"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: SANDY KOUFAX

On the blog today, we add "The Left Arm of God" Sandy Koufax to my ongoing "Classic Baseball" custom set, to be released in the near future in multiple series celebrating the game I love so much:

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?

 

REVISITING A TEN-YEAR-OLD POST: 1975 CY YOUNG SUB-SET: 1965 WINNERS

Fun card/post to revisit today: from April of 2014, my 1975 Cy Young winners for 1965 sub-set, imagining if Topps also created a Cy Young set to go along with their wildly popular MVP set in that beautiful, colorful set from just under 50 years ago:

Here's the original write-up for the post from eons ago:

"We're up to 1965 on my Cy Young sub-set for the 1975 set, and once again we are visited by Mr. Sandy Koufax, who would have won his third such award in a row had there been voting for both leagues back then.

Koufax is joined by Minnesota Twins pitcher Jim "Mudcat" Grant, who was selected by the people at SABR as the probable winner in the American League.

For Koufax it was business as usual, as he posted another monster season on the hill, going 26-8 with a 2.04 earned run average and a then Major League record 382 strikeouts.

He also threw eight shutouts among his league-leading 27 complete games, and threw in two saves for good measure.

He also finished second behind Willie Mays for the National League Most Valuable Player award, receiving six first-place votes to Mays' nine.

After 30 some-odd years of looking at his stats I'm still blown away by them! 

What a freaking run of domination.

Over in the American League, Jim Grant came out of nowhere to post what is easily his best year as a Major League pitcher, going 21-7 with a 3.30 E.R.A., a league-leading six shutouts and 142 strikeouts.

Up until the 1965 season, Grant's top win total his previous seven seasons in the bigs was 15 in 1961 for the Cleveland Indians.

For HIS efforts in 1965 he finished sixth in M.V.P. voting, behind teammate Zoilo Versalles in Minnesota's improbable run to the World Series, where they lost to, (who else?), Sandy Koufax and his Los Angeles Dodgers.

Next up, 1966, where the Twins and Dodgers are represented once again, this time with Koufax being joined by Twins' pitcher Jim Kaat."

 

WTHBALLS "BASEBALL ICONS" SPECIAL SET: SANDY KOUFAX

Today we add the great Sandy Koufax, fellow Brooklynite and "The Left Arm of God" to my future custom set, "Icons of Baseball", an artier set using backdrops of the player's home field in popping color:

I love anything to do with Koufax, and any chance to design a card for him is jumped at.

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?

1960S ALL-DECADE TEAM: N.L. LEFT-HANDED PITCHER: SANDY KOUFAX

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?

1960'S CAREER-CAPPERS INSERTS: SANDY KOUFAX

Good day all.

Today's blog post has my Sandy Koufax special insert that was part of my "1960s Career-Cappers" set released a few years ago, one of the more popular custom sets I've created over the years:

Koufax was unstoppable yet again in 1966, posting an incredible 27-9 record along with a 1.72 earned run average and 317 strikeouts in 41 starts, along with five shutouts and 27 complete games, before shocking the world with his premature retirement because of arm problems.
Along with an easy Cy Young Award, giving him an unprecedented third such claim to baseball’s top pitching prize, he finished second to the Pirates’ Roberto Clemente for league MVP.
It was the fifth season in a row that Koufax overpowered National League batters, leading the league in ERA each and every time, along with THREE 25+ win & 300+ strikeout campaigns.
But sadly and shockingly, Koufax would have to retire at the top of his game because of the aforementioned recurring arm problems that could have left him without the use of his left arm the rest of his life.
Rather than suffer long-term injury, Koufax left the game and many of us to wonder so many “what-if’s” had he been able to continue on into the 1970’s.

Easily the youngest player in this set who retired during the decade of the 1960s, he still produced enough legendary moments in his career to leave a lasting legacy as one of the great pitchers in the sport's history.

