I don't know why this struck me today. Guess I saw the article that he'd spoken with Pedro Martinez and I thought how great it is that a baseball legend from the 60's is still alive and active. My Grandfather used to talk about Koufax with great admiration and respect. He was a huge Dodger fan from the 50's until he passed in '74.

Sandy Koufax, 1965 Game Seven
Koufax pitched the Dodgers to a 2-0 victory, retiring 20 of the last 23 Minnesota batters he faced. The Dodger left-hander went the distance, allowing just three hits and fanning ten batters for his second victory of the Fall Classic. Koufax' ERA for the series was 0.38 with 29 strikeouts in two complete games.

“I can see how he won 25 games. What I don't understand is how he lost five.”
— Yogi Berra, in 1963

"Hitters swear to this day that his fastball rose. Here is what Stan Musial said: "Rose up just before it got to the plate". Willie Mays: "I don't know how much it rose, it just rose". Hank Aaron, the one hitter Koufax never had a plan for, said "It did something, you know?". Physicists insist that this rise is an optical illusion because it doesn't sink like every other fastball hitters have seen. But Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning represents anyone that ever saw Koufax: "Physics is full of (expletive)".

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE3oc7zUOJ8

www.baseball-almanac.com/boxscore/09091965.shtml

When he learned how to control his awesome power in the final half of his career he was just beyond outstanding.

 

Stud indeed.....I heard he's a real private guy.

Drysdale was someone I wish I got to see pitch.

[at least I got to hear DD announce Dodger games before he died.]

 

Which one of those two was it that "the Beave" & his friends phoned the Dodgers dugout to talk to & didn't realize how much the call would cost...anybody remember that "Leave it to Beaver" episode?

I think both of them did some bit parts in TV shows like that (Dennis the Menace maybe?)

 

September 9, 1965, my 21st birthday. The gal pal and I went to Dodger Stadium..Dodgers vs. Cubs.

Koufax pitched a perfect game, the score 1-0. The only run the Dodgers scored was on an error.

btw: Box seats in those days were $3.50 each.

 

From IMDb.com

Don Drysdale played in one episode of Leave it to Beaver, appearing as himself (1962)

Title of show: Long Distance Call

Sandy Koufax wasn't in the show, but he did appear in other roles playing characters and appearing as himself.

 

as a young kid i was a big fan of sandy koufax,to bad he had arm problems and left the game ,they say his curve ball acted like it dropped off a table at the batters box,one of the games greatest

 

I think one of them played in an eposode of the Munsters.


Of course, Herman could out throw all of 'em......

 

What about Bob Feller? I don't know who said it, but after three perfect, blinding pitches from Feller, and unable to even swing at any of them, the player turned to the umpire and said, "that last one SOUNDED a little low..."

 

It is estimated that Leroy "Satchel" Paige was born on July 7, 1905. The mere idea that his birthday is an estimate provides perfect evidence to the mystery that was Satchel Paige. In 1965, 60 years after Paige's supposed birthday, he took the mound for the last time, throwing three shutout innings for the Kansas City Athletics.

Joe DiMaggio called Satchel Paige "the best and fastest pitcher I've ever faced". His pitching was amazing and his showboating was legendary. His career highlights span five decades. Pronounced the greatest pitcher in the history of the Negro Leagues, Paige compiled such feats as 64 consecutive scoreless innings, a stretch of 21 straight wins, and a 31-4 record in 1933. For 22 years, Paige mauled the competition in front of sellout crowds. Sure, he liked the attention, but to him, there was only one goal. That goal would be to pitch in the Major Leagues.

In 1948, Paige's dream came true. The Cleveland Indians were in need of extra pitching for the pennant race. Legendary Bill Veeck tested Paige's accuracy before offering him a big league contract. As the story is told, Veeck placed a cigarette on the ground to be used as a home plate. Paige took aim at his virtually nonexistent target. He fired five fastballs, all but one sailing directly over the cigarette. Veeck was indeed pleased, and Paige helped the Indians win the pennant.

 

First book I read as a kid, circa 1970....The baseball life of Sandy Koufax.

 

Pirates pitcher Harvey Haddix pitched 12 perfect innings against the Milwaukee Braves in 1959, a feat that'll prolly never be duplicated.

He lost in the 13th on an error and a double by Eddie Mathews.

 

He and Big D held out for 100k apiece. People said "no body is worth that kind of money".
Watch him pitching on you tube or anywhere else you might find some video. In his wind-up, his left hand damn near touches the ground. An unreal, snapping curve ball.

One of a kind.

 

$100K equals about $680K in todays dollars (using the Consumer Price Index to calculate). However, this amount still ain't SQUAT compared to Clemmens' $28,000,000.00 he received in the 2007 season.

-or-

Clemmens' made more money in one day sitting on his *** in the bullpen between rotations ($145K), than Koufax or Drysdale did in one season.