Koufax was born Sanford Braun on December 30, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York. Traumatic arthritis in his elbow ended Koufaxs career early due to a threat of permanent disability. [16][17] Bill Zinser, a scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers, sent the Dodgers front office a glowing report that apparently was filed and forgotten. Eddie Mathews bunted, and Koufax threw the ball into center field. After a slow start, his baseball career was cut short by problems with his pitching arm. Scores from any date in Major League history, Minor, Foreign, College, & Black Baseball, Frequently Asked Questions about MLB and Baseball. [120] He was also named that year as one of the 30 players on the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. The man never refused to give up and is now living his last few days in privacy with his family, away from the cameras. OLDENBURG - Some of the people in this story, the strangest Sandy Koufax story ever told, are dead . After joining the major leagues at age 19, having never pitched a game in the minor leagues, the first half of his career was unremarkable, posting a record of just 3640 with a 4.10 earned run average (ERA); he was a member of World Series champions in both Brooklyn and Los Angeles, though he did not appear in any of the team's Series wins. Drysdale's wife Ginger suggested that they negotiate together to get what they wanted. But he could also throw a baseball really, really hard. He struck out 14 batters in the 10 win, at the time the most recorded in a perfect game (tied by Matt Cain in 2012). Despite displaying tantalizing abilityhe struck out 14 batters in his second major league startthe left-hander was too wild to remain a regular in the rotation. [130], Koufax married Anne Widmark, the daughter of actor Richard Widmark, in 1969; they divorced in 1982. (Voted by BBWAA on 344/396 ballots) Koufax finally gained control of his overpowering fastball and knee-buckling curveball in the early 1960s, and embarked on one of the most dominant pitching runs in baseball history. Throughout his career, Koufax relied heavily on two pitches. [126], Koufax has been described by Sports Illustrated writer John Rosengren as a secular Jew. percentage . Famously private, he renounced his ties to the Dodgers when a New York Post article insinuated that he was gayNews Corporation owned both the Dodgers and the Post at the timebut he returned to the team as a spring training instructor in 2013 following a change in ownership. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. Sandy Koufax Career Stats Leagues Statistics including batting, fielding, prospect rankings and more on Baseball-Reference.com Koufax also made headlines for adhering to his faith. Koufax became the youngest player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972, and has since served as a pitching instructor for his former team. His second marriage, to personal trainer Kimberly Francis, lasted from 1985 to 1998. On July 20 he hit the second and last home run of his career, coincidentally again in Milwaukee, a three-run shot to propel the team to a 5-4 win; it was his only game with three runs batted in. Few individuals knew it at the time, but on Oct. 6, 1966, Sandy Koufax started the final game of his career. Rubber sleeve used by Sandy Koufax while icing down his chronically sore arm - B-59-67 (Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame Library), Sandy Koufax of the Dodgers pitching - BL-2568-68 (National Baseball Hall of Fame Library), Sandy Koufax went 27-9 during the regular season in 1966, but was defeated by Jim Palmer and the Orioles in his only start in that year's World Series. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. He had two wins in 1955, which were both shutouts. Over the next three seasons, Koufax was in and out of the starting rotation due to injuries. After joining the major leagues at age 19, having never pitched a game in the minor . The Dodgers fought back in Games 3 and 4, with wins by Claude Osteen and Drysdale. [14], Koufax attended the University of Cincinnati and was a walk-on on the freshman basketball team, a complete unknown to assistant coach Ed Jucker. Koufax played 12 years at the MLB level, all with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers. (2000). We strive for accuracy and fairness. Use left/right arrows to navigate the slideshow or swipe left/right if using a mobile device. He led the Miami Heat to NBA titles in 2012 and 2013 and won another championship with Cleveland in 2016, before joining the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018. "[104], Koufax threw with a pronounced straight-over-the-top arm action. After the final out of Game 7, Koufax drove to Columbia to attend class. (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum), Sandy Koufax - Baseball Hall of Fame Biographies, Vin Scully call of final three outs of Sandy Koufax's perfect game, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, 25 Main Street,Cooperstown, NY 13326Phone: 1-888-HALL-OF-FAME | 607-547-7200 | Fax: 607-547-0398, "I can see how he won 25 games. [32], During the fall, he enrolled in the Columbia University School of General Studies, which offered night classes in architecture. Gilbert marveled at what his friend accomplished. In 1965, Koufax was 26-8, with a 2.04 ERA, the only season in this four-year stretch that his ERA finished above 2.00 -- by a tick. Less than six weeks after the series, on Friday, November 18,[96][97] Koufax announced his retirement due to an arthritic elbow. [106] It not only appeared to move very late but also might move on multiple planes. While not as difficult to locate in high grade as the Clemente rookie, this card remains one of the major keys to the set, a set . 