "greatest arm I've ever seen". The Pirates offered
   Koufax $15,000, but he turned them down.

   Dodgers scout Al Campanis had been told about Koufax from a local
   sporting goods store owner. After seeing Koufax pitch at Lafayette High
   School, Campanis immediately invited him to a try out at Ebbets Field.
   Dodgers manager Walter Alston and scouting director Fresco Thompson
   watched as Campanis assumed the hitter's stance while Koufax started
   throwing. Campanis later said that "the hair on my arms rose, and the
   only other time that happened was the first time I saw the Sistine
   Chapel". The Dodgers signed Koufax for $20,000—a $14,000 signing bonus
   and a $6,000 salary. Koufax accepted this offer, planning to use the
   signing bonus as tuition for architecture school just in case baseball
   did not work out.

Professional career

Early years

   Because Koufax's signing bonus was greater than $4,000, he was known as
   a bonus baby. That forced the Dodgers to keep him in the major leagues
   for at least two years before he could be sent to the minors. To make
   room for him on the roster, the Dodgers optioned their future manager,
   Tommy Lasorda, to the Montreal Royals of the International League.
   Lasorda would later joke that it took Sandy Koufax to keep him off the
   Dodger pitching staff.

   Koufax made his major league debut on June 24, 1955, in the fifth
   inning against the Milwaukee Braves with the Dodgers trailing 7–1.
   Johnny Logan, the first batter Koufax faced, got a bloop single. He was
   followed by future Hall of Famers Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron. Mathews
   bunted, and Koufax calmly fielded the ball and threw it into centre
   field, trying to get Logan on the force. Aaron then walked on four
   pitches to load the bases. Bobby Thomson was the next batter, and after
   working the count full, he struck out swinging. Thomson had just become
   Koufax's first strikeout victim.

   Koufax's first game as starting pitcher was on July 6. He lasted only 4
   2/3 innings, giving up eight walks. He did not start again for almost
   two months, but he made the most of it when it did happen. On August
   27, playing at Ebbets Field against the Cincinnati Reds, Koufax threw a
   two hit, 7–0 complete game shutout for his first major league win.
   Koufax made only twelve appearances in 1955, pitching 41.7 innings and
   walking almost as many men (28) as he struck out (30). His only other
   win in 1955 was also a shutout.

   During the fall, he enrolled in Columbia University's School of General
   Studies, which offered night classes in architecture. The Dodgers won
   the 1955 World Series for the first title in franchise history—but
   without any help from Koufax, who sat on the bench for the entire
   series. After the final out of the Series, Koufax drove to Columbia to
   attend class.

   1956 wasn't very different from 1955 for Koufax. He saw little work,
   pitching only 58.2 innings, walking 29 and striking out 30; he had a
   4.91 ERA. Rarely was he allowed to work out of a jam. As soon as he
   threw a couple of balls in a row, Alston would have somebody start
   warming up in the bullpen. Jackie Robinson, in his final season,
   clashed with Alston on several different subjects, including Koufax.
   Robinson saw that Koufax was talented and had flashes of brilliance,
   and Robinson objected to Koufax being benched for weeks at a time.

   To prepare for the 1957 season, the Dodgers sent Koufax to Puerto Rico
   to play winter ball. On May 15, the restriction on sending Koufax down
   to the minors was lifted. Alston gave him a chance to justify his place
   on the major league roster by giving him the next day's start. Facing
   the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, Koufax struck out 13 and earned a
   complete game win. It was his first complete game in almost two years.
   For the next two weeks, and for the first time in his career, he was in
   the starting rotation. Despite winning three of his next five, leading
   the league in strikeouts and having a 2.90 ERA, Koufax didn't get
   another start for 45 days. In his next start, on July 19, he struck out
   eleven in seven innings, but got a no decision. On September 29, Koufax
   became the last man ever to pitch for the Brooklyn Dodgers before their
   move to Los Angeles, by throwing an inning of relief in the final game
   of the season.

