There isn't much I can write that you probably don't already know about Sandy Koufax. So, I'll take a couple of snippets from the below booklet in hopes it unearths something new.
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Statistician Allan Roth of the Dodgers (I guess the Dodgers were moneyball back then), who has at his fingertips enough exotic information to confound most experts, has revealed that Sandy Koufax gets two strikes on 54% of the batters he faces. Of course, it's that third strike that's the trick.
Roth, however, also reveals that Sandy throws about 155 pitches a game, which not only is a lot of pitches, but the highest number on the Dodger staff. The boys foul off a lot of Sandy's close ones and look at a lot of his curves.
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Allegations persist that the Dodgers twice declined to swap Koufax to Kansas City for Roger Maris. Greater regard for one left arm hath no club, it would seem.
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I can't imagine how different Dodger history would have been if the above trade was consummated. Would the potential of a 61 home run season by Maris in Blue erase any disappointment in seeing Koufax pitch for another club? Would Maris even come close to hitting that many dingers at Dodger Stadium without the protection of a Mickey Mantle in the lineup? In 1961, the Dodgers played at the Coliseum. Would Maris have hit that many with the short, but tall left field wall? I am getting a headache just thinking about it.Below are complete scans of every page from Sandy Koufax's 1961 Union Oil Dodger Family Booklet. Click any pic to embiggen.
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