Sandy Koufax: First Among Equals

Sandy Koufax pitched 14 complete games in which he gave up two hits or fewer. (National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)

 

In the run-up to the 1970 season, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn shared plans to continue minor-league trials with what became the designated hitter, begin another trial with livelier baseballs, and explore “bending” foul lines outward by 3 degrees(!). All those prospective changes were designed to tip the balance back to offense, after what Kuhn called “a decade for the pitchers.”1

Three pitchers stood above all others in making the ’60s so; Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, and Juan Marichal. And, like Michelangelo, da Vinci, and Raphael, Florentine rivals of the sixteenth century, each excelled with an artistry all his own.

No pitcher in the major leagues won more games (191), threw more shutouts (45), completed more games (197), or compiled a higher WAR (55.3) in the 1960s than Marichal did with his trademark high leg kick. Gibson’s unblinking ferocity paved the way for his decade-high 2,071 strikeouts. The highest winning percentage (.695), lowest ERA (2.36), and lowest WHIP (1.005) of any pitcher who hurled 1,200 innings or more in the 1960s (as 66 did) belonged to Koufax, an over-the-top flamethrowing southpaw.

Marichal, Gibson, and Koufax finished one-two-three in cumulative pitcher WAR across the majors in the 1960s. The pecking order changed to Koufax, Marichal, and Gibson for that decade’s lowest ERA. The trio also took three of the top four spots in complete games and shutouts.2

So dominant were Koufax, Gibson, and Marichal during the seven years in which their careers overlapped (1960-1966), it’s surprising the trio appeared together just once on a Topps league-leaders trading card–the 1967 NL Pitching (Wins) Leaders, card #236.

Past Assessments

In his eponymous NEW Historical Baseball Abstract, sabermetrician Bill James in 2001 used Win Shares, a measure he devised, to compare player contributions across eras, taking into account total, peak (top three and five-year subtotals) and season-average values. Using those values, and subjective adjustments for performance relative to peers of the same era, James ranked Gibson as the number 8 pitcher all-time, Koufax as number 10, and Marichal as number 21.3

In 2010 Michael W of Bleacher Report ranked the top pitchers of the 1960s by comparing raw career totals, adjusted career totals (eliminating partial or poor seasons), and peak career totals for a slate of traditional (G, GS, innings, ERA, W, H/9, WHIP, SHO, K, etc.) and advanced (ERA+ and one of his own creation, W%+) pitching metrics. Michael W rated Marichal first, followed by Gibson and Koufax. Marichal trumps Koufax in his analysis due to the longer timespan over which Marichal performed at a high level and tops Gibson by outperforming him in six of nine key metrics during his peak years.4

A 2014 analysis by Mark Stoler published in the Things Have Changed blog compared Koufax’s performance in 1963 through 1966 to peak four-year spans for Gibson and Marichal, defined as 1966 to 1969 for each of them. This comparison showed that at their peaks, Koufax stood above Marichal and Gibson in winning percentage when supported by three runs or fewer (.689 vs .578 vs .490 respectively). Stoler reported that Koufax and Marichal each won 75 percent of the 1-0 and 2-1 games that they started in their peak years, but the author’s analysis found Koufax earned one fewer victory in those contests than Stoler tallied (17 vs. 18), dropping his winning percentage to a still-impressive 74 percent.5

This Assessment

In this article, Koufax, Gibson, and Marichal are compared in categories that include repertoire, debuts and farewells, career pitching totals, top seasons, key splits, head-to-head, high-profile games, and recognition. A review of individual games in which Koufax, Gibson, and Marichal opposed one another, authored by Carter Cromwell, can be found elsewhere in this publication.

