Friday, June 24, 2005

Pitching is the art of instilling fear

That was one of Sandy Koufax's famous quotes. Another was "Show me a guy who can't pitch inside and I'll show you a loser."

On this date 50 years ago, Sandy Koufax made his major league debut. Koufax famously had two careers, so to speak -- his wild years and his untouchable years.

In his first six seasons, Koufax was 36-40 with a 4.57 ERA. He averaged 5.3 walks and 8.9 strikeouts per 9 innings. He had five shutouts.

Over his final six years, when he learned to harness his remarkable stuff, Koufax was 129-47 with a 2.19 ERA. He averaged 2.3 walks and 9.4 strikeouts per 9 innings. He had 35 shutouts.

He pitched a no-hitter in each year from 1962-65. In Game 7 of the 1965 World Series, he beat the Twins on a three-hit shutout -- on two days rest.

Mazel tov!

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