   Over the next three seasons, Koufax was in and out of the Dodger
   starting rotation due to injuries. He started the 1958 season strong by
   going 7–3 through July, but ended up spraining his ankle in a collision
   at first base. He finished the season with an 11–11 record, leading the
   league in wild pitches. In June 1959, Koufax struck out 16 Philadelphia
   Phillies to set the record for a night game. Two months later, he broke
   that record in Los Angeles, against the Giants, tying Bob Feller's
   major league record with 18 strikeouts.

   The Dodgers played the Chicago White Sox in the 1959 World Series. Game
   One was in Chicago, where Koufax made his first World Series
   appearance, pitching two perfect innings of relief in an 11–0 loss.
   Alston gave him the start in Game Five. The game was played at the Los
   Angeles Coliseum in front of 92,000 fans. Koufax and the Dodgers lost
   1–0 when Nellie Fox scored on a double play.

   In early 1960 Koufax asked Dodgers GM Buzzie Bavasi to trade him
   because he wasn't getting enough playing time. By the end of 1960,
   Koufax was ready to quit baseball and devote himself to his electronics
   business. After the last game of the season, he tossed his gloves and
   spikes into the trash. Nobe Kawano, the clubhouse supervisor, retrieved
   the equipment to return to Koufax the following year (or to somebody
   else if Koufax did not return to play).

Domination

   Koufax showed up for the 1961 season in better condition than he had in
   previous years. Over the winter, he decided to start working out and
   running more. Koufax also decided to find out just how good he could
   be. During a spring training trip to Orlando, a Dodger scout eating
   with Koufax and catcher Norm Sherry the night before the game
   discovered a hitch in Koufax's windup: he'd rear back far enough that,
   in his release, his vision was somewhat obstructed by his lead arm and
   he often couldn't see the full strike zone. Sherry translated it for
   Koufax in the same words that many others had used in the past: Sandy,
   you don't have to throw so hard. He also convinced Koufax not to pull
   so far back in his windup.

   In the first inning of the game in Orlando, Koufax walked the bases
   loaded on 12 straight pitches. Again, Sherry told him to take something
   off the ball to get better control. Koufax finally listened and struck
   out the side. By the time he came out of the game after seven innings,
   Koufax had struck out eight batters, walked five and given up no hits.

   Koufax finally broke into the starting rotation permanently. On
   September 15, 1961, he surpassed the previous record of strikeouts by a
   left-handed pitcher in the National League with his 243rd strikeout. On
   September 27, Koufax broke the National League record for strikeouts in
   a season, surpassing Christy Mathewson's 58-year-old mark of 267, set
   in 1903. Koufax finished the year 18–13, with 269 strikeouts versus 96
   walks. During the two 1961 All-Star games, Koufax pitched two and
   one-third innings without giving up a run.

   The Dodgers moved to Chavez Ravine, their new stadium, in 1962. It was
   designed to be a pitcher-friendly park, with large foul territory and a
   terrible hitting background. Pitching in this park, Koufax lowered his
   home ERA from 4.29 to 1.75. On June 30 against the New York Mets,
   Koufax threw his first no-hitter, and would finish his career with a
   record four no-hitters; in the first inning of the 5-0 win over the
   Mets, Koufax struck out three batters on nine pitches to become the
   sixth National League pitcher and the 11th pitcher in Major League
   history to accomplish the nine-strike/three-strikeout half-inning, as
   well as the first pitcher to accomplish the feat in the first inning of
   a game. He also broke the 38-year NL drought following Dazzy Vance's
   achievement of the feat, the longest stretch between accomplishments.
   With the no-hitter and a 1.23 ERA for June, he was named Player of the
   Month. While batting against the San Francisco Giants on July 8,
   Koufax's index finger on his left hand was injured, but he did not tell
   anybody. Koufax pitched in several more games while his finger slowly
   developed gangrene. After seeing a vascular specialist, it was
   determined that Koufax had a crushed artery in his palm.

   Luckily, ten days of experimental medicine successfully reopened the
   artery. Koufax finally was able to pitch again in September, when the
   team was locked in a tight pennant race with the Giants. Trying to get
   back into shape after the long layoff, Koufax was ineffective in three
   appearances as the Giants caught the Dodgers at the end of the regular
   season. The night before the National League playoffs, Manager Walter
   Alston asked Koufax if he could start the first game on the next day.
   With an overworked pitching staff, there was no one else, as Don
   Drysdale and Johnny Podres had pitched the prior two days. Koufax
   obliged.