REPERTOIRE

Koufax, 6-feet-2 and 210 pounds at his peak, dominated batters with a high-riding (often described as rising) four-seam fastball and a devastating overhand curve. Long fingers and big hands enabled the left-hander to deliver curveballs that broke straight down.6

Gibson relied on a four-seam fastball that he liked to throw high, a slider he could sweep or drop nearly vertical and a curveball he took years to perfect.7 Standing 6-feet-1 and 185 pounds, Gibson was a fast worker, so much so that legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully once said, “Gibson pitches like he’s double parked.”8

Marichal boasted a five-pitch arsenal that included a slider, fastball, changeup, curve, and screwball, all delivered in either a three-quarters or over-the top-motion by the 6-foot, 185-pound Dominican. “Gibson and Koufax blew hitters away,” according to SABR author Jan Finkel. “Marichal toyed with them, embarrassed them.”9

DEBUTS AND FAREWELLS

Koufax was a 19-year-old bonus baby when he debuted for Brooklyn in relief against the Milwaukee Braves in 1955, having never played a game in the minors. He pitched two scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts, the first coming against Brooklyn nemesis Bobby Thomson. Koufax was not yet 31 when he pitched his last game, a six-inning losing start against the Baltimore Orioles in Game Two of the 1966 World Series.

Marichal was signed as an amateur free agent in 1957 and spent 2½ seasons in the minors before making his major-league debut at the age of 22: a one-hit shutout over the Philadelphia Phillies.10 Marichal’s last appearance was as a Dodger, when at the age of 37 he made an abbreviated start in April 1975 against the Big Red Machine, the Cincinnati Reds.

An accomplished baseball and basketball player at Creighton University, Gibson split his time between the Harlem Globetrotters and Triple-A Omaha in 1957, his first year as a professional. He was 23 years old when he debuted in relief against the Dodgers during that team’s first week in Los Angeles, allowing two earned runs in two innings. Gibson was two months shy of turning 40 when he appeared in his final game, taking the loss after an ineffective inning of relief against the Chicago Cubs in September 1975.

CAREER PITCHING TOTALS

Blessed with good health through most of their careers, Gibson and Marichal pitched significantly longer than Koufax did. Circulatory problems in his throwing arm that first appeared in 1962 cut Koufax’s career short after 12 seasons. Each pitcher spent time as a reliever or occasional starter early in his career; Koufax for his three seasons in Brooklyn (1955-1957), Gibson for his first two years (1959 and 1960), and Marichal in his rookie season (1960).

While Marichal topped the trio in 1960s WAR, Gibson came out ahead in career WAR. He also started and completed the most games of the trio, finishing 53 percent of his starts, as did Marichal. Gibson compiled the most shutouts, though Koufax turned a higher percentage of his starts into shutouts than either Gibson or Marichal did (13 percent vs. 12 percent and 11 percent respectively).

Gibson collected more victories than Marichal or Koufax, but was a distant third to Koufax and then Marichal in winning percentage (.591 vs. .655 and .631 respectively).

Gibson was the only member of the group to top 3,000 strikeouts, ranking second all-time when he retired, behind only Walter Johnson. Gibson had 74 double-digit strikeout games, dwarfing Marichal’s 25 but exceeded by the 97 that Koufax authored.

Koufax topped both Gibson and Marichal in career ERA, despite an ERA after his first six seasons that was over three-quarters of a run higher than at the same point of their careers (4.10 vs. 3.32 and 2.75 respectively). Koufax’s ERA from 1961 to 1966 was a sterling 2.19. Koufax allowed five or more earned runs in only 9 percent of his starts (27 times), and never allowed more than six, versus 17 percent for Gibson and 13 percent for Marichal.

Marichal eked out Koufax for lowest career WHIP of the trio (1.101 to 1.106), equivalent to allowing five fewer baserunners per 1,000 innings than the Dodgers ace. A control specialist, Marichal also maintained a higher strikeout-to-walk ratio than either Koufax or Gibson.

Koufax was the only one of the three to fan more than a batter per inning, a career rate unmatched by any pitcher who threw 700 innings or more until Nolan Ryan reached that threshold. Koufax also maintained the lowest FIP and held hitters to the lowest batting average, the latter nearly 50 points below league average over his career.