1960'S "IN-ACTION": 1966 SANDY KOUFAX

Closing out another week here on the blog, we spotlight my 1966 "In-Action" card for Hall of Fame lefty Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers legend and fellow-Bensonhurst, Brooklyn native:

Just a fun card imagining if Topps got into producing cards with action photography years before the 1971 set, making for a more varied card collection in the 1960s.

Koufax was unstoppable yet again in 1966, posting an incredible 27-9 record along with a 1.72 earned run average and 317 strikeouts in 41 starts, along with five shutouts and 27 complete games.
Along with an easy Cy Young Award, giving him an unprecedented third such claim to baseball’s top pitching prize, he finished second to the Pirates’ Roberto Clemente for league MVP.
It was the fifth season in a row that Koufax overpowered National League batters, leading the league in ERA each and every time, along with THREE 25+ win & 300+ strikeout campaigns.
But sadly and shockingly, Koufax would have to retire at the top of his game because of recurring arm problems that could have left him without the use of his left arm the rest of his life.
Rather than suffer long-term injury, Koufax left the game and many of us to wonder so many “what-if’s” had he been able to continue on into the 1970’s.

 

MISSING IN ACTION: 1966 WORLD SERIES CARD: 1965 GAME SEVEN

On the blog today, we finally get to the seventh game of the 1965 World Series, in a 1966 sub-set that Topps decided to skip in their set:

After falling behind in the Series two-games-to-one, the Los Angeles Dodgers came all the way back to win it all in the seventh game, thanks in part to Sandy Koufax and his three-hit shutout, in which he struck out ten.

Koufax was masterful, as he walked three while giving up two singles and a double, winning his second game of the Series after a Game Two loss, giving the Dodgers their second championship in three years.

For the Minnesota Twins, their Game Two winner Jim Kaat took the loss this time, giving up two runs in his three innings of work, the only two runs the Dodgers would score, or even need for that matter.

Lou Johnson hit a homer while Wes Parker went two-for-four with an RBI for the Dodgers, with Jim Gilliam also collecting two hits in the Fall Classic.

That wraps up a fun "missing" 1960's sub-set here on the blog, and I hope to tackle a few others over the rest of the year.

See you then!

MISSING IN ACTION: 1965 WORLD SERIES GAME 5

Today on the blog, we move on to Game 5 of the 1965 World Series in my "missing" 1966 sub-set, which Topps decided to skip in their set:

And just like that the Los Angeles Dodgers came all the way back from a two-games-to-none hole to take the Series lead, three-games-to-two, thanks to Game Two loser Sandy Koufax, who came back to toss a fantastic four-hit shutout, striking out 10 batters.

It was ALL Dodgers this game, with L.A. pouncing on Twins' starter Jim Kaat early for two runs in the first and two more in the third, giving Koufax all the support he needed as he cruised to the complete game win.

For the Dodgers, Maury Wills would go 4-for-5 while Ron Fairly went 3-for-5, out-hitting the Twins themselves by three hits!

Twins starters mustered three hits against Koufax, with pinch-hitter Sandy Valdespino picking up a hit as well.

Heading into Game Six, the Dodgers were poised to win their second championship in three years, see you next week for that card!

 

CAREER-CAPPERS: 1967 SANDY KOUFAX

On the blog today, a card many have (rightfully) created since Topps inexplicably left out of their 1967 set, a "career-capper" for all-time great Sandy Koufax, who shocked the sports world by retiring after taking home his third Cy Young Award because of an arthritic elbow:

Koufax was unstoppable yet again in 1966, posting an incredible 27-9 record along with a 1.72 earned run average and 317 strikeouts in 41 starts, along with five shutouts and 27 complete games.
Along with an easy Cy Young Award, giving him an unprecedented third such claim to baseball’s top pitching prize, he finished second to the Pirates’ Roberto Clemente for league MVP.
It was the fifth season in a row that Koufax overpowered National League batters, leading the league in ERA each and every time, along with THREE 25+ win & 300+ strikeout campaigns.
But sadly and shockingly, Koufax would have to retire at the top of his game because of recurring arm problems that could have left him without the use of his left arm the rest of his life.
Rather than suffer long-term injury, Koufax left the game and many of us to wonder so many “what-if’s” had he been able to continue on into the 1970’s.

