Posted on 12/21/2006 7:05:19 AM PST by rhema
When you greatly admire a famous person, someone once said, avoid meeting him. Otherwise, prepare yourself for disappointment. Whoever said that never met Sandy Koufax, the great former pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the seventh grade, at age 12, I entered a poetry contest held at my Los Angeles junior high school. I wrote about my favorite player:
Koufax is on the mound,
The game has just begun.
He gets a sign from the catcher
And, zoom, strike one.
Not exactly Robert Frost, so I'll spare you the rest of the poem. But after winning, I immediately sent the poem to Sandy Koufax. I never expected to hear back, but he sent me a postcard-sized picture of himself, with his elegant signature.
At an American Friends of the Hebrew University black-tie function honoring the current owners of the Dodgers, the McCourts, I sat at a table in a large ballroom at a Beverly Hills hotel. Vin Scully, the brilliant Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster, emceed the event. He ran down the list of attendees, among them Sandy Koufax. Sandy Koufax?!
When Koufax arrived in the major leagues in 1955, never having spent one day in the minor leagues, he found it difficult to control his pitches. Some days he threw accurately; other days he threw so erratically that the ball could hit the batter in the head or sail over the backstop. But the Dodgers recognized his brilliance and stuck with him.
Then it clicked.
From 1962 to 1966, the southpaw pitched so brilliantly as to kiss the face of God. The left-hander won the Cy Young Award – baseball's highest pitching honor – in 1963, 1965 and 1966. (In those years, one award was given to baseball's best pitcher, unlike now, when baseball awards a Cy Young to the best pitcher in each of the two leagues.) Koufax recorded the lowest earned run average (ERA – the number of earned runs scored against him per game by the opposition) for an astonishing five consecutive seasons, from 1962 to 1966. He threw 11 shutouts in 1963, amassing 40 during his career. Koufax led the major league in strikeouts four times, including a then-record 382 strikeouts in 1965. His career strikeouts totaled 2,396, and three times he fanned 300 or more batters in a season. In his five final seasons, his win-loss record was an astonishing 111-34. During the 1965 World Series, he refused to pitch on Yom Kippur, demonstrating that the High Holy Days meant more to him than a World Series game.
In those days, pitchers pitched. Modern pitchers now pitch "deep into the game," walking off the mound to hand the ball in the sixth or seventh inning to a "middle reliever," who, in turn, hands the ball off to a "closer." When the Dodgers beat the Minnesota Twins in the 1965 World Series, Koufax pitched games two, five and seven, astounding by modern standards.
Koufax pitched with grace, consistency and excellence. And by all accounts, handled himself the same way off the field. Handsome, almost regal, you simply could not take your eyes off of him as he pitched. He was the first major league pitcher to hurl four no-hit games, including, in 1965, a perfect game – no runs, no hits, no walks, no errors. Twenty-seven batters up, and 27 batters down, a feat pulled off only 17 times in the major leagues since 1880.
The Dodgers played the Baltimore Orioles in the 1966 World Series, defying the odds-makers by losing in four straight. Koufax battled arm problems throughout his career, though in 1966 he went 27-9 with a 1.73 ERA. But by the time of the World Series, Koufax simply ran out of gas.
After the Dodgers' 1966 World Series defeat, I picked up the local newspaper and read the shocking headline – Koufax To Retire. At age 31, the prince walked off the mound, never to return. I cried for two days.
Now, 40 years later, Koufax and I actually occupied the same space in the same hotel ballroom! I asked renowned Hollywood publicist Warren Cowan, seated at my table, "Is there anyway you can find Sandy Koufax, and ask him if I can go over to his table and shake his hand?"
Cowan left for a few minutes, then he came back and tapped my shoulder, "Done." We grabbed a photographer and approached Koufax's table. The Pitcher stood up. I told him the story of my poem, reciting the first stanza. "Mr. Koufax," I said, "you inspired me as a child, through your class, dignity, consistency, excellence and humility. And you inspire me to this day. It is an honor to shake your hand." He smiled and agreed to take a picture with me.
Oh, by the way, former Vice President Al Gore gave the keynote speech. I barely remember a word he said.