TOP SEASONS

Gibson’s historic 1968 season stands apart from the best season posted by either Koufax or Marichal. The first National League pitcher to compile 13 shutouts (or a WAR higher than 11) since Grover Cleveland Alexander, Gibson posted an ERA in 1968 more than a half-run lower than Koufax’s in 1963 and a full run lower than Marichal’s 1965 campaign. Gibson’s WHIP and BAA in 1968 were also superior to Koufax and Marichal’s figures for their best seasons.

Koufax’s second-best season as measured by WAR was in many ways superior to this best. In 1966, his final season, he posted a 10.3 WAR with a career-high 27 wins, a career-low ERA, and strikeout and WHIP numbers superior to those in his 1963 campaign. All with a painful, arthritic left arm that would end his career soon after.

Gibson and Koufax each earned both MVP and Cy Young Awards during their best WAR season. Marichal led the NL in WAR during his best WAR year but came in ninth in MVP voting behind teammate Willie Mays and saw Koufax become a unanimous Cy Young Award winner.

 

 

Koufax sat atop NL and major-league pitching leaderboards more often than either Gibson or Marichal did across their careers. The trio took turns leading the NL in WAR, complete games, wins, and shutouts, but it was Koufax who most often topped the senior circuit in strikeouts, strikeouts per walk, lowest WHIP, and lowest ERA. His six NL crowns for strikeouts per nine innings were the most since Brooklyn Dodger Dazzy Vance, and his four consecutive WHIP titles were last equaled by Carl Hubbell. Koufax was the first NL pitcher to win five ERA titles since Christy Mathewson, a feat next matched by Clayton Kershaw in 2017.

Gibson and Marichal also demonstrated leaderboard mastery that took decades to equal. Gibson’s three consecutive NL WAR titles were next replicated by Randy Johnson in 2001, and Marichal’s four times leading the NL in fewest walks per nine innings stood unmatched until Greg Maddux came along.

KEY SPLITS

Koufax’s level of regular-season success against good (over .500) teams was essentially identical to how he did against lesser (under .500) teams. His winning percentage was only .008 lower, his ERA was 0.02 lower, and his WHIP was 0.026 lower when facing winning teams as opposed to have-nots.

Gibson outperformed Koufax against weaker teams but was decidedly less successful against stronger teams, with a winning percentage .148 lower and an ERA over a half-run higher than he registered against sub-.500 teams. Marichal also edged Koufax in his success against sub-.500 teams, with a fall-off against better teams that was less severe than Gibson’s.

 

 

Analysts credit Dodger Stadium’s high mound and spacious outfield with enabling Koufax to disproportionately dominate at home versus on the road. Home/road splits during the five years that Koufax pitched at Dodger Stadium (1962-1966) confirm that assessment as he compiled an eye-popping 1.37 ERA and 0.822 WHIP at home. His ERA was more than a run higher on the road, where he allowed an average of two more hits plus walks per nine innings.

Gibson, who played his home games at the original Busch Stadium through 1965 and Busch Stadium II beginning in 1966, had reverse splits, with a higher ERA and WHIP at home than on the road. Like Koufax, Marichal was more dominant at home, allowing a quarter of an earned run less at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park than he did elsewhere.

Another way to adjust for ballpark influence in evaluating the trio is the adjusted ERA metric, ERA+, which normalizes ERA with three-year park factors and league-average ERAs. Koufax’s average ERA+ during the years he pitched at Dodger Stadium is well above career values Gibson and Marichal posted in their home ballparks. Koufax twice posted ERA+ values over 185 while Marichal and Gibson never topped 170. Each led the NL in ERA+ twice, Koufax in 1964 and 1966, Gibson in 1962 and 1968, and Marichal in 1965 and 1969.