1960'S SEASONAL LEADERS- STRIKEOUTS

Next up in my 1960’s “decade’s Leaders” thread is strikeouts by a pitcher, and we have two big guns to speak of, Sandy Koufax and Sam McDowell, who K’d 382 and 325 batters respectively in seasons during the decade, setting the high-water mark between 1960-69:

Of course, Koufax and his 382 strikeouts set the new modern Major League record in 1965, topping the 349 strikeouts Rube Waddell put up in 1904.
As a matter of fact, until Koufax came along the National League record for strikeouts in a season was the 267 by Christy Mathewson in 1903! So that number jumped by nearly 50% thanks to the “Left Arm of God”!
In the American League, McDowell’s 325 strikeouts in 1965 made him the first pitcher to top 300 K’s in a season since the great Bob Feller did it 19 years earlier when he fanned 348 batters in 1946.
“Sudden Sam” would also top 300 K’s in 1970, when he struck out 304 batters to lead the league for the fifth time in six years, his last K-crown.
Two power-pitchers in the prime of their careers right here, bringing back the strikeout game after a few decades of low seasonal leader totals.

1960'S SEASONAL LEADERS- PITCHING WINS

Today’s 1960’s high-water mark in stats is pitching wins, and anytime you can have a new card with Sandy Koufax on it is a good day!
Check it out:

Koufax topped the National League with 27 wins in 1966, in what would sadly be his last year in the Majors due to arm trouble which led him to retire prematurely.
It was the last season in a five year run rarely seen before or since by any pitcher in Major League history.
In those five years between 1962 and 1966 he led the league in wins three times, earned run average five times, shutouts three times, and strikeouts three times!
He took home three Cy Young Awards and an MVP (1963), finished second in MVP twice, was named to the all-star team every season and pitched the Los Angeles Dodgers to two World Championships (1963 & 1965).
On the American League side of course, we have Denny McLain and his 31 wins from the “Year of the Pitcher”, 1968.
As a 24-year older, McLain just dominated A.L. Batters, going 31-6 with a 1.96 E.R.A., six shutouts and 280 strikeouts! Needless to say he took home BOTH the A.L. Cy Young Award and M.V.P. That year, a year that saw the Detroit Tigers win it all after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.
He wouldn’t disappoint in 1969 either, winning 24 games and tossing nine shutouts while sharing the Cy Young with Baltimore Orioles pitcher Mike Cuellar.
But sadly for McLain, troubles began the very next season and he’d be out of baseball after 1972 at only 28-years of age.
Back to Koufax for a second: I always wonder what he could have done during that 1968 “Year of the Pitcher” season. Who knows, perhaps HE could have been the last 30-game winner?

TURN BACK THE CLOCK- KOUFAX TAKES HOME ANOTHER BITTERSWEET CY YOUNG AWARD

The next “Turn Back the Clock” card in the thread celebrates and remembers the third and final Cy Young Award for the Dodgers great pitcher Sandy Koufax, who put in yet another dominating season on the mound, but soon had to walk away because of arm trouble:

Koufax was unstoppable yet again in 1966, posting an incredible 27-9 record along with a 1.72 earned run average and 317 strikeouts in 41 starts, along with five shutouts and 27 complete games.
Along with an easy Cy Young Award, giving him an unprecedented third such claim to baseball’s top pitching prize, he finished second to the Pirates’ Roberto Clemente for league MVP.
It was the fifth season in a row that Koufax over-powered National League batters, leading the league in ERA each and every time, along with THREE 25+ win & 300+ strikeout campaigns.
But sadly and shockingly, Koufax would have to retire at the top of his game because of recurring arm problems that could have left him without the use of his left arm the rest of his life.
Rather than suffer long-term injury, Koufax left the game and many of us to wonder so many “what-if’s” had he been able to continue on into the 1970’s.

