“Sandy would strike me out two or three times a game. I knew every pitch he was going to throw, and I still could not hit him.”
— Willie Mays, Hall of Fame outfielder
Short versions of the meaning of the word dominator would be someone of importance who has authority or control, or who rules over a situation.
The list is long and too many to name, but the major league pitchers who were in complete control during a game would have to include the Dodgers’ crafty left-handed Hall of Famer, Sandy Koufax. Koufax is the youngest man ever inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, at the age of 36 in 1972. He was only the second Jewish player ever to be inducted.
Not the official list, but my first reaction would be to place Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson right at the top, and Bob Gibson would be in my threesome. Can you imagine how hard it was to hit any of those three guys? Where would you place Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton, and Don Sutton? Maybe put them in your lineup with Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and Gaylord Perry. What about Walter Johnson, Clayton Kershaw, Cy Young, Jim Bunning, and Greg Maddux? Can’t leave them off. There are others, and I am reminded of the WWII era patriots, Bob Feller and Warren Spahn.
The Dodgers franchise officials would have been smiling if they had known that on Dec. 30, 1935, not far from Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, a future phenom pitcher was born. A Brooklyn native he was, and destiny saw to it that Mr. Koufax would become a name associated with Dodger successes, feted as one of the greatest pitchers of all time.
Koufax was born with the last name Sanford Braun, with the last name Koufax being added, named after his stepfather. Sandy is the name he used and is recorded in most written accounts of this great icon.
Sandy Koufax never played in the minor leagues, as he started with the Brooklyn Dodgers at age 19 in 1955. Fate was with him from the start, as this was the storybook team that beat the Yankees in the World Series. A few other names that never played in the lower leagues. Consider Mel Ott, Al Kaline, Ernie Banks, Catfish Hunter, and Dick Groat. There are others.
Koufax teamed up with Don Drysdale, and they became an unbeatable team on and off the field. By that I mean working together on TV, doing commercials, special events and Dodger promotions, magazine and newspaper articles; they were household names. They even teamed up as a pair of holdouts one year to try to get the Dodgers to raise their salaries. My guess is that before the players’ union, they were very limited as to how much leverage they could muster against the dictatorial management of Major League Baseball.
Sandy attended Columbia University after high school and later the University of Cincinnati with the intention of becoming an architect.
Ironically, his path led him to baseball. He started playing in local leagues around New York City. While in school playing basketball for the University of Cincinnati, he was recruited by the baseball team. Boy, if that baseball coach had only known how his choosing Sandy to play for him would affect Major League Baseball history.
Koufax only pitched 12 seasons in the big leagues, all with the Dodgers, and retired because of arm trouble. With sports medicine as it is today, he may have been able to pitch longer with modern treatments and protocols.
Starting in Brooklyn in ’55, he pitched through 1966, ending the majority of his years with the LA Dodgers. In 397 games, he posted a record of 165 wins and 87 losses, logging an amazing .655 winning percentage. He fanned 2,396 batters and only walked 817.
Sandy made the All-Star team 7 times and was the National League MVP in 1963. He captured the Cy Young Award three times and was a two-time World Series MVP. He was on 4 World Championship Dodgers teams: ’55, ’59, ’63, and ’65. He was the National League strikeout leader 4 times. He had 4 no-hitters and one perfect game.
On Sept. 9th 1965, at Dodger Stadium, he pitched a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs. Incidentally, the losing pitcher for the Cubs was Bob Hendley, a native of Macon, Georgia, and a standout hurler for Lanier High School in Macon back in the 1950s.
Sandy Koufax’s jersey No. 32 is retired by the Dodgers. He is recognized as a member of the Major League’s All-Time Team, the All-Century Team, and, of course, the Hall of Fame. Sandy is soon to be 91 years old and is active as a supporter and a goodwill ambassador for the Dodgers and baseball in general. He was the best of the best.