11 stats that show why Koufax is a legend
A model of this story first ran in January 2022.
In 1972, Sandy Koufax was formally voted into the Hall of Fame, alongside Yogi Berra and Early Wynn. He was solely 36 years previous, an indication each of how dominant he was at his greatest and the untimely finish to his profession.
Nearly 300 pitchers in AL/NL historical past have began extra video games than Koufax. Nearly 200 have racked up extra wins. Eighty-one have accrued extra wins above alternative (WAR), as a pitcher, per Baseball-Reference.
But few have crafted a legacy as revered and enduring because the Dodgers left-hander, particularly in so brief a time.
Koufax solely pitched within the Majors for 12 seasons and didn’t really discover his kind till the final six of these. He suited up for the final time earlier than his thirty first birthday. Yet Koufax’s peak efficiency was so breathtaking — and his model so indelible — that greater than a half-century after elbow woes pressured an early retirement, his title nonetheless conjures ideas of greatness and glory.
Such nice heights: An all-time peak
Koufax’s profession may be conveniently break up into two halves, one earlier than he harnessed his stuff and one after.
1955-60: 4.10 ERA, 3.94 FIP, 22.5% Okay-rate, 13.4% BB-rate, 6.7 WAR
1961-66: 2.19 ERA, 2.16 FIP, 26.5% Okay-rate, 6.4% BB-rate, 46.4 WAR
How overwhelming was Koufax in these final six seasons? During that point, he made the All-Star group yearly and led the National League within the following classes: innings (twice), full video games (twice), shutouts (thrice), wins (thrice), ERA (5 instances), ERA+ (twice), FIP (six instances), WHIP (4 instances), strikeouts (4 instances), Okay-rate (5 instances), hits-per-nine-innings (5 instances), Okay-to-BB ratio (thrice) and pitching WAR (twice). Koufax had a virtually 8-WAR lead over another pitcher throughout that span and is one among simply 9 pitchers within the Live Ball Era (since 1920) with a number of 10-WAR campaigns.
Going out on high: 36 WAR in his final 4 years
What’s maybe most superb concerning the second half of Koufax’s profession is that he was regularly in agony throughout that point, after creating extreme arthritis in his left elbow. Koufax tried all kinds of remedies, however drugs was hardly as superior as it’s in the present day, and there was little he might do to flee the ache. Despite that, Koufax threw almost 1,200 regular-season innings over his final 4 years and piled up 36.3 pitching WAR. The solely pitchers within the Live Ball Era to do higher over any four-season span are Lefty Grove (1929-32 and ’30-’33), Randy Johnson (1999-2002) and Pedro Martinez (1997-2000). Nobody has come remotely near Koufax over their closing 4 seasons.
Most pitching WAR in closing 4 seasons
1920-2022, per Baseball-Reference
1) Sandy Koufax (1963-66): 36.3
2) Cliff Lee (2011-14): 20.2
3) Brandon Webb (2006-09): 18.8
4) Roger Clemens (2004-07): 18.2
5) Don Wilson (1971-74): 18.0
Best of his ERA: Five NL titles
In every of his closing 5 seasons, Koufax led the NL in ERA, making him the one pitcher in historical past to complete first in his league (AL or NL) in that class so a few years in a row. (He additionally led in FIP in every of these 5, not that anybody knew what FIP was on the time). Koufax’s complete ERA over these 5 seasons was 1.95, and he’s the one pitcher within the Live Ball Era to publish an ERA below 1.90 in three completely different qualifying seasons. Despite his sluggish begin, Koufax’s 2.76 profession ERA ranks fourth within the Live Ball Era amongst these with at the very least 2,000 innings.
The king: Three MLB Triple Crowns
The Triple Crown is most well-known with regard to hitters (batting common, dwelling runs, RBIs), however there’s one for pitchers, too (wins, ERA, strikeouts). Koufax not solely gained three NL pitching Triple Crowns (1963, ’65, ’66), he really led all of MLB within the three classes in every of these seasons. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Koufax is the one pitcher to complete first within the Majors in wins, ERA and strikeouts in the identical season three completely different instances since earned runs grew to become an official stat in each leagues in 1913. Since Koufax’s trifecta, all pitchers mixed have achieved the feat simply thrice (Dwight Gooden in 1985, Johan Santana in 2006 and Shane Bieber in a shortened season in 2020).
Okay is for Koufax: 382 in a season
With his blazing fastball and plummeting curveball, Koufax was a nightmare for hitters, particularly on this period earlier than the mound was lowered in 1969. He completed within the high 10 within the NL in strikeouts in every of his final 10 seasons (1957-66) and within the high three seven instances. Koufax led the Majors in 1961 (269), ’63 (306), ’65 (382) and ’66 (317), with Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling and Nolan Ryan the one different pitchers within the Modern Era (since 1900) to achieve the 300 mark thrice. That complete of 382 in 1965 set a contemporary single-season document, since surpassed solely by Ryan (383 in 73).