 

 

Koufax won more than a third of his starts in which he received two runs of support or fewer. Neither Gibson nor Marichal won more than a quarter of theirs. Koufax was significantly more successful in games he started where the final score was 1-0, winning over 75 percent of them. Both Gibson and Marichal lost more often than they won in 1-0 games.

In complete games decided by a single run, Koufax shined, going 36-7. Gibson went 54-30 in one-run complete games, while Marichal was 47-25.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Against the cream of the crop, Hall of Fame position players plus all-time hits leader Pete Rose (HoFs+1), Koufax edged Gibson for the lowest batting average against. The pair traded places for the lowest slugging percentage allowed. Marichal was a distant third in both categories. Marichal’s strikeout-to-walk ratio topped Koufax and Gibson by a wide margin (2.26 versus 1.84 and 1.76, respectively).

Koufax had the most trouble with Hank Aaron, who hit .362 against him with seven home runs. Among HoFs+1 that he faced 20 times or more, Koufax was most dominant against Willie Stargell (2-for-23 with 10 strikeouts) and Willie McCovey (6-for-42 with 15 strikeouts).

Gibson’s toughest out among HoFs+1 he faced 20 times or more was Eddie Mathews, who hit .326 off him. Billy Williams touched up Gibson for 45 hits, including 10 home runs, and 31 RBIs, each tops among HoFs+1 he faced. Richie Ashburn and Tony Perez struggled the most against Gibson, batting .118 and .121, respectively, with Perez fanning 28 times in 58 at-bats.

Former teammate Orlando Cepeda proved to be Marichal’s Achilles heel among HoFs+1 that he faced 20 times or more, hitting .375 against him. Joe Torre slugged .620 off Marichal and nobody topped Torre’s 8 home runs and 26 RBIs against the Dominican Dandy. Ted Simmons (4-for-23) and Stargell (19-for-106 with 27 strikeouts) fared the worst of the group against Marichal.

Koufax was known to dislike hitting batters. So much so that Hank Aaron was able to crowd the plate without concern for getting plunked. Only once did Koufax admit to purposely throwing at a batter–Lou Brock on May 26, 1965, after he’d stolen second and third two innings earlier.11 Koufax hit batters an average of only once every 129 innings. Frank Robinson, who scored the last run Koufax ever allowed, in the 1966 World Series, was the only batter Koufax hit more than once.

Gibson claimed he rarely threw at batters but didn’t hesitate to stand up for his teammates. “I know when I hit a guy, 99 percent of the time it was because the other team was throwing at guys on my team.”12 Aaron reportedly schooled young Dusty Baker about facing Gibson with these words of wisdom. “Don’t dig in against Bob Gibson, he’ll knock you down. He’d knock down his own grandmother if she dared to challenge him.” Gibson hit batters almost 3½ times more frequently than Koufax did.

From the mound, Marichal had a reputation for brushing back batters from time to time but hit batters only once every 88 innings. As a batter, Marichal carried out the most notorious on-field attack in the modern era. Facing Koufax in the third inning of an August 22, 1965, contest at Candlestick Park, Marichal became incensed when a throw from catcher John Roseboro to Koufax came close to his ear. Marichal clubbed Roseboro on the head with his bat, giving the Dodger backstop a gash that took 14 stitches to close and triggering a brawl that lasted 14 minutes.

Ironically, the only career ejection for the normally quiet Koufax came from arguing balls and strikes (in 1960), and brushback-prone Gibson was never ejected for throwing at a batter. Gibson suffered five ejections, two for bench jockeying, two for arguing calls on the bases, and one for throwing his bat at Phillies pitcher Jack Baldschun right after Baldschun had plunked him. Marichal was ejected twice, once for his attack on Roseboro, and the second time for intentionally hitting Dodgers outfielder Bill Buckner.13

HIGH-PROFILE GAMES

Koufax stands alone in the number of low-hit games he pitched, with 14 versus 11 for Gibson and 10 for Marichal. Koufax threw four no-hitters, with his second, on May 11, 1963, coming opposite Marichal and the Giants. Koufax’s last no-hitter, a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs on September 9, 1965, remains the only one in Dodgers history.

