Happy 75th birthday to Hall of Fame (HOF) southpaw Sandy Koufax. Few will argue that New York Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter is the straw that stirs the Manhattan - really, Bronx - baseball cocktail. The iconic Yankee captain lives the picture-perfect life for which some men would give their right arms: drop-dead gorgeous eligible bachelor, 2,926 career hits, five World Series rings, a trail of actress/model girlfriends (Minka Kelly, Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba, Joy Enriquez, Mariah Carey). A-Rod without the personal and professional package.
Forty-five years earlier and one coast away, Koufax (aka, The Left Arm of God) led the dream life in Los Angeles that Jeter now enjoys in Manhattan. Handsome, stylish and at the top of his game, Koufax was considered one of the most eligible bachelors in a town full of movie stars.
At age 29, Koufax amassed an impressive collection of Major League Baseball (MLB) bric-a-brac while pitching for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers: four World Series rings; two Cy Young Awards as MLB's top pitcher of the year (1963 and 1965, back when sportswriters selected one hurler amongst the National and American leagues); 1963 NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) plaque; and two Chevrolet Corvettes presented to Koufax as the 1963 and 1965 World Series MVP (back when Sport magazine - remember them? - honored Series MVPs with kick-ass sports cars).
At age 29, Koufax distinguished himself as the most dominating left-hander in baseball. From 1961 to 1965, Koufax amassed an astonishing record of 102-38 (.729 winning percentage), 2.31 ERA and 1,396 strikeouts. Koufax hurled four no-hitters, including one perfect game.
In 1964, doctors diagnosed Koufax with traumatic arthritis after the pitcher was unable to straighten out his left arm pitching a 13-strikeout game. One year later, Koufax experienced hemorrhaging that turned his invaluable arm black and blue. The Dodgers team physician warned Koufax that he would someday lose full use of his left arm. According to the 1966 autobiography Koufax, the All-Star pitcher subjected himself to a treatment regimen that included Empirin with codeine for pain, Butazolidin for inflammation, application of the capsaicin-based analgesic ointment (referenced as "atomic balm" by baseball players) and a post-game ice bath. (Mark McGwire attempted to justify his use of performance-enhancement drugs as a means to treat the numerous - and inevitable - nagging injuries that he experienced over the course of his career. Compare and contrast: stoic hero and whiner who resorts to rationalizations.)
Tailors altered Koufax's his suits altered to compensate for the permanent shortening of the left arm.
Koufax made headlines when he declined to pitch in the first game of the 1965 World series. Game One fell on Yom Kippur, the holiest of all Jewish holidays. Koufax did not resort to grandstanding tactics to express his devotion to his religion.
Koufax would pitch only one more amazing season in which he would compile a 27-9 record (.750), yield only 62 earned runs in 323 innings (1.73 ERA) and strike out 317 batters. Game Two of the 1966 World Series pitted Koufax against the Baltimore Orioles' promising right hander named Jim Palmer. Leaving the sixth inning after center fielder Willie Davis uncharacteristically committed three errors, Koufax lost the game to Palmer, who threw a four-hit shutout. After Baltimore swept the Dodgers, Koufax announced his retirement.
In an abbreviated 12-year career, Koufax's career statistics (165-87, 2,396 strikeouts, 2.76 ERA) provide interesting contrasts with those of southpaw Steve Carlton (329-244, 4,136 strikeouts, 3.22 ERA) and Randy Johnson (303-166, 4,875 strikeouts, 3.29 ERA). Koufax stands apart for his New Frontier cool that would enable him to fit in on the Mad Men set.
We should all be as cool.
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