"The Best Pitcher I've Ever Seen"

When I was six years old, Sandy Koufax retired from the game of baseball. I don't remember ever getting a chance to watch him pitch, unlike the great Bob Gibson who didn't retire until I was fifteen. Koufax's career was shortened substantially by persistent pain in his elbow, shortening his career substantially. And yet he is considered one of the greatest pitchers to ever take a mound in the major leagues. Chicago Cubs' manager Leo Durocher, who had led the New York Giants to pennants in 1951 and 1954, came right to the point.

"Koufax is the best pitcher I've ever seen."

Durocher had been Babe Ruth's teammate in 1928. He had seen Walter Johnson, Bob Grove, Dizzy Dean, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Warren Spahn, Bob Feller, Whitey Ford, and Carl Hubbell.

Leo wasn't just being nice, especially since Leo was hardly ever nice.

Durocher's statement is significant. Sandy Koufax had more talent than any pitcher Leo had ever seen. Other pitchers had much better careers, but none was a great as Koufax.

Nearly 300 pitchers in AL/NL history have started more games than Koufax. Nearly 200 have racked up more wins. Eighty-one have accrued more wins above replacement (WAR), per Baseball-Reference.

But few have crafted a legacy as respected and enduring as the Dodgers left-hander, especially in so short a time.

Koufax only pitched in the Majors for 12 seasons and didn’t truly find his form until the last six of those. He suited up for the last time before his 31st birthday, and won a Cy Young that season despite being in constant pain. Yet Koufax’s peak performance was so breathtaking -- and his style so indelible -- that more than a half-century after elbow woes forced an early retirement, his name still conjures thoughts of greatness and glory.

Here is a quick example, the Triple Crown is most famous with regard to hitters (batting average, home runs, RBIs), but there’s one for pitchers, too (wins, ERA, strikeouts). Koufax not only won three NL pitching Triple Crowns (1963, ’65, ’66), he actually led all of MLB in the three categories in each of those seasons. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Koufax is the only pitcher to finish first in the Majors in wins, ERA and strikeouts in the same season three different times since earned runs became an official stat in both leagues in 1913. Since Koufax’s trifecta, only three pitchers have accomplished this feat (Dwight Gooden in 1985, Johan Santana in 2006 and Shane Bieber in a shortened season in 2020).

In fact, when it comes to hits allowed per nine innings, Sandy Koufax is second only to Nolan Ryan. 

His brilliance and talent is undeniable, and despite the "what if's" his achievements are still discussed today. In fact, there are a lot of great players that I wish I had been able to see play in their prime, but Koufax is on my short list of those all-time greats. 

Maybe Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra said it best after his Yankees had been swept by the Dodgers in the 1963 World Series, “I understand how Koufax won 25 games. I just don’t understand how he lost 5.”