Baseball Time Machine: Sandy Koufax's debut

Sorry for the lateness today. The daily stats notes will sometimes be late. But, normally, the tournament recap and Baseball Time Machine should come out early in the morning. However, I forgot to schedule the Baseball Time Machine this morning and then it turned out that I thought the tournament recap was also completed. But, it was far from that. So, this is going to be the first time that we haven’t had a tournament recap in a day. To make up for that, in addition to free Tuesday and Thursday, for the free subscribers, I’m also adding a free Wednesday.

On June 24, 1955, Sandy Koufax made his Major League Baseball debut. Before joining the Dodgers, Branch Rickey, then the general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, had attempted to sign Koufax. Despite the team’s budget being strained by several big signings, Rickey was determined to find the money “somehow.” However, his son, Branch Rickey Jr., advised against it, cautioning that Koufax was not ready and that signing him would only provide negative press and take up roster space. Branch Jr. had seen Koufax struggle against a sandlot team and feared that investing in him prematurely would hinder future opportunities for more promising players. While Branch Jr. was unimpressed, Jimmy Murphy, a reporter for the Brooklyn Eagle, saw great potential in Koufax. Murphy had witnessed Koufax pitch on several occasions and admired his determination, especially as Koufax pitched despite a painful, bloody blister on his middle finger.

After negotiations with the Pirates fell through, Murphy introduced Koufax to Al Campanis, a scout for the Dodgers. Campanis, who mistakenly thought Koufax’s last name was “Kovacs,” arranged a tryout where backup catcher Rube Walker caught Koufax’s pitches. Impressed by his performance, Walker urged Campanis to give Koufax whatever he wanted, saying, “I wouldn’t let him out of the clubhouse.” Subsequently, Koufax and the Dodgers agreed on a $14,000 signing bonus. Shortly after, a Pirates scout approached Koufax’s father with an offer $5,000 higher, but Koufax’s father declined, having already made a deal with the Dodgers. A month later, the Braves offered $32,000, but that offer was turned down.

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On December 14, 1954, the Dodgers officially signed Koufax to a two-year contract paying $6,000 per season, along with the $14,000 signing bonus. Due to the size of the bonus, Koufax was classified as a “bonus baby,” requiring him to remain on the major league roster for two years. Koufax began the 1955 season on the disabled list after twisting his left ankle by stepping on a sprinkler head while running in the outfield. On June 8, the Dodgers added Koufax to the 25-man roster, sending Tommy Lasorda to the minors. Lasorda would also brag that it took a Hall of Famer to get him off the Dodgers’ roster.

Although Koufax was added to the roster in early June, he did not make his MLB debut until June 24. That day, Dodgers starter Carl Erskine struggled against the Braves, giving up seven runs in two innings due to elbow tightness. Jim Hughes relieved Erskine in the third and pitched through the fourth inning. Koufax was called in to pitch the fifth inning with the Braves leading 7-1. The public address announcer pronounced his name as “Koo-fax,” and Koufax recalled hearing voices in the stands asking, “Who?” The first three batters he faced all reached base: Johnny Logan singled to right field, Eddie Mathews hit a grounder back to Koufax who made a poor throw to second base, allowing runners to advance to the corners, and Hank Aaron walked on four pitches, loading the bases. Koufax then struck out Bobby Thomson, and Joe Adcock grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

Koufax recovered in the sixth inning, throwing a perfect 1-2-3 inning and finishing by striking out Lew Burdette, completing his MLB debut. Despite Koufax’s efforts, the Dodgers lost 8-2 to the Braves, dropping their record to 49-17, while the Braves improved to 36-30. The Dodgers went on to win 98 games and captured the World Series title that year, while the Braves finished with 85 wins. Koufax ended the 1955 season with a 2-2 record, a 3.02 ERA, and appeared in 12 games, including five starts.

It did take Koufax a while to establish himself. By 1960, he was so frustrated by not having enough playing time that asked Dodgers GM Buzzie Bavasi to trade him. But, there is no indication that Bavasi ever attempted to shop him around.

It took a while for Koufax to establish himself, with his 18-13, 3.52 ERA in 1961 being his first good year of his career. It took another couple of years before he had the first season in which I classify as a star season. That was his 1^st Cy Young season in 1963: 25-5, 1.88 ERA, 306 K in 311 IP.