Gibson and Marichal each had one no-hitter in their careers. Gibson threw the first no-hitter at Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium, against the Pirates on August 14, 1971. Marichal’s no-hitter on June 15, 1963, against the Houston Colt .45s, was the first one thrown at Candlestick Park.

 

Koufax pitched in four All-Star Games, starting once, in 1966. He allowed one earned run in that start, on a wild pitch after Brooks Robinson tripled on a ball Hank Aaron lost in the background of white shirts.

Gibson pitched in six All-Star Games, and also started only once, in his final appearance, in 1972.

Marichal was on the mound in eight All-Star Games, starting twice, in 1965 and 1967. He earned wins in relief in 1962 and 1964, the latter courtesy of a ninth-inning walk-off home run by Johnny Callison. He was also 1-for-2 at the plate, singling off Mudcat Grant in 1965.

 

 

Koufax was on the roster but never appeared in two World Series with the Brooklyn Dodgers before pitching in four after the club moved to Los Angeles. He lost his only start in the 1959 World Series, to the Chicago White Sox, then won both starts against the New York Yankees in the 1963 World Series, setting a new Series strikeout record with 15 in Game One. Facing the Minnesota Twins in the 1965 World Series, Koufax won two of three starts, both shutouts, the last a grueling effort at Minnesota’s Metropolitan Stadium on two days’ rest. Koufax lost what would be the last game of his career to 20-year-old Jim Palmer and the Baltimore Orioles in Game Two of the 1966 World Series. Koufax collected one World Series hit; an RBI single in Game Five of the 1965 Series. He earned World Series MVP honors in 1963 and 1965.

Gibson lost his first and last World Series starts, but earned complete-game victories in all seven of the starts he made in between. He won Game Seven of the 1964 World Series over the Yankees, and three starts over the Boston Red Sox in the 1967 World Series, including another Game Seven victory. In the 1968 World Series, Gibson had a record-setting 17 strikeouts in a Game One shutout of the Detroit Tigers but lost Game Seven. He collected four hits in his World Series appearances, including home runs in both Game Seven of the 1967 Series and Game Four of the 1968 Sichaeries. Gibson earned MVP awards for the 1964 and 1967 World Series.

Marl pitched in one Fall Classic and one NLCS. He started Game Four of the 1962 World Series, holding the Yankees scoreless through four innings, but was forced to leave the game after he injured the thumb on his pitching hand while attempting to bunt. Marichal suffered a complete-game loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates in Game Three of the 1971 NLCS. He was hitless in five postseason at-bats.

HITTING and FIELDING

Gibson towered above Marichal and Koufax at the plate and on the bases. A career .206 hitter, he had a .545 OPS, hit 24 home runs (against 24 different pitchers), drove in 144 runs and stole 13 bases. Marichal slashed an anemic .165/.191/.202 with 4 home runs, while Koufax registered a microscopic .097/.145/.116 with 2 career home runs. His first, in 1962, was off Warren Spahn.

Gibson earned nine consecutive Gold Glove awards as the NL’s top fielding pitcher from 1965 through 1973. Neither Koufax nor Marichal ever earned one, despite lifetime fielding percentages equivalent to Gibson’s.

Marichal’s range factor (assists plus putouts) per nine innings was double that of Koufax, enabled in part by the higher number of balls batters put in play against Marichal. (He fanned 3.4 fewer batters per nine innings than Koufax did [5.9 vs. 9.3].) Gibson’s range factor falls between those of Koufax and Marichal, in line with his 7.2 strikeouts per nine innings.

