September 27, 1961: Sandy Koufax surpasses Mathewson for NL strikeout record in breakout season

When Sandy Koufax started his seventh major-league season, in 1961, the verdict was still out on whether he should keep a spot in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ rotation. He had struggled with control issues since the time he was signed as a 19-year-old bonus baby from the University of Cincinnati by the Brooklyn Dodgers. His 1961 season changed all that. His performance set him on a course of dominance in the major leagues for the five ensuing seasons. He gained the attention of the national baseball community that year by breaking Christy Mathewson’s National League single-season record for strikeouts.

With an 8-13 record (.381), Koufax’s 1960 season was one of his worst from the standpoint of a won-lost percentage, although he led the league in strikeouts per nine innings (10.1). By June 10 of that season, his record was 1-8. Because of his erratic control, he was relegated to the bullpen for most of July. When he did get into games, it looked as if he was trying to strike out every batter. Whenever he issued a walk or gave up a hit, he allowed his emotions to take over, which often got him into further trouble.1

At one point during the 1960 season, Koufax doubted the Dodgers’ confidence in him and asked to be traded. “I want to pitch,” he told Dodgers President Buzzie Bavasi, “and I’m not going to get a chance here.” Bavasi’s pushback was that Koufax wasn’t getting batters out. Koufax countered, “If I can’t do the job for you, why don’t you send me somewhere where I can get a fresh start?” He considered walking away from the game but decided to give himself one more chance in 1961.2

The Dodgers signed Koufax in December 1954. By the rules then in effect for so-called bonus babies, the team was obligated to put him on its major-league roster.3 Not having played in the minors, he never had the opportunity to work on control issues, which plagued him during his first few years.

After the 1960 season, Koufax worked on his delivery with Dodgers pitching coach Joe Becker. The goal was to tighten his windup and alter his grip on the curveball in order to make it more effective against left-handers. Dodgers scout Kenny Myers helped him improve pitching to spots. Then during spring training, catcher Norm Sherry worked diligently with Koufax to “try not throwing so hard.” According to Sherry, the result was that Koufax started throwing harder when he was not trying.4

Three weeks into the start of the 1961 season, Koufax’s improved mechanical and mental approach began to show positive results. Dodgers manager Walt Alston attributed Koufax’s success to improving his control. In May Alston said, “He has reached the stage where he can get his curve ball over the plate consistently and he has come up with a pretty good change of pace.”5

Between May 7 and June 20, Koufax compiled a 9-2 record, with 7 complete games in 11 starts. His ERA was 2.34, and he averaged one strikeout per inning. This was Koufax’s best consecutive-game stretch so far in his career. He was hitting on all cylinders by this time, effectively using his fastball and curve to baffle hitters.6

By July 11, the day of the first All-Star Game in 1961, Koufax sported an 11-5 record with a 3.32 ERA and 141 strikeouts. He was named to his first All-Star team and pitched in relief in both games, on July 11 and July 31.

After Koufax’s impressive 15th win on August 29, when he carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and struck out 12,7 Alston reiterated his belief expressed earlier in the season about Koufax’s success. He said, “Where it’s helped him the most is with his curve ball. He throws as hard as anybody in the league, but now he can come in with the curve ball if he has to.”8

However, Koufax seemed to downplay his turnaround. He said, “[It’s] just something that happened.”9

With 18 wins under his belt, Koufax made his final regular-season start on September 27 against the Philadelphia Phillies.10 The Dodgers and Reds had been in a back-and-forth battle for first place for most of the season. But by this time, the Reds had clinched the pennant, and the Dodgers turned their attention toward retaining second place over the San Francisco Giants.

With a 46-104 record, the Phillies were suffering through one of their worst seasons in franchise history. In his first season as manager, Gene Mauch suffered from a weak roster that was the worst in the league in runs scored and second worst in runs allowed.

The 27-year-old right-hander Jim Owens, who had joined the Phillies in late June, drew the starting assignment for Mauch.11

In the top of the first inning, Maury Wills led off with a double and Jim Gilliam walked. Ron Fairly doubled. The speedy Wills scored easily, but Gilliam was thrown out at the plate on a relay from shortstop Ruben Amaro.

Koufax gave up a single to Lee Walls in the second inning. In the third, the Phillies took the lead. Amaro led off with a single and went to second when shortstop Wills mishandled Clay Dalrymple’s groundball. Jim Owens advanced the runners on a sacrifice. After Koufax struck out Bobby Malkmus, Tony Taylor’s line-drive double produced two unearned runs as Amaro and Dalrymple crossed the plate.