TURN BACK THE CLOCK- SANDY KOUFAX THROWS PERFECT GAME

Today we have a “Turn Back The Clock” card to celebrate Sandy Koufax and his Perfect Game of September 9th, 1965, against the Chicago Cubs in what many consider the greatest game ever pitched by BOTH pitchers:

Having been winless for just about three weeks at the time, Koufax came in to start against the Cubs and their recent call-up Bob Hendley (the 1st 1966 card I ever got by the way).
The game would turn out to be historical for more than just Koufax and his fourth no-hitter.
Turns out for seven innings Bob Hendley would match the great lefty frame for frame, not allowing a hit to the eventual World Champions until Lou Johnson hit a bloop behind the second baseman to break up HIS no-hitter.
Koufax, however, would keep going, not allowing a Cubs base-runner, let alone a Cubs hit, striking out 14 batters in setting a new Major League record with FOUR no-hitters, one more than Indians legend Bob Feller.
Sadly for Hendley, the lone hit he would give up didn’t even factor into the one unearned run he would give up in the tough loss.
In the bottom of the fifth inning the Dodgers would score after a walk to Lou Johnson, followed by a sacrifice by Ron Fairly, a steal of third by Johnson which led to a error by catcher Chris Krug allowing Johnson to score.
The game had a total of ONE hit and TWO base-runners, and would be the last time the Cubs were no-hit until Cole Hamels pulled the trick in 2015.
Koufax would hold that record of four no-hitters until a guy like Nolan Ryan came along and threw his fifth in 1981, followed by two more some ten years later giving him a total of seven, which will probably never be matched.

TURN BACK THE CLOCK: KOUFAX BEGINS HIS INCREDIBLE RUN IN 1963

In baseball history, “1963” can be considered the “Year of Koufax”, and though it would start a four year stretch that few, if any, have had in Major League baseball, this was the season that truly introduced the “Left Arm of God” to the masses.
So today we have a 1973 “Turn Back the Clock” card celebrating the 10th anniversary of Koufax and his breakout season:

Though he led the National League in earned run average the year before, and set the new league mark with 269 strikeouts in 1961, Koufax really took over the game in 1963 when he posted a 25-5 record to go along with a 1.88 ERA and 306 strikeouts, all league leading numbers for the pitching Triple Crown, as well as 11 shutouts and a ridiculous 0.875 WHIP, easily earning him the first of three Cy Young Awards and a Most Valuable Player Award.
As if that wasn’t enough, the guy would then pitch two complete game wins against the New York Yankees in the World Series, helping the Dodgers win the championship by striking out 23 batters over 18-innings, finishing with a nifty 1.50 ERA, giving him another award that season, the World Series MVP.
It’s amazing to think that for his career, Koufax posted an ERA of 0.95 in the World Series over eight games, seven of which were starts and four of which were complete games, and only ended up with a 4-3 record!
Regardless, over the next four seasons until forced to retire after the 1966 season, Koufax posted a record of 97-27! The man almost AVERAGED 25 wins a year over four years!
And let’s not forget five straight ERA crowns between 1962-1966, three shutout crowns, and three seasons of 300 or more strikeouts when NO OTHER N.L. pitcher even reached that lofty number ONCE.
Just amazing.
Koufax has always been one of my favorite baseball icons since I was a kid growing up in the very same neighborhood he grew up in, Bensonhurst. Brooklyn, just blocks from his high school, Lafayette.