Home candy dwelling: Dominant at Dodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium didn’t open till 1962, and it’s not an entire coincidence that Koufax’s profession took off at about that time. The new ballpark was heaven for pitchers in these days, and Koufax was untouchable there. Here are his seasonal ERAs at Dodger Stadium, every of which got here in additional than 100 innings: 1.75, 1.38, 0.85, 1.38 and 1.52. That 0.85 mark is a Live Ball Era document at any ballpark (minimal 100 innings), and all 5 seasons rank within the high 100. Postseason included, Koufax made 88 profession begins at Dodger Stadium and allowed greater than three earned runs in simply 4 of them (4.5%).
Lowest profession ERA at any ballpark
Min. 500 IP, 1920-2022
1) Sandy Koufax: 1.37 (Dodger Stadium)
2) Jacob deGrom: 2.12 (Citi Field)
3) Don Drysdale: 2.19 (Dodger Stadium)
4) Clayton Kershaw: 2.22 (Dodger Stadium)
5) Dean Chance: 2.24 (Dodger Stadium)
Cy collector: Three awards in 4 years
Koufax is one among 11 pitchers in Major League historical past to declare at the very least three Cy Young Awards, and he’s the one one of many 10 to take action within the period when there was only one award (1956-66), as an alternative of separate awards for the AL and NL. All three got here in a four-season span and stay three of the most spectacular Cy-winning campaigns of all time. Koufax gained unanimously in 1963 (when he was additionally the NL MVP), ’65 and ’66 and completed third in ’64 (the Angels’ Dean Chance was first). He was the primary pitcher to win in back-to-back years, a membership that has now grown to 11. And Koufax is the one pitcher in MLB historical past to win a Cy in his closing season.
Mr. Zero: Four no-hitters
The indestructible Ryan is the all-time document holder with seven no-hitters, the final of which got here when he was 44 — 14 years older than Koufax was in his closing sport. But moreover Ryan, no pitcher can match Koufax’s 4 no-hitters, which amazingly all got here in a span of barely greater than three years, between June 30, 1962, and Sept. 9, 1965. Koufax is the one pitcher to throw one in 4 consecutive seasons, with three of these performances together with at the very least a dozen strikeouts. The lefty joins Cy Young himself as the one hurlers to incorporate an ideal sport amongst a gaggle of at the very least three no-nos. The perfecto got here towards the Cubs on Sept. 9, 1965, when Koufax struck out 14, which is tied for essentially the most in such a efficiency. Koufax’s 101 Game Score that day is tied for the fourth-highest on document in an outing of not more than 9 innings.
Owning October: 0.95 postseason ERA
Koufax nonetheless boasts some of the spectacular postseason résumés in Major League historical past. He made eight profession playoff appearances, together with seven begins (all within the World Series, which again then was the one spherical), and threw 57 innings with a 0.95 ERA. That stays the bottom in historical past for a pitcher with at the very least 5 postseason begins and the second lowest for a pitcher with 40-plus innings, trailing solely legendary nearer Mariano Rivera (0.70). Koufax dominated. He struck out 61 batters in these 57 innings, threw 4 full video games and two shutouts, and allowed a mere .180/.223/.240 batting line (.463 OPS).
A Fall Classic Favorite: Two-time World Series MVP
The Dodgers gained three of the 4 World Series wherein Koufax pitched (1959, ’63, ’65), and he had lots to do with that. In the latter two of these collection, Koufax was named the World Series MVP, making him one among three multiple-time winners, together with fellow Hall of Famers Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson.
Against the Yankees in 1963, Koufax set a postseason document — since equaled or bettered by six others — with 15 strikeouts in Game 2 earlier than coming again on three days’ relaxation to complete off the sweep with a Game 4 full sport. Against the Twins in ’65, when Koufax famously sat out Game 1 in observance of Yom Kippur, he took a tough-luck loss in Game 2 however then got here roaring again with shutouts in Game 5 (three days’ relaxation) and Game 7 (two days’ relaxation). Koufax stays the latest of 5 pitchers to throw a number of shutouts in the identical World Series, and he’s the one one to twirl two begins with a Game Score of 88 or higher in any single postseason collection.
Hello, Hall: Inducted at 36
Koufax’s peak was so spectacular that despite the fact that he hung up his spikes at age 30, there was little question that he was Hall of Fame-worthy. When Koufax first got here on the poll in 1972, he cruised previous the 75% threshold, netting 86.9% of the vote. For the sake of comparability, that’s a better proportion than fellow lefty Warren Spahn acquired on his first poll a 12 months later (83.2%) or than one other southpaw, Whitey Ford, acquired on his second poll in ’74 (77.8%). Koufax was solely 36 on the time, which makes him the youngest inductee in Hall historical past, and he’s now been enshrined in Cooperstown for greater than 50 years.