After yielding three hits through three innings, Koufax held the Phillies scoreless for the rest of the game, yielding only three baserunners on walks. Owens, after giving up the first-inning run, blanked the Dodgers through the next six innings, despite having runners in scoring position in four of the innings. (In the seventh inning, the Dodgers put runners on first and second on singles by Gilliam and Fairly, but Wally Moon grounded out to end the threat.)

Jack Baldschun relieved Owens in the eighth and walked John Roseboro, who stole second on Daryl Spencer’s swinging strikeout. But Baldschun squelched the threat by picking Roseboro off second.

The Phillies claimed the victory, 2-1, after Baldschun retired the Dodgers in order in the final frame.

Despite his impressive performance, Koufax took his 13th loss of the season against 18 wins. He struck out Pancho Herrera in the sixth to break Mathewson’s National League record of 267 strikeouts set in 1903. Koufax’s seven strikeouts for the game gave him 269 for the season. Sportswriters were quick to note that Koufax broke the record in 255â…” innings pitched compared with Mathewson’s 366⅓ innings.12 A gloomy Koufax said of the record after the game, “Sure, it’s nice to have, but I’d trade it in for a win.”13 He was referring to the late-season attempt by San Francisco to take over second place.

Owens recorded his fifth win of the season against 10 losses. He gave up nine hits, including three to Fairly.

Koufax’s strikeout record was largely overshadowed by Roger Maris’s chase of Babe Ruth’s single-season home-run record. Maris had tied Ruth the day before with number 60, so most of the nation was focused on the slugger’s effort to break the record.

The Dodgers led the NL in strikeouts on the arms of Koufax and his teammates Stan Williams (205) and Don Drysdale (182), who were second and third.

Koufax’s next five seasons (1962-66) were one of the most spectacular pitching stretches in baseball history. In addition to breaking his own strikeout record twice–in 1963 (306) and 1965 (382)–he led the NL in ERA in all five seasons. He was a three-time Cy Young Award winner (1963, 1965, and 1966), when he won 25 or more games in each season.

SOURCES

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for pertinent information, including the box score and play-by-play.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI196109270.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1961/B09270PHI1961.htm

The author also consulted the following:

Leavy, Jane. Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002).

Photo credit: Sandy Koufax, SABR-Rucker Archive.

NOTES

1 Edward Gruver, Koufax (New York: Taylor Publishing: 2000), 123.

2 Gruver.

3 Marc Z. Aaron, “Sandy Koufax,” SABR BioProject, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Sandy-Koufax/. Accessed May 11, 2023.

4 Gruver, 124-127.

5 George Lederer, “It’s a Bright, New World for Koufax,” Long Beach (California) Press-Telegram, May 26, 1961: D-1.

6 During this stretch, Koufax delivered several performances representative of his improvement. On May 29 against the St. Louis Cardinals, his 13-strikeout game was the third of the season in which he posted double-digit strikeouts. He gave up only three hits. Three weeks later, on June 20, Koufax hurled a two-hitter against the Chicago Cubs for his 10th win. He carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, and his 14 strikeouts gave him 111 for the season.

7 Coming off the Dodgers’ doubleheader losses to league leader Cincinnati on August 27, which dropped them to 3½ games behind the Reds, Koufax collected his 15th win, against the Chicago Cubs on August 29. He flirted with a no-hitter, going into the seventh inning with two outs before Dick Bertell singled over shortstop Maury Wills’s outstretched arm into short left field. Koufax struck out 12 and raised his total to 212 for the season.

8 John Kuenster, “Koufax peps up Dodgers,” Chicago Daily News, August 30, 1961: 42.

9 “Koufax Peps Up Dodgers.”

10 A week earlier, on September 20, Koufax had his best performance of the season, striking out 15 batters as he pitched all 13 innings in a 3-2 win over the Cubs. It was his 18th win of the season. He made another start on September 24 against the Cardinals but lasted only three innings while taking his 12th loss.

11 Owens made his first appearance of the season on June 23. He had been placed on the disqualified list at the beginning of the season by Phillies general manager John Quinn in a dispute about his role on the pitching staff.

12 As of 1961, the major-league strikeout record was held by the Philadelphia Athletics’ Rube Waddell with 349 in 1904.

13 Stan Hochman, “Sandy’s New Strikeout Mark Nice, but No Substitute for Victory,” Philadelphia Daily News, September 28, 1961: 64.