TURN BACK THE CLOCK- 1962 SANDY KOUFAX THROWS 1ST NO-HITTER

Next up in the “Turn Back The Clock” thread is a celebration of Los Angeles Dodgers legend Sandy Koufax throwing what would be the first of his four no-hitters, this one in 1962 against the Mets:

On June 30th, 1962, a year in which it was becoming evident that the young lefty from Brooklyn was beginning to harness all his potential, Koufax struck out 13 Mets, though still walking five, while cruising to a 5-0 win.
Just under 30,000 witnessed the pitching gem in person,, not realizing that they were seeing the unveiling of one of the most dominant pitching stretches in baseball history, as Koufax would go on to throw three more no-nos, including a perfect game in 1965, while collecting three Cy Young Awards and an MVP while leading the Dodgers to two World Championships in 1963 and 1965.
Sadly as we all know Koufax would have that dominance swept out from under him after the 1966 season because of arm troubles, and he had to retire while at the height of his career.
Nevertheless he accomplished enough in those few short years that he would be welcomed into the Hall of Fame’s hallowed doors just six years later in his first year of eligibility.

FANTASY CARD- 1972 SANDY KOUFAX IN-ACTION

Let’s close out the “Fantasy” Koufax series with a 1972 “In-Action card of the lefty legend shall we? I used a horizontal format for some in-game action for the fellow Brooklyn-native:

Thus end my dream cards of Koufax playing into the 1970’s, wondering all the incredible numbers he could have racked up had not injuries stopped his career to a dead halt, right after taking home his third Cy Young Award in four years in 1966.
What COULD he have done during the “Year of the Pitcher” in 1968? Man we can only wonder...

FANTASY 1972 SANDY KOUFAX CARD

A while back I started my Sandy Koufax “Fantasy” set of cards with both 1970 and 1971 creations, and today I present my last one, a 1972 version (though of course there WILL be an “In-Action” card for the ‘72 set as well!):

This was just my “what if” had Koufax’s career not been derailed by arm troubles, forcing him to retire after another dominating season in 1966. A season which saw him win his third Cy Young Award in four years.
We all know how he’d end up the youngest member of the Hall of Fame just a handful of years later, and a common face in Dodger Spring Training camps after that.
But boy, the “what if’s” that bounce around in my head, even WITH the Hall of Fame career he already put in...

FANTASY CARD: 1971 SANDY KOUFAX

Here’s my next “Fantasy” Sandy Koufax card, imagining the legendary lefty pitched into the decade of the 1970’s:

I wanted to mimic the nice action cards of the 1971 set (Munson, McDaniel, etc), giving “The Left Arm of God” an in-game shot instead of a posed photo like I used for the 1970 card.
Who knows “what could have been”? 300 wins? 3000 strikeouts? More Cy Young Awards?

FANTASY CARD: 1970 SANDY KOUFAX

Here’s another fantasy 1970 card, this time of future Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax, who had his career cut short because of injury:

“What if” the man was able to keep on pitching after the age of 30?
By 1970 he would have only been 34 during what would have been his 16th year pitching in the Majors.
Could he have kept up the astronomical pace he had going between 1962 and 1966? Could he have thrown MORE no-hitters? Could he have won more than three Cy Young Awards?
I always wondered what HE would have accomplished during 1968, the “year of the pitcher”. Could have been ridiculous!
Sadly we all know how his career ended abruptly after another masterful season in 1966, leaving us with all the “what if’s” we could come up with for the next 50 years since his retirement.
Can you imagine if he was able to pitch until 36? We’d have Koufax cards up until 1972 or so.
Would have been awesome, so I think I’ll create them all. Keep an eye out over the next few months as I put them on my list...

HALL OF FAME #14: SANDY KOUFAX: CLASS OF 1972

Here's a fun card for the Hall of Fame thread: fellow Bensonhurst, Brooklyn native Sandy Koufax and his 1972 induction:

I love anything to do with Koufax, and any chance to design a card for him is jumped at.

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?