Palmer had the single best pitching motion I've ever seen. He was just a joy to watch. And he had great pacing, too - his games tended to be pretty quick - the Greg Maddux of his day.
Fifteen years, and I still miss Memorial Stadium. No frills, no BS, just a good place to catch a game.
"I saw Koufax strike out 18 in a game at the Coliseum in 1959 when I was a kid."
Then you should be among a fairly small group who remember what a "moonshot" was.
Or how about speeding up the NBA where the final two minutes of a game take 30 minutes to play with all the fouling.
They should allow a team the option to take the ball out of bounds, and reset the shot clock when their player is fouled, instead of forcing them to shoot free throws.
Yes, I remember that. First inning of his no-hitter vs. the NY Mets in 1962. Sure, it was against one of the worst teams ever to be called "major league," but that didn't detract from Koufax' greatness, both on the field and off.
He was my favorite ballplayer as I was growing up, too. I'd suppose that goes for quite a few of us.
Yep, Wally Moon's pop flies over the high screen in short left field. My mom was a big fan and I got to see a lot of games in both the Coliseum and the then-new Dodger Stadium. My great aunt & uncle would take me to games in the upper upper deck of Dodger Stadium--real nose-bleed seats. You paid to get in with a token--it cost $1!!
Koufax, though, was a poor hitter, while Drysdale was considered a good one for a pitcher.
Having been born in Los Angeles, and raised in LA county. I remember when the Dodgers came to town. We went to the Colosieum a few times before they built Dodger stadium. I saw Koufax pitch in person a couple of times and since I was left handed I was impressed.
They had a great team. Baseball just is not the same anymore. Way overpriced prima donas.
Koufax was a pure pitcher, Drysdale was an all-round baseball player-pitch, hit, run, field.
A friend of mine got to sit in the Dodger dugout one game when he was a Boy Scout. He said that Koufax talked to him and was very engaging, while Drysdale wouldn't give him the time of day.
Yes, he had arthritis in his (left) elbow and was concerned that he wouldn't be able to use arm at all if he continued to pitch. Rather than suing the team for exaccerbating his injury with the treatment he was given, Koufax gracefully walked away at the peak of his career. A class act.
If he had gotten the same injury today, he probably could have played longer because of the advances in sports medicine.
Thanks for the ping. Though a Padres and Yankees fan I remember when Sandy was pirching and he was always a class act.
Yes, you hit a home run there! That's one of the biggest problems with major league baseball today: the "here today, gone tomorrow" scenario with much too much player movement from team to team. Both players (and their leech agents) and team managements share the blame for it, but underlying it is the "free agency" structure to which (liberal) management gave in about thirty years ago.
BTW, I don't think it's coincidental that the vast majority of team ownerships, if not all of them, are controlled by DEMONRATS, and the Cammissar, Selig, is a 'Rat fatcat himself.
Hey pal, you're not far wrong with that statement. I too have actually heard him speak...wooden robot comes to mind. He was far worse than Dubya who I also heard speak in public. Heard both during the 2000 prez campaign in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Gore might be the worst public speaker I've ever heard. Naturally Big Media reported many times about his horrible oratorical skills. (smirk)
OH ES thanks for the ping dude
Too bad I was born wayy too late to see Sandy in prime but my dad did he told me two best pitcher he ever saw in lifetime was Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Nolan Ryan
Yep, I went to L.A. Dodger games at the Coliseum too...!!
Wa wa, Woo woo. Vin Scully and Sanday Koufax are both one-of-a-kind classics that contribute to my everlasting love of baseball.
And Larry did a great job of writing here. Until the last line. UGH.
Bump.
My first introduction to Calif. was a much older couple across the street that were diehard Dodger fans.
They had a television and, were hard of hearing.
Me and my brother would stand out in the street listening to the games.
Man that Sandy and Don could pitch.
Man did we hate the Giants. It was a long time before I could acknowledge the greatness of "Say Hey Willie" because he was a giant.
I recall reading that Koufax had arthritis (and I did not know what that was.)
I did not recall that he was only 31 years old at the time.
Fascinating stuff.
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