Sandy Koufax Helped Shape Future Generations of Hurlers

Dodgers right-hander Don Sutton talks about pitching with Sandy Koufax during spring training in 1979. (Photograph by Donald Gregory Dughi.)

 

Sandy Koufax threw his final pitch in a major-league game in 1966, but his influence could still be spotted on a mound decades later. Not in a pitch but in a stare. A death stare. Specifically, Dave Stewart’s death stare.

During his years working with Dodgers pitchers in spring training and in the minor leagues, Koufax approached the young pitcher with a tip that would change his career. He didn’t suggest a different arm angle or show Stewart a new grip. Koufax instead told him to pull his cap lower on his head. The Hall of Fame lefty explained doing so would lower Stewart’s sight.

“And so as I kept lowering my cap, he kept asking me, ‘What do you see?’” Stewart recalled. “And I said, ‘At this point, all I can see is below the catcher’s neck and below.’ And he says ‘OK, I’d like for you to start throwing with your cap like that.’”1

Stewart followed instructions. He pulled his hat just above his eyebrows. So low he couldn’t see the catcher’s face and it caused a shadow over his face, which intimidated hitters in the 1980s and 1990s.2

Stewart didn’t find much success with the Dodgers but went on to win 20 games four straight years for the Oakland A’s and won two World Series with the A’s and Toronto Blue Jays.

Koufax watched Stewart’s career with pride.

“I paid attention to his career after he’d been traded,” the left-hander said. “His success was something I enjoyed watching because he was just a good guy.”3

Koufax continued, “If I helped Dave at all, that’s fine, but it really boils down to the man on the mound. Whatever Dave did is what Dave did. He did it. Nobody did it for him.”4

Stewart said, “Shoot, I ran off 20-win seasons in a row, and for a lot of that, I knew Sandy was watching me on the mound or he’d hear about it.”5

Stewart was just one of the hurlers influenced by the Koufax. Clayton Kershaw,6 Jerry Reuss,7 Rick Honeycutt,8 and Al Leiter9 have all pointed to him as a reason for their success.

“Basically, Sandy didn’t tell me anything different about fundamentals than any pitching coach I’ve ever had didn’t tell me,” recalled Reuss. “But he gave me direction. He taught me how to approach a game.”10

After retiring in 1966, Koufax spent more than a decade staying mostly away from baseball before the Dodgers hired him as a special pitching coach in 1979. Koufax’s return wasn’t completely about getting back into uniform. Instead, it came down partly to finances.

“One, it was hard to stay away from the one thing I had done so well in my life. Two, the way the economy has gone, it has become tough to make ends meet. And three, I love egg rolls and I understand Tommy Lasorda has become the biggest egg roll dealer in the country,” said Koufax at a press conference at Little Joe’s, a Los Angeles restaurant.11

Koufax was living with his wife, Anne, in Paso Robles, California, a city midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. He said other organizations had approached him with similar job offers but he turned them down. He dabbled in broadcasting and real estate and occasionally spent time at Dodger Stadium during old-timers days.12

Back in a Dodgers uniform, the former hurler spent the spring of 1979 working with minor-league and major-league pitchers in Vero Beach and assisted Red Adams, Dodgers pitching coach, and Ron Perranoski, Dodgers pitching instructor.

Koufax kept a low profile during his years helping Dodgers pitchers. That included not even having his name on the back of his jacket.13

Koufax also traveled to the Dodgers’ Double-A and Triple-A teams. His time working for the organization ended officially in 1990, though he continued to visit spring training and club events.14

When Koufax left his job, Dodgers executive vice president Fred Claire said he wanted to spend more time traveling.15 There were also other theories, including one that Koufax had become “weary of the job,”16 and disagreed with the organization’s player development program.17 Another rumor was that Lasorda was jealous of the former hurler. Terry Collins, who managed in the Dodgers organization, recalled that Koufax’s exit was connected to Lasorda’s ego and that the manager resented the baseball legend’s work with “his pitchers.”18

Koufax stayed out of the game for a few years before being coaxed back by Texas Rangers manager Kevin Kennedy. The lefty served as a pitching consultant during spring training.19

Koufax worked with old friend and Dodgers teammate Claude Osteen, who was the Texas pitching coach. The one caveat was that Koufax refused to wear the Rangers jersey or cap and instead wore the Rangers blue pants and a generic hat.20

Koufax returned to his previous ways of staying out of the limelight and away from baseball until Mets CEO Fred Wilpon, a longtime friend, asked him to speak with his pitchers during spring training. Koufax worked informally with Mets hurlers, signed autographs, and chatted with Wilpon.