To no surprise, Marichal, the high-kicking right-hander, allowed the most stolen bases per hits plus walks plus HBP, a proxy for total baserunners (0.045, or 1 for every 22 baserunners). The southpaw Koufax allowed the fewest (0.028, or 1 per 35), with Gibson between the two (0.416 or 1 per 24). All three suffered caught-stealing percentages in their careers that were below league average.

Marichal picked off 43 runners, roughly one every 11 starts. Koufax picked off five runners in his career, one every 63 starts. Gibson had only one pickoff in his career, nabbing Johnny Callison, in 1967. Since 1910, when pickoffs were first tracked, through the 2023 season, no other pitcher with 400 or more starts (a group 119 strong) has fewer than two.

RECOGNITION

Records and Rarities

Koufax set a new NL record for the most strikeouts in a nine-inning game when he fanned 18 Giants on August 31, 1959, and tied that record on April 24, 1962, against the Cubs. His record fell in September of 1969 when Steve Carlton struck out 19 New York Mets.

Koufax’s perfect game in September 1965 made him the first major-league pitcher with four no-hitters. Only Nolan Ryan has matched Koufax since, with seven career no-hitters.

Koufax broke Rube Waddell’s modern-era major-league record for most strikeouts in a season with 382 in 1965. Eight years later, Nolan Ryan topped Koufax’s mark.14

In 1966 Koufax became the first three-time pitching Triple Crown winner in either league since earned runs became an official statistic in 1913. No pitcher has matched his feat since then.

Koufax’s career ERA at Dodger Stadium, 1.37, is the lowest of any pitcher in any ballpark where he’s thrown at least 500 innings since the end of the Deadball Era. The next closest through the end of the 2023 season, Jacob deGrom at New York’s Citi Field, has an ERA three-quarters of a run higher.15

Gibson’s 1.12 ERA in 1968 was the lowest in the NL since the Deadball Era, topped in the twentieth century only by Mordecai “Three-Finger” Brown’s 1.04 ERA for the 1906 Chicago Cubs.16

Marichal’s 243 wins and 2,303 strikeouts were records for Latin American pitchers when he retired in 1975. Cuban-born Luis Tiant passed his strikeout totals in 1980 and Nicaraguan Dennis Martinez topped his win total in 1998. Marichal’s 6.167 strikeouts per walk in 1966 tied Christy Mathewson’s NL record, set in 1908, and his streak of seven consecutive years with an ERA below 2.80, from 1963 to 1969, had last been matched in the majors by Walter Johnson, who strung together 12 such seasons.17

Koufax earned three Cy Young Awards, in years when only one award was given across the NL and AL. Gibson collected two NL Cy Young Awards. Koufax and Gibson were each voted NL Most Valuable Player one time, with Koufax also finishing second twice (in 1965 and 1966).

Marichal never received a single first-place vote for a Cy Young Award. His best MVP finish was a distant fifth to Gibson in 1968.

Koufax became the youngest ballplayer inducted into the Hall of Fame after he was elected in 1972, in his first year of eligibility. Other 1972 inductees included Yogi Berra (named on 85.6 percent of ballots) and Early Wynn (named on 76.0 percent).

In 1981 Gibson became the 11th player elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. No other nominees reached the 75 percent threshold for induction that year.

One of those nominees who fell short in 1981 was Marichal, who was also in his first year of eligibility. He received 233 votes that year (58.1 percent) and 305 (73.5 percent) the next. Finally elected to the Hall of Fame in 1983, he became the first Latin American ballplayer inducted in a general election. Speculation at the time was that some electors refused to vote for Marichal until he made amends to Johnny Roseboro for his 1965 attack, which he did in 1982.18

The Final Word

Frank Robinson said that if he won a battle with Gibson, he knew he’d beaten the absolute best.19 Gibson thought otherwise. Long after he’d retired, he told author Roger Angell that Marichal was the best hurler of his time, because of his absolute control. “I had a better fastball and a better slider, but he was a better pitcher than me or Koufax.”20

