Sandy Koufax
Sandy Koufax is an American left-handed former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, from 1955 to 1966.
"I can understand how he won 25. What I can't understand is how he lost five."---Yogi Berra, after he faced Koufax in the 1963 World Series.
"He didn't. We lost them for him."---Maury Wills, Dodgers shortstop, told of Berra's comment.
Koufax's own quote on teammate Tommy Davis, who won the NL batting title in 1962 and 1963: "For two years Tommy was the best hitter in baseball. He just didn't get the recognition. He was part of a team that had a lot of good parts to it."
"It's no disgrace to get beat by class."---Bob Hendley, the losing Chicago Cubs pitcher in Koufax's perfect game, after Koufax sent him a gift to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the game---a 1965 NL baseball signed, "What a game!" plus a small handwritten note: "We had a moment, a night, a career. I hope life has been good to you. Sandy." Hendley himself had allowed only 1 run in the game, and nearly matched Koufax.
"A guy that throws what he intends to throw, that's the definition of a good pitcher."---Sandy Koufax
"You are part of an entertainment, but you are not really an entertainer. But I enjoyed it, probably more than people enjoyed watching it. I thank the fans for enjoying it with me."---Sandy Koufax, reviewing his playing career to Washington Post sportswriter Thomas Boswell, in 1979.
"In the end it all comes down to talent. You can talk all you want about intangibles, I just don't know what that means. Talent makes winners, not intangibles. Can nice guys win? Sure, nice guys can win - if they're nice guys with a lot of talent. Nice guys with a little talent finish fourth, and nice guys with no talent finish last."---Sandy Koufax
"Pitching is the art of instilling fear."---Sandy Koufax
"Show me a guy who can't pitch inside and I'll show you a loser."---Sandy Koufax
"The game has a cleanness. If you do a good job, the numbers say so. You don't have to ask anyone or play politics. You don't have to wait for the reviews."---Sandy Koufax
"The only time I really try for a strikeout is when I'm in a jam. If the bases are loaded with none out, for example, then I'll go for a strikeout. But most of the time I try to throw to spots. I try to get them to pop up or ground out. On a strikeout I might have to throw five or six pitches, sometimes more if there are foul-offs. That tires me. So I just try to get outs. That's what counts - outs. You win with outs, not strikeouts."---Sandy Koufax
"Either he throws the fastest ball I've ever seen, or I'm going blind." --- Richie Ashburn
"He throws a 'radio ball,' a pitch you hear, but you don't see." --- Gene Mauch
"Koufax--he'll never amount to much." --Tommy Lasorda, after pitching his last for the Brooklyn Dodgers
"I don’t know if cortisone is good for you or not. But to take a shot every other ball game is more than I wanted to do and to walk around with a constant upset stomach because of the pills and to be high half the time during a ball game because you’re taking painkillers, I don’t want to have to do that." ---Sandy Koufax at a 1966 press conference explaining why he chose to retire from baseball following the 1966 season.
Quotes
"Trying to hit him (Sandy Koufax) was like trying to drink coffee with a fork." --- Willie Stargell"I can understand how he won 25. What I can't understand is how he lost five."---Yogi Berra, after he faced Koufax in the 1963 World Series.
"He didn't. We lost them for him."---Maury Wills, Dodgers shortstop, told of Berra's comment.
Koufax's own quote on teammate Tommy Davis, who won the NL batting title in 1962 and 1963: "For two years Tommy was the best hitter in baseball. He just didn't get the recognition. He was part of a team that had a lot of good parts to it."
"It's no disgrace to get beat by class."---Bob Hendley, the losing Chicago Cubs pitcher in Koufax's perfect game, after Koufax sent him a gift to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the game---a 1965 NL baseball signed, "What a game!" plus a small handwritten note: "We had a moment, a night, a career. I hope life has been good to you. Sandy." Hendley himself had allowed only 1 run in the game, and nearly matched Koufax.
"A guy that throws what he intends to throw, that's the definition of a good pitcher."---Sandy Koufax
"You are part of an entertainment, but you are not really an entertainer. But I enjoyed it, probably more than people enjoyed watching it. I thank the fans for enjoying it with me."---Sandy Koufax, reviewing his playing career to Washington Post sportswriter Thomas Boswell, in 1979.
"In the end it all comes down to talent. You can talk all you want about intangibles, I just don't know what that means. Talent makes winners, not intangibles. Can nice guys win? Sure, nice guys can win - if they're nice guys with a lot of talent. Nice guys with a little talent finish fourth, and nice guys with no talent finish last."---Sandy Koufax
"Pitching is the art of instilling fear."---Sandy Koufax
"Show me a guy who can't pitch inside and I'll show you a loser."---Sandy Koufax
"The game has a cleanness. If you do a good job, the numbers say so. You don't have to ask anyone or play politics. You don't have to wait for the reviews."---Sandy Koufax
"The only time I really try for a strikeout is when I'm in a jam. If the bases are loaded with none out, for example, then I'll go for a strikeout. But most of the time I try to throw to spots. I try to get them to pop up or ground out. On a strikeout I might have to throw five or six pitches, sometimes more if there are foul-offs. That tires me. So I just try to get outs. That's what counts - outs. You win with outs, not strikeouts."---Sandy Koufax
"Either he throws the fastest ball I've ever seen, or I'm going blind." --- Richie Ashburn
"He throws a 'radio ball,' a pitch you hear, but you don't see." --- Gene Mauch
"Koufax--he'll never amount to much." --Tommy Lasorda, after pitching his last for the Brooklyn Dodgers
"I don’t know if cortisone is good for you or not. But to take a shot every other ball game is more than I wanted to do and to walk around with a constant upset stomach because of the pills and to be high half the time during a ball game because you’re taking painkillers, I don’t want to have to do that." ---Sandy Koufax at a 1966 press conference explaining why he chose to retire from baseball following the 1966 season.