“It’s so neat to have him here,” said Terry Collins, the Mets manager. “It’s so fun to be around him. He’s so upbeat. And he wants to help. That’s all he wants to do.”21

Koufax mostly stayed away from the Dodgers, which media reports said had to do with his issues with ownership.22

Koufax did spend time in the Dodgers’s camp, including working with young pitcher Clayton Kershaw in 2012. Koufax praised the young lefty. “How do you make up a ceiling? His only ceiling is time,” Koufax said.23

It wasn’t until 2013 that the Dodgers brought Koufax back and gave him a role as a special adviser to Chairman Mark Walter. He resumed working with pitchers in spring training and consulting during the season.24

“This is the only organization I’ve ever played in, and been in. I came here with Jackie and Gil and Duke,” Koufax said. “I played with great people then, and great people with Don, Tommy, Willie, and Maury. I want to see this organization be a winner again. I don’t know if I can do that much, but I’ll try and help.”25

Koufax didn’t keep his adviser role for long but continued to visit Dodgers spring training in an unofficial capacity.26 When he returned in 2014, he wore a Dodgers pullover and cap and cargo shorts.

Reporters wanted to hear from the pitching legend. Though he no longer had a defined role, Koufax said he was there to offer advice to pitching coaches Rick Honeycutt and Ken Howell or players. Koufax was asked about Kershaw, who was already being compared to him.27

“At 25, you don’t have to adjust,” Koufax said. “Talk to me when he’s 35. He just has to keep doing what he’s doing and every year he has gotten better. If he keeps getting better, the sky’s the limit, and if he doesn’t get any better, the sky’s the limit. He’s a great pitcher, he’s special.”28

Koufax kept a low profile as usual, but he made news that spring and it had nothing to do with pitching. An Andre Ethier line drive struck him in the head. Bloodied but otherwise OK, Koufax was driven off in a golf cart with a towel pressed to his head.29

Future spring trainings were not as eventful for Koufax. There were the usual articles about his arrival in camp and photos of him chatting with players and signing autographs.30

Koufax attended many games at Dodger Stadium though the years, especially during the postseason, where he sat in the stands and cheered for his former team. He also went to the ballpark in 2022 for the unveiling of a statue that depicts him in his famous pitching motion. During the ceremony, Kershaw praised Koufax for his help. Much like Stewart’s advice, Koufax didn’t fiddle with Kershaw’s mechanics while helping the young pitcher reach his potential. He just gave him simple advice to “stay tall.”31

“It was simple. It was helpful. It was also caring. It was also genuine. Those are the qualities that I admire most in you,” Kershaw told Koufax.32

LES MASTERSON is an editor at Forbes Advisor, a consumer website, where he covers insurance. During his career he’s covered news, health care, insurance, business, financial services, credit cards, content marketing, mortgages, and history, to name a few. He’s received awards for his writing and editing from the New England Press Association, Massachusetts Press Association, and the American Society of Business Publication Editors. Masterson has contributed to six SABR books.

 

Notes

1 Tristi Rodriguez, “How Koufax Influenced Stewart’s Patented Intimidating Stare,” NBCSportsBayArea.com, September 6, 2022. https://www.nbcsportsbayarea.com/mlb/oakland-athletics/how-koufax-influenced-stewarts-patented-intimidating-stare/1430086/.

2 Rodriguez.

3 Alex Coffey, “How Sandy Koufax Unleashed Dave Stewart’s Stare on the Baseball World,” The Athletic, May 13, 2020. https://theathletic.com/1808367/2020/05/13/how-sandy-koufax-unleashed-dave-stewarts-stare-on-the-baseball-world/.