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. award was presented to one pitcher, rather than one in each league . ( Source : baseballhall) Considered one of the best pitchers in the history of baseball, Koufax is the youngest player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The hard-throwing left-hander was baseball's most dominant pitcher until elbow arthritis forced him to retire at the age of 30. Sabermetrician Rob Neyer called it the best curve of all time. His postseason record was 4-3 with a 0 .95 ERA . Teammate Ed Palmquist missed the flight, so Koufax was told he would need to pitch at least seven innings. In. His no-hitter, along with a 42 record, 73 strikeouts and a 1.23 ERA, earned him the Player of the Month Award for June. He is also the first pitcher to win the award by a unanimous votea recognition which he accomplished twice more. He has since worked for the Dodgers organization in a variety of capacities. [10] He later earned a partial scholarship. 304 pp. Find out more. He was the youngest player (age 36) and the Though Koufax had a much shorter career than contemporary stars such as Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, he easily earned enough votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America in 1972 to become the youngest player inducted into the Hall of Fame. He holds a fantastic record. [29] He lasted only .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}4+23 innings, giving up eight walks. Sandy Koufax Position: Pitcher Bats: Right Throws: Left 6-2 , 210lb (188cm, 95kg) Born: December 30, 1935 (Age: 87-003d) in Brooklyn, NY us More bio, uniform, draft, salary info Hall of Fame MVP 3x Cy Young 3x Triple Crown 7x All-Star 4x World Series 2x WS MVP 5x ERA Title 2x ML PoY 32 32 Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free. We will offer fans the opportunity to buy signed and unsigned items. Koufax has always been known for living a very private life and that nature carried over into the hobby for a long time, leaving collectors without nearly enough autographs to meet the demand. Koufax had 11-game winning streaks in both 1964 and 1965. By the end of the year, after going 813, Koufax was thinking about quitting baseball to devote himself to an electronics business in which he had invested. Javascript is required for the selection of a player. Koufax later said, "I had nothing at all." On Sept. 9, 1965, Sandy Koufax tossed the eighth perfect game in MLB history, defeating the Cubs 1-0 at Dodger Stadium. [2][66][84], Before the 1966 season began, Koufax and Drysdale met separately with general manager Buzzie Bavasi to negotiate their contracts for the upcoming year. In 12 Major Obama continued: "He can't pitch on Yom Kippur. Branch Rickey, then the general manager of the Pirates, told his scout Clyde Sukeforth that Koufax had the "greatest arm [he had] ever seen". Award by a unanimous vote . The new park had a large foul territory and a comparatively poor hitting background. Sandy Koufax has a net worth of $10 million and earns $167,000 per year, according to the website Celebrity Net Worth. But this past summer, almost 60 years after the Hall of Fame pitcher sat out a World Series game to observe . Every single product on this site has been approved and licensed by Sandy Koufax. Arrives before Christmas Only 16 left in stock - order soon. What I don't understand is how he lost five, said Hall of Famer Yogi Berra in 1963. Still, his accomplishments on the field led to his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. strikeouts . Koufax, at age 36 in 1972, became the youngest player ever elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Koufax's numbers were that of a struggling lefty trying to find his way. However, due to changes in Hall practices, the 1972 induction ceremony was nearly eight months after the election, leaving Koufax slightly older than Gehrig, who had no formal induction ceremony, at the time of his induction. and to strike out more than nine batters (9 .28) per nine innings . (Age 19-176d, Thanks in no small part to his late-career supremacy, Koufax cards are sought after and, in many cases, extremely valuable. Koufax ended up getting $125,000 and Drysdale $110,000 (equivalent to $0.92million in 2021). He had six exemplary seasons in the 1960s. The Dodgers won the pennant, and Koufax won the first of three pitchers' Triple Crowns, leading the league in wins (25), strikeouts (306) and ERA (1.88). He was 36-40 with a 4.10 ERA and allowed close to 13 base runners per nine innings, including over five walks per game. Calculations provided by Sean Smith Christmas only 16 left in stock - order soon winning streaks in both and. 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