For Alan Ziegler: "Koufax could do things with a baseball nobody has been able to do before or since.”

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The great Ernie Banks described what it was like to face Koufax. “It was frightening. He had that tremendous fastball that would rise, and a great curveball that started at the eyes and broke to the ankles. In the end you knew you were going to be embarrassed. You were either going to strike out or foul out.”1 Banks said, “He was the greatest pitcher I ever saw. Most of the time we knew what was coming. He held his hands closer to his head when he threw a curveball, but it didn’t matter.”2

Koufax’s build – huge back, long arms, and exceptionally long fingers – enabled him to put extra spin on his pitches. According to Dodgers catcher Norm Sherry, Koufax could “do things with a baseball nobody has been able to do before or since.”3 Pictures show that the baseball was as low as the top of his left ankle when he reached back to throw. He then propelled the ball with a fluid over-the-top delivery that utilized the weight and force of his body.4

Koufax believed his natural gifts required him to work hard at his job of winning games. His personal integrity was deep. It took six seasons for him to master his wildness, however, and his career was halted after the 1966 season by an arthritic left elbow. His decision to retire at the age of 30 after such a dominant run left many, both inside and outside of baseball, wondering why he would leave at the top of his game. Yet this too contributed to his aura. When he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972, he was just 36 years old – the youngest man ever inducted. Decades after his retirement, debate still stirs over Koufax’s dazzling peak vs. his career totals.

Two other factors fueled Koufax’s legend. As one of the greatest Jewish baseball players ever, he became a hero in that community, especially after refusing to pitch the opening game of the World Series in 1965 because it fell on the High Holy Day of Yom Kippur.5 The other was his deep sense of privacy. Koufax was, and still is, a greatly admired figure – yet he chose to make few public appearances. Remaining out of the spotlight gave Koufax sightings extra cachet. “Awestruck” is another word frequently attached to this man. Opponents and fans felt that way watching him on the mound, and he retained a unique personal presence.
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from Marc Z. Aaron's SABR Biography of Sandy Koufax

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/sandy-koufax/

Comments

[Jeffrey Meizlik]

Now they say if a starting pitcher goes six innings it's a quality start. In Koufax's last year, with arthritis, he won 27 games. 27 COMPLETE games.