When asked to name the greatest pitcher he’d ever faced, Pete Rose said there were three “Hardest thrower–Koufax. Toughest competitor–Bob Gibson. Most complete pitcher–Juan Marichal[. I]n a jam Marichal could throw any one of five pitches for a strike.21

Contrary to the Cooperstown outsider’s stance, most Hall of Famers who faced the trio with a bat in their hands considered Koufax king of the hill.22 Richie Ashburn said of Koufax, “Either he throws the fastest ball I’ve ever seen, or I’m going blind.”23 According to Willie Stargell, “Hitting against Koufax is like trying to drink coffee with a fork.”24 Stan Musial called Koufax the most overpowering pitcher he ever faced.25 Bill Mazeroski picked Koufax as the best pitcher of his era. “Gibson approached it,” Mazeroski said, “but there was no one better than Sandy Koufax… He was the best I ever saw.”26

Despite hitting for much lower averages off Gibson (.215) and Marichal (.288) than he did against Koufax (.362), Hank Aaron rated Koufax number one. “You talk about the Gibsons and the Drysdales and the Spahns,” he said. “And as good as those guys were, Koufax was a step ahead of them. No matter who he pitched against, he could always be a little bit better. If somebody pitched a one-hitter, he could pitch a no-hitter.”27 Warren Spahn, when asked who was the best pitcher he ever saw, answered “Koufax. What do you think I am, crazy?”28

LARRY DeFILLIPO is a retired aerospace engineer who lives in Kennewick, Washington, with his wife, Kelly. A left-handed Jewish pitcher born in Brooklyn, he briefly played in college and so for obvious reasons he’s been an avid Koufax fan as long as he can remember. His work has been published in SABR’s Baseball Research Journal, The National Pastime and Yankee Stadium 1923-2008: America’s First Modern Ballpark; and he has presented at the Fred Ivor-Campbell Nineteenth Century Baseball Conference. He’s authored an array of ballplayer and ballpark biographies for SABR’s BioProject and dozens of game stories for SABR’s Games Project, with an emphasis on uncovering firsts and otherwise undocumented records.

 

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank Bill Nowlin for his feedback during initial editing and Carter Cromwell for providing quotes from Bob Gibson and Pete Rose.

 

Notes

1 United Press International, “Baseball Planners Tinker with Training Gimmicks,” York (Pennsylvania) Dispatch, February 11, 1970: C48.

2 The trio also earned the three highest scores in the majors for Context Neutral Wins, reported as WPA/LI, a metric devised in the 2000s to compare players’ relative offensive contributions via win expectancy, normalized to the average leverage that player experienced. Koufax finished first, with Marichal and Gibson second and third, respectively. Piper Slowinski, “WPA/LI,” FanGraphs website, February 17, 2010, https://library.fangraphs.com/misc/wpa-li/.

3 Bill James, The NEW Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract (New York: Free Press, 2001), 846.

4 Michael W defined peak years for Koufax as 1961 through 1966, for Gibson as 1961, 1962, 1966, 1968, 1969, and 1972, and for Marichal as 1960, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, and 1969. Michael W, “MLB’s 10 Best Starting Pitchers of the 1960s: Gibson, Koufax, Marichal?” January 1, 2010, Bleacher Report website, https://bleacherreport.com/articles/317776-mlbs-10-best-starting-pitchers-of-the-1960s-gibson-koufax-marichal.

5 Mark Stoler, “Gibson Koufax Marichal Mashup,” Things Have Changed website, April 24, 2014, https://havechanged.blogspot.com/2014/04/gibson-koufax-marichal-mashup.html.

6 Edward Gruver, Koufax (Dallas: Taylor Publishing, 2000), 38.

7 Bob Gibson with Phil Pepe, Ghetto to Glory (New York: Prentice-Hall, 1968), 56.

8 George Smith, “This ’n That,” Anniston (Alabama) Star, June 22, 1972: 17.

9 Jan Finkel, “Juan Marichal,” SABR BioProject, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/juan-marichal/.

10 In his debut, Marichal retired the first 19 batters he faced and had a no-hitter going until two out in the eighth inning.

