Few baseball players have been more efficient with their accomplishments than Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax. The Brooklyn native's career only spanned from 1955 to 1966 due to chronic pain in his pitching elbow, and he only received consistent playing time in his final seven seasons. However, he earned seven All-Star nods, three Cy Young Awards, and three Triple Crowns during that span.
Koufax signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers at age 19, and the franchise moved to Los Angeles after the 1957 campaign. The southpaw's rise started in 1961, which was the first of four seasons in which he led MLB in strikeouts.
Koufax also earned NL and World Series MVP honors in 1963, and won the latter award again in 1965.
Sandy Koufax's Mindset
Koufax relied primarily on his four-seam fastball and curveball to dominate hitters. The three-time MLB wins leader often fired the fastball inside to brush hitters off the plate before besting them with a curve that would break as much as one to two feet vertically.
Although Koufax was reserved, he didn't need to talk much to lead the Dodgers to two championships in his prime. The 1972 Hall of Fame inductee had the mindset of a quiet assassin, and he once shared a timeless strategy of how to succeed on the mound.
