One of the many players we could have easily inserted as the greatest Dodger of all time is Sandy Koufax, and had we done this list two years before its first publication (2022), he likely would have been.
Koufax was a walk-on at the University of Cincinnati, and while he showed poor control, he had the velocity. The southpaw was scouted by the Dodgers and was signed by them in late 1954, and his sheer talent propelled him to the Majors the following summer, but the first half of his career was not what got him into the Hall of Fame.
It was widely believed that Koufax was the hardest thrower in the game, but the accuracy wasn't coming, and when he got in trouble, the more erratic he became. From his debut to 1960, he had a losing record of 36-40 with an ERA of 4.10 and a WHIP of 1.428. Koufax and the Dodgers knew the talent was there, but he grew frustrated and considered quitting. He opted to give it one more year, with Koufax giving his all, dedicating himself to improved fitness. More importantly, one of the Dodgers' scouts noticed that he reared back so far that he lost sight of the plate. These corrections made Koufax the most feared Pitcher of the next six years.
1961 would be his breakout year, with Koufax going 18-13 with a league-leading 269 Strikeouts and topping the NL in FIP (2.00) and SO/BB (2.80). Koufax was an All-Star this year, beginning a six-year streak, the first of many. Koufax won his first ERA Title in 1962 (2.53) and WHIP Title (1.036), starting a five-year run and a four-year, respectively, as the league leader. The first two seasons of the 1960s were terrific, but it was about to get even better.
It can be debated that the next four years were the best ever by a Pitcher. Not only did he keep his ERA under 2.05 in all those years, but his WHIP also stayed under one. Koufax led the NL in three years (1963, 1965 & 1966), and he won the Cy Young in all of those seasons, with a third-place finish in 1964. He also won the MVP in 1963 and was the runner-up for the award in 1965 and 1966.
Koufax, who had already won a World Series Ring in 1959, led Los Angeles in 1963 and 1965, going a combined 4-1 and allowing four Earned Runs over 42 Innings with 52 Strikeouts. He won the World Series MVP in both of those playoffs, and while the teams were loaded with talent, it is difficult to envision the Dodgers winning ’63 and ’65 without Koufax.
As great as Koufax was from 1963 to 1966, traumatic arthritis forced him to retire. Koufax was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, and at the age of 37, he was (and still is) the youngest man to enter the Hall. Los Angeles retired his number 32 in 1972, which should have happened much sooner.
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