   As Koufax later said, "I had nothing at all." He was knocked out in the
   second inning, after giving up home runs to Hall of Famer Willie Mays
   and Jim Davenport. After winning the second game of the series, the
   Dodgers blew a 4–2 lead in the ninth inning of the deciding third game,
   losing the pennant.

   Koufax came roaring back in 1963. On May 11 he carried a perfect game
   into the eighth inning against the powerful Giants lineup including
   future Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and Orlando Cepeda.
   Koufax ended up walking Ed Bailey on a 3-and-2 pitch, but preserved the
   no-hitter, his second in as many years, by closing out the ninth.
   Koufax finished the year by winning the pitchers' Triple Crown, leading
   the league in wins (25), strikeouts (306) and ERA (1.88) while also
   throwing 11 shutouts. He won the NL MVP Award and the Cy Young Award
   (the first unanimous choice) as well as the Hickok Belt.

   The Dodgers faced the New York Yankees in the 1963 World Series where
   Koufax beat Whitey Ford in Game One with a new World Series record 15
   strikeouts, and also won Game Four, completing the Dodgers' series
   sweep of the "Old Yankees", earning the World Series MVP Award for his
   performance. Because 'K' is the scoring symbol for a strikeout, some
   newspapers the day after Game One carried the singular headline
   'K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-Koufax'. Clete Boyer was the only Yankee
   regular not to strike out against Koufax. Mickey Mantle, Tom Tresh and
   Tony Kubek struck out twice each, and Bobby Richardson struck out three
   times (after striking out only 22 times on the season, in 630 at-bats).
   Koufax also struck out three pinch-hitters, including Harry Bright to
   end the game. Yogi Berra, after seeing Koufax's Game One performance,
   was quoted as saying, "I can see how he won 25 games. What I don't
   understand is how he lost five."

   The 1964 season started with great expectations. On April 18,Koufax
   struck out three batters on nine pitches in the third inning of a 3-0
   loss to the Cincinnati Reds, becoming the first (and currently only)
   pitcher to accomplish the nine-strike/three-strikeout half-inning twice
   in the National League. On April 22, however, against the St. Louis
   Cardinals, during the first inning of Koufax's third start, he felt
   something "let go" in his arm. Koufax ended up getting three cortisone
   shots for his sore elbow, and he missed three starts. On June 4,
   playing at Shibe Park against the Philadelphia Phillies, in the bottom
   of the fourth inning, Koufax walked Richie Allen on a very close
   full-count pitch. Allen, who was thrown out trying to steal second, was
   the first and last Phillie to reach base.

   With his third no-hitter in three years, Koufax became only the second
   pitcher of the modern era (after Bob Feller) to pitch three no-hitters.
   On August 8, Koufax jammed his pitching arm while diving back to second
   base to beat a pick-off throw. He managed to pitch and win two more
   games. However, the morning after his 19th win, a shutout in which he
   struck out 13, he couldn't straighten his arm. He was diagnosed by
   Dodgers' team physician Robert Kerlan with traumatic arthritis. Koufax
   finished the year with an impressive 19–5 record.

Playing in pain

   The 1965 season started off badly for Koufax. On March 31, the morning
   after pitching a full game during spring training, Koufax awoke to find
   that his entire left arm was black and blue from hemorrhaging. Koufax
   returned to Los Angeles to consult with Kerlan, who advised Koufax that
   he'd be lucky to be able to pitch once a week. Kerlan also told Koufax
   that he would eventually lose full use of his arm. Together, they
   mapped out a schedule where Koufax would only pitch every fifth day
   instead of his customary every fourth day, resulting in thirty-four
   starts instead of forty-one. Kerlan didn't think that making seven
   fewer starts in a season would make much of a difference, so Koufax
   agreed not to throw at all between games -- instead of throwing the
   customary one day between.

