Goodbye to Sandy

1966

1966 would be the last hurrah for Koufax whose twelve-year career included 40 shutouts and 2,390 strikeouts. In 1966, he finished the season 27-6, ERA 1.73, and 317 strikeouts despite his ongoing battle with extreme arthritis in his pitching arm. It marked the fourth straight year of total domination of almost all pitching categories. He made his final regular season start on the final day of the season on 2 days rest in a must-win or else game against the Phillies. He won and the Dodgers clinched the pennant. Among his many records, Koufax thew 323 consecutive innings without hitting a batter. Yogi Berra once said that it wasn’t Koufax’s amazing wins that amazed him as much as how did he lose the few games that he did. Arthritis brought on his early retirement at the age of 32.