11 Jane Leavy, Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy (New York: Harper Collins, 2002), 179.

12 Harold Friend, “MLB: Bob Gibson Blamed the Batter for Getting Hit by One of His Inside Pitches,” Bleacher Report, September 9, 2011, https://bleacherreport.com/articles/842616-mlb-bob-gibson-blamed-the-batter-for-getting-hit-by-one-of-his-inside-pitches.

13 Marichal hit Buckner after he’d thrown two pitches earlier that inning at the head of Dodgers pitcher Bill Singer, in retaliation for Singer hitting Marichal’s teammates Willie Mays and Bill Speier earlier in the game.

14 Koufax continues to hold, as of the end of the 2023 season, Dodgers franchise records for the most strikeouts in a game (his mark of 18 was tied by Ramon Martinez in 1990), season records for the most strikeouts, most shutouts (11), and fewest hits per nine-innings (5.79), and career record for the fewest hits per nine innings among Dodger pitchers who hurled 1,000 innings or more (6.79).

15 Andrew Simon, “11 Stats That Show Why Koufax Is a Legend,” MLB.com, December 29, 2022. https://www.mlb.com/news/sandy-koufax-s-best-stats-and-accomplishments. Koufax’s lead over deGrom remains unchanged one year after Simon’s analysis.

16 As of the end of the 2023 season, Gibson remains the Cardinals career record holder for wins, losses, strikeouts, starts, complete games, shutouts, innings pitched, FIP for pitchers with 1,000 innings or more, home runs allowed, walks, hit batters, and number of batters faced. He also has the top five Cardinals single-season strikeout totals since 1901; 274 in 1970, 270 in 1965, 269 in 1969, 268 in 1968, and 245 in 1964. Gibson set six Cardinals franchise single-season marks in 1968 that still stand: lowest season ERA, most shutouts, highest ERA+ (258), lowest FIP (1.77), lowest WHIP (0.853), and fewest hits per nine-innings (5.8).

17 Marichal is the San Francisco Giants career record holder through 2023 in wins, losses, strikeouts, starts, complete games, shutouts, innings pitched, hits, runs, home runs allowed, and batters faced. Among San Francisco pitchers with at least 1,000 innings pitched, he has the lowest ERA and lowest WHIP.

18 Gruver, Koufax, 185; Stan Hochman, “Marichal Finally Where He Belongs,” Philadelphia Daily News, January 13, 1983: 84. Jack Lang of the New York Daily News speculated soon after Marichal failed to get elected in 1981 that he came up short due to voter reluctance over his attack on Roseboro. Jack Lang, “Hall of Fame: Always a Rift,” New York Daily News, January 8, 1982: 34.

19 Tim Kurkjian, “In His Day, St. Louis Cardinals Great Bob Gibson Was Feared Like No Other Pitcher,” ESPN website, October 3, 2020, https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/20694447/in-day-st-louis-cardinals-great-bob-gibson-was-feared-no-other-pitcher.

20 “Roger Angell, “Distance: The Game Belongs to Bob Gibson,” The New Yorker, September 22, 1980: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1980/09/22/distance.

21 Roger Kahn, “Opinions and ‘Fax,’” Los Angeles Times, July 15, 1999: D5.

22 “Marichal Finally Where He Belongs.”

23 Jim Murray, “Sandy Is Dandy,” Oakland Tribune, July 4, 1962: 34.

24 Associated Press, “Hitting Against Koufax Like Drinking Coffee with a Fork,” Appleton (Wisconsin) Post-Crescent, June 26, 1965: B3.

25 Gruver, Koufax, 229.

26 Gruver, Koufax, 226.

27 Jane Leavy, Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy (New York: Harper Collins, 2002), 2.

28 Gruver, Koufax, 8.