   To get himself through the games he pitched in, Koufax resorted to
   cortisone shots in the elbow, Empirin with codeine for the pain (which
   he took every night and sometimes during the fifth inning), and
   Butazolidin for inflammation. He would also apply capsaicin-based
   Capsolin ointment (called "atomic balm" by baseball players) before
   each game, and then soak his arm in a tub of ice. The trainers would
   leave three beers in the tub; when Koufax had finished them, he would
   take his arm out.

   Despite the constant pain in his pitching elbow, Koufax finished the
   year by winning his second pitchers' Triple Crown, leading the league
   in wins (26), ERA (2.04) and strikeouts (382). His strikeout total
   obliterated the previous record of 348 set by Bob Feller in 1948, and
   lasted until 1973, when Nolan Ryan struck out 383 batters (his 382
   strikeouts remains the National League single-season record).

   Koufax and the Dodgers won the World Series again, while he captured
   his second Cy Young Award (again unanimously). In the Series, Koufax
   declined to pitch Game One due to his observance of Yom Kippur, and his
   team was hit hard. Koufax pitched six innings, giving up 2 runs in Game
   Two, but the Minnesota Twins won the game 5–1, and took an early 2–0
   lead in the series. The Dodgers fought back, with Claude Osteen, Don
   Drysdale, and Koufax picking up vital wins to take a 3-2 lead back to
   Minnesota. Koufax pitched a complete game shutout winning 7-0 in Game
   Five. The Twins won Game Six to force a seventh game. Starting Game
   Seven on only two days of rest, Koufax took the ball and, despite not
   having good command of his curveball and pitching through tiredness and
   arthritic pain, he threw a three-hit shutout to clinch the Series. The
   performance was enough to win him his second World Series MVP award.
   Also in 1965, he won the Hickok Belt a second time, the first (and
   only) time anyone had won the belt more than once. He was also awarded
   Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year award.

Perfection

   On September 9, 1965, Koufax became the sixth pitcher of the modern era
   to throw a perfect game. Koufax had not won a game in three weeks; not
   since Juan Marichal hit Koufax's catcher, John Roseboro, in the head
   with a baseball bat; not since the Watts riots started. The Dodgers
   were playing at home against the last place Chicago Cubs. Bob Hendley,
   the pitcher for the Cubs, was just up from the minor leagues and had a
   2–2 record.

   Koufax retired the first batter he faced, Donald Young, a late season
   call-up, on a pop-up on the second pitch of the game. Glenn Beckert,
   another rookie, struck out looking at a curveball after hitting a line
   drive down the third base line just barely foul. The third batter,
   Billy Williams, also struck out looking at curve ball. In the second
   inning, Ron Santo fouled out to catcher Jeff Torborg, Ernie Banks
   struck out on a forkball, and Byron Browne, during his first major
   league at-bat, lined out to centre fielder Willie Davis. Koufax got
   Chris Krug to line out to centre field to start off the third inning.
   Following him, Don Kessinger flew out on an 0–2 pitch and Hendley
   struck out. In the fourth inning, Koufax got Young to line out to
   centre field and Beckert to fly out to right. Koufax then struck out
   Williams a second time.

   By the top of the fifth inning, neither team had reached first base.
   That changed when Hendley walked Lou Johnson on a three-and-two pitch
   that could have gone either way. Ron Fairly dropped a sacrifice bunt
   that Hendley bobbled, leaving his only play at first base. On the first
   pitch to Jim Lefebvre, Johnson stole third base. The Cubs' catcher Krug
   threw the ball over Santo's head and into left field, which allowed
   Johnson to score. The Dodgers had scored a run without an official
   at-bat. In the bottom half of the inning, the Cubs went three up, three
   down with Santo flying out, Banks striking out for the second time in
   the game, and Brown grounding out.

   The bottom of the order came up in the sixth inning for the Cubs. Krug
   grounded the ball to shortstop Maury Wills, who threw it in the dirt to
   first baseman Wes Parker. Parker managed to dig the ball out to save
   the play and Koufax's perfect game. Kessinger hit a dribbler down the
   third base line, but Junior Gilliam was playing shallow (to guard
   against the bunt) and threw him out by half a step. Hendley, who still
   had a no-hitter going of his own, struck out on three pitches.

