Today we come to my pick for the National League's left-handed pitcher of the 1960s, and honestly, who else would it be other than Dodger great Sandy Koufax:
Koufax and the "Left Arm of God" legend has only gotten bigger over time.
The years between 1961 and 1966 were amazing, but it was the
1963-1966 period in particular that was just unconscious, and what got
him into Cooperstown.
Just look at the numbers, all in FOUR seasons of play:
A 97-27 record, with four E.R.A. crowns, three years of a sub-2.00
mark, 31 shutouts, 89 complete games and 1228 strikeouts, with three of
those years topping 300+ K's!
He took home three Cy Young Awards, finished third in 1964, and won
the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1963, with two other
second-place finishes in 1965 and 1966, his final two years of Major
League ball.
In the postseason he was equally as brilliant, being voted MVP of
the World Series in both 1963 and 1965, leading the Dodgers to
championships.
He posted a 4-3 lifetime record with a 0.95 earned run average, two shutouts and 61 strikeouts in 57 innings of work.
In his three losses in postseason play, he gave up THREE earned runs! So it's not like he choked in those games either.
Sadly we all know how his career ended because of arm troubles, causing him to retire at the age of only 30.
Man how I wish we could have seen him pitch into the 1970's!
Would have been awesome to see him on those card-issues into the mid-decade, no?
That five year stretch was so awesome that he was elected in the Hall on his first try, being named to 86.9% of the ballot.
There are some out there that feel he didn't "perform" long enough
to warrant a Hall selection, let alone a first-year induction.
And most of the time I'd agree.
However we are talking some rarified stuff here, so with Koufax it was indeed a no-brainer.
What do you all think? Anybody out there think Koufax didn't perform long enough for a Hall of Fame induction?