G’mar Hatimah Tovah!
“Three thousand years of beautiful tradition, from Moses to Sandy Koufax.”
– Walter Sobchak (played by John Goodman), talking about his Jewish faith in The Big Lebowski
Twelve years ago I wrote A Picture of Imperfection about my cousin, Hall of Fame Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax — comparing his pitching perfection 50 years earlier to the imperfect, quant-dominated stock-market mechanism that we face today.
As I wrote:
“In my recent column Season of the Glitch, I remarked that this is not your father’s market — it’s materially influenced by quants and central planners. That makes it a model of imperfection (unlike my cousin Sandy Koufax, who pitched a perfect game 50 years ago today!).”
— Doug’s Daily Diary, A Picture of Imperfection (Sept. 9, 2015)
But something else important happened in 1965 with Sandy — he decided to attend synagogue and observe Yom Kippur rather than pitch in the first World Series game against the Minnesota Twins.
Sandy’s decision not to pitch on Yom Kippur, the holiest of Jewish holidays, still resonates today.
Don Drysdale pitched instead, but was hit hard and the Dodgers lost.
When the manager Walter Alston came out to the mound to pull him from the game (when behind 7-1 after two and two thirds innings), Drysdale handed him the ball and delivered his famous deadpan line: “I bet right now you wish I was Jewish, too.”
Sandy came back from the Jewish holiday the following day and pitched Game Two, but gave up two runs in six innings as the Twins won 5-1 and took a 2-0 lead in the series.
Drysdale and fellow pitcher Claude Osteen won in the next two games for the Dodgers and tied the series at 2-2, then Sandy pitched a complete-game shutout in Game 5 to give the Dodgers a 3-2 series lead. But then the Twins won Game 6 to force a seventh game.
Sandy started that last game on just two days rest. Pitching through fatigue and severe arthritis, which would eventually end his career, Sandy couldn’t throw his curveball and pitched nearly the entire game relying on fastballs instead.
But Sandy still managed to strike out 10 Twins en route to a three-hit shutout, winning the series for the Dodgers and a second World Series MVP award for himself. He was also named the Sports Illustrated 1965 “Sportsman of the Year.”
Sandy started his pro career in 1955, but didn’t blossom into legendary status until 1961. His stats were as dominant as any pitcher in the majors, but it was his final four seasons (1963-66) that earned his reputation as the modern era’s greatest left-handed pitcher.
He pitched no hitters in each of those four years, and his average seasonal record was 24-7 with a 1.86 ERA. He also averaged 298 innings pitched and 307 strikeouts per season — striking out an amazing 382 batters in 1965.
Sandy’s most remarkable stat of that period was that he averaged 22 complete games per season. And in his last season (1966), his record was 27-9, with a 1.73 ERA, five shutouts, 27 complete games, 323 innings pitched and 317 strikeouts. These statistics are even more amazing when you consider that every pitch Sandy threw that year was made while in terrible pain from a seriously arthritic arm and shoulder.
I suppose there are lessons to be learned from Sandy’s career about perseverance, achieving success and “playing in pain.” Much like investors have struggled this year. But to many, the lesson he delivered by deciding not pitch on Yom Kippur was the greatest one of them all.
I wanted to wish all of my Jewish friends an easy fast — and a G’mar Hatimah Tovah! (“May You Be Sealed for a Good Year in the Book of Life”) to everyone, Jewish or or not!
Position: None