   Koufax's nerves started to get to him a little in the seventh, when he
   threw one pitch that sailed past Young and went all the way to the
   backstop. Koufax recovered and struck out Young. Beckert was next; he
   flew out to right field. Williams started out with three straight
   balls. Koufax's next two pitches were fastballs right down the middle.
   Williams let the first one go and fouled off the second one. Williams
   ended up hitting a pop fly to left field on the next pitch. During the
   bottom of the seventh inning, Johnson broke up Hendley's no-hitter with
   a bloop hit behind the second baseman. By the time Banks reached it,
   Johnson was on second base. Fairly grounded out to second, stranding
   Johnson on second base.

   The heart of the Chicago order came up in the eighth inning, and Koufax
   struck out all three of them. Banks, who struck out for the third time,
   never made contact the entire game. The Dodgers went three up and three
   down in the bottom half of the inning. Koufax again struck out the side
   in the ninth inning, striking out the final two hitters on six straight
   curveballs, "big balloons" as called by Vin Scully, the Dodgers long
   time play-by-play announcer. As Scully commented at the end of his
   play-by-play, "And Sandy Koufax, whose name will always remind you of
   strikeouts, did it with a flourish. He struck out the last six
   consecutive batters. So when he wrote his name in capital letters in
   the record books, that "K" stands out even more than the O-U-F-A-X."
   The final out was made by Harvey Kuenn, the same man who made the final
   out of Koufax's 1963 no-hitter. In the end, Johnson's hit was the only
   one by either team; the combined total of 1 hit for the entire game is
   a major league record.

   To date, the perfect game is the last no-hitter to be pitched against
   the Cubs. They have gone the longest of all MLB teams since a no-hitter
   was last pitched against them.

Hold out

   Before the 1966 season began, both Koufax and Drysdale went to Dodger
   GM Buzzie Bavasi to negotiate their contracts for the upcoming year. In
   the past, Bavasi had used Koufax and Drysdale against each other in
   contract negotiations, saying to Koufax, "How could you ask for so much
   when Drysdale is only asking for ..." He would do the same thing to
   Drysdale, telling him that Koufax was asking for much less. Finally,
   Drysdale's first wife, Ginger Drysdale, suggested that they work
   together to get what they wanted. They demanded $1 million dollars,
   divided equally over the next three years, or $167,000 each for the
   next three seasons. Koufax was represented by an entertainment lawyer,
   J. William Hayes. When the hold out started, Drysdale's lawyer had a
   conflict of interest, so Hayes started advising them on their
   collective negotiations.

   Koufax and Drysdale both signed to appear in the movie Warning Shot,
   starring David Janssen. Drysdale was going to play a TV commentator and
   Koufax was going to play a detective. They were photographed sitting on
   the set in director's chairs that had their names on the back. Dodger
   management started leaking allegations about dissension between Koufax
   and Drysdale, trying to drive a wedge between them. That spring, union
   activist Marvin Miller made the rounds of the spring training camps in
   his bid to become executive director of the Major League Baseball
   Players Association. Everywhere Miller went, all the players were
   asking him about Koufax and Drysdale. Koufax finally gave Drysdale the
   go-ahead to negotiate new deals for the both of them. Koufax ended up
   getting $125,000 and Drysdale $110,000.

   In April 1966, Kerlan told Koufax it was time to retire, that his arm
   could not take another season. Koufax kept Kerlan's advice to himself
   and went out every fourth day to pitch. He ended up pitching 323
   innings and had a 27–9 record with a 1.73 ERA. In the final game of the
   regular season, the Dodgers had to beat the Phillies to win the
   pennant. In the second game of a doubleheader (Drysdale had lost the
   first game), Koufax faced Jim Bunning in the first ever match-up
   between perfect game winners. The Dodgers won and went on to face the
   Baltimore Orioles in the 1966 World Series. Game Two marked Koufax's
   third start in eight days. Koufax pitched well enough---Baltimore first
   baseman Boog Powell told Koufax's biographer, Jane Leavy, "He might
   have been hurtin' but he was bringin'"---but three errors by Dodger
   centre fielder Willie Davis in the fifth inning produced three unearned
   runs, and the Dodgers ended up losing the game 6–0 on Jim Palmer's
   four-hit pitching. The last man to face Koufax was Andy Etchebarren,
   who hit into a double play to end the sixth inning---Alston lifted his
   future Hall of Famer with the idea of getting him extra rest before
   pitching a potential fifth Series game. It never happened. The Dodgers
   were swept in four, not scoring a single run in the last three. After
   the World Series, Koufax announced his retirement due to his arthritic
   condition.

