Sandy Koufax born in Brooklyn
“I became a good pitcher when I stopped trying to make them miss the ball and started trying to make them hit it,” Koufax said.
In 1961, Koufax had his first great season – going 18-13 with a National League-best 269 strikeouts. Over the next five years, Koufax was 111-34 – leading the league in ERA each season while winning three Cy Young Awards and the 1963 NL Most Valuable Player award.
All the while, Koufax established himself as one of baseball’s true gentlemen.
“There is hardly a word strong enough for the way the other players feel about Koufax,” wrote Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post. “It almost goes beyond affection to a sort of total protectiveness for a man so gentle he seems misplaced in a jock shop.”
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