4 Coffey.

5 Coffey.

6 Fabian Ardaya, “Clayton Kershaw Finds the Words to Honor Sandy Koufax: ‘No One More Deserving Than You,’” The Athletic, June 18, 2022. https://theathletic.com/3372555/2022/06/18/clayton-kershaw-finds-the-words-to-honor-sandy-koufax-no-one-more-deserving-than-you/

7 Gordon Verrell, “Positive Attitude Put Reuss on Right Road,” The Sporting News, November 22, 1980: 41.

8 Gordon Verrell, “Shouldering the Burden,” The Sporting News, June 1, 1987: 16.

9 Jane Leavy, Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy (New York: Harper Perennial, 2010), 289.

10 Verrell, “Positive Attitude Put Reuss on Right Road.”

11 Gordon Verrell, “Recluse Koufax Steps Into the Game With Dodgers,” The Sporting News, February 17, 1979: 35.

12 “Recluse Koufax Steps Into the Game With Dodgers,”

13 Marc Z. Aaron, “Sandy Koufax,” SABR BioProject, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/sandy-koufax/.

14 Aaron.

15 “Dodgers Say Koufax Not Severing Ties,” The Sporting News, March 19, 1990: 28.

16 “Belcher Knows Value of Arbitration Value,” The Sporting News, March 12, 1990: 19.

17 “Belcher Knows Value of Arbitration Value.”

18 Leavy, 288.

19 T.R. Sullivan, “Texas Rangers Notes,” The Sporting News, February 21, 1994: 22.

20 Leavy, 288.

21 Andy McCullough, “Sandy Koufax Makes Usual Visit to Mets’ Training,” NJ.com, February 19, 2011. https://www.nj.com/mets/2011/02/sandy_koufax_makes_usual_visit.html.

22 Mark Saxon, “Sandy Koufax to Advise Dodgers,” ESPN.com, January 22, 2013. https://www.espn.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_/id/8869991/sandy-koufax-advise-los-angeles-dodgers-spring-training.

23 Eric Stephen, “Dodgers Spring Training 2012: Sandy Koufax Visits Camp, Talks Clayton Kershaw,” losangeles.sbnation.com, March 12, 2012. https://losangeles.sbnation.com/los-angeles-dodgers/2012/3/2/2840487/dodgers-spring-training-2012-sandy-koufax-clayton-kershaw.

24 Bruce Horowitz, “Dodgers Hope Koufax Can Still ‘Bring It’ as LA Readies for Spring Training,” bleacherreport.com, January 23, 2013. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1498221-dodgers-hope-koufax-can-still-bring-it-as-la-readies-for-spring-training.

25 Eric Stephen, “Sandy Koufax Arrives at Dodgers Camp,” truebluela.com, February 17, 2013. https://www.truebluela.com/2013/2/17/3998806/sandy-koufax-dodgers-spring-training.

26 Stephen, “Sandy Koufax Arrives at Dodgers Camp.”

27 Eric Stephen, “Sandy Koufax Arrives in Dodgers Camp,” SB Nation Los Angeles, February 17, 2014. https://www.truebluela.com/2014/2/17/5420010/sandy-koufax-dodgers-camp-clayton-kershaw-yasiel-puig.

28 Stephen, February 17, 2014.

29 Dan Zinski, “Sandy Koufax Hit in Head by Line Drive at Spring Training,” Calltothepen.com, February 21, 2014. https://calltothepen.com/2014/02/21/sandy-koufax-hit-head-line-drive-dodgers-spring-training/.

30 Ken Gurnick, “No Longer Advisor, Koufax Visits Dodgers Camp,” MLB.com, February 26, 2016. https://www.mlb.com/news/sandy-koufax-visits-dodgers-spring-training-c165547778.

31 Ardaya, “Clayton Kershaw Finds the Words to Honor Sandy Koufax: ‘No One More Deserving Than You.’”

32 Ardaya.