   In a twelve-season career, Koufax had a 165–87 record with a 2.76 ERA,
   2,396 strikeouts, 137 complete games, and 40 shutouts. His World Series
   record is just as impressive: a 4-3 won-lost record but a 0.95 earned
   run average in four World Series. He is on the very short list of
   pitchers who retired with more career strikeouts than innings pitched.
   Koufax was selected for seven All-Star games (twice in 1961 when there
   were two games played, and once in each year from 1962 to 1966, with
   the All-Star Game having returned to one game per year in 1963). Koufax
   was the first pitcher to win multiple Cy Young Awards, as well as the
   first pitcher to win a Cy Young Award by a unanimous vote; in fact, all
   three Cy Young Awards he won were by unanimous vote. More impressive
   yet, through Koufax's career and until 1967 there was only one such
   award given out annually, rather than the current practice of naming a
   Cy Young Award winner for each league.

Post-playing career

   He currently resides part-time in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

   In 1967, he signed a ten-year contract with NBC for $1 million to be a
   broadcaster on the Saturday Game of the Week. Never feeling comfortable
   in front of the camera, he quit after five years, just prior to the
   start of the 1973 season.

   Koufax was married to Anne Widmark, daughter of movie star Richard
   Widmark, until the couple's divorce in 1982. He then remarried and
   divorced again in the 1990s.

   In his first year of eligibility in 1972, Koufax was elected to the
   Baseball Hall of Fame, just weeks after his 36th birthday. His election
   made him the Hall's youngest member ever, five months younger than Lou
   Gehrig upon his induction in 1939. On June 4 of that same year,
   Koufax's uniform number 32 was retired alongside Dodger greats Roy
   Campanella (39) and Jackie Robinson (42).

   The Dodgers hired Koufax to be a minor league pitching coach in 1979.
   He resigned in 1990, saying he wasn't earning his keep, but most
   observers blamed it on his uneasy relationship with manager Tommy
   Lasorda. In 2003, Koufax ended his longtime relationship with the Los
   Angeles Dodgers when the New York Post (which, like the Dodgers, had
   become part of Rupert Murdoch's business empire) published a story
   reporting rumors about his sexual orientation and implying that Koufax
   was gay. Koufax returned to the Dodger organization in 2004 when the
   Dodgers were sold to Frank McCourt.

   In 1999, The Sporting News placed Koufax at number 26 on its list of
   "The 100 Greatest Baseball Players." That same year, he was named as
   one of the 30 players on the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
   Although he rarely makes public appearances, he went to Turner Field in
   Atlanta for the introduction ceremony before Game 2 of the World
   Series. He had not attended the ceremony for the 100 All-Century Team
   nominees at the year's All-Star Game at Fenway Park in Boston.

Mechanics

   Whereas many left-handed pitchers throw 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
   his velocity came from his deceptively strong legs and back, combined
   with a high kicking wind-up and long forward stretch toward the plate.
   Throughout Koufax's career, he relied on 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, Koufax worked with coaches to eliminate
   his tendency to "tip" pitches (i.e. reveal which pitch was coming due
   to variations in his wind-up). Late in his career, 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. Good hitters could often predict what pitch was coming; but
   hitting it was another story. Willie Mays said after Koufax's
   retirement, "Sandy would strike me out two or three times a game and I
   knew every pitch he was going to throw: fastball, breaking ball. I knew
   it. He would let you look at it and still I could not hit it."

Career statistics

Pitching statistics

   W   L  ERA  G   GS  CG  SHO SV IP       H    ER   HR  BB  SO
   165 87 2.76 397 314 137 40  9  2324 1/3 1754 1754 204 817 2396

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Koufax"
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