SubscribeThe Mantle-Koufax “connection”
I’m savoring Jane Leavy’s new book, The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood (look for a review here in the near future).
Leavy’s previous book was Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy which is also a must-read, and not just because it’s about one of the legends of the Jewish sports world.
In her latest release — currently No. 4 on The New York Times‘ Bestseller List — we have this anecdote about the 1963 World Series between the Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The setup: Koufax won the opening game, 5-2, behind a 15-strikeout performance by the Dodgers’ ace:
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By the time Mantle led off the bottom of the second, the Dodgers were ahead 4-0, thanks in large measure to John Roseboro’s schnapps-fortified home run. This at-bat would set the tone for all the innings to come. It was one thing for Koufax to have his way with Kubek, Richardson, and Tresh, but this was The Mick.
[italics in the original] Swing and a miss. Strike one.
High with a fastball. Ball one.
Foul back on the screen. Strike two.
[Straight text in the original] “Then he struck him out with a fastball around the letters,” Roseboro said. “Mantle looked back at me and said ‘How in the [****] are you supposed to hit that [****]?’”
There was nothing else to say. Except to pray for more Jewish holidays, as Boyer pointed out on the team bus when the Yankees left for Los Angeles, trailing 2-0 in games. “You mean like Yom Koufax?” Mantle replied.
* * *
Overall, Mantle was 1-7 with three strikeouts against Koufax in that Fall Classic. The lone hit was a homer that accounted for the lone run in the 2-1 finale that capped the Dodgers’ sweep.
Koufax, by the way, was named Series MVP.
Mickey Mantle presents the Fred Hutchinson Award to Sandy Koufax at the Baseball Writers of America dinner, Jan. 29, 1967. Mantle won the same award the previous year. The award is given to the baseball player "most typifying the courage and character of Fred Hutchinson." (Bettman Collection)
Neat anecdote.
Not to take anything away from Koufax, but one issue was that the game was played in the afternoon at Yankee Stadium in the days before teams had hitting backgrounds. Koufax’s overhand delivery came right out of the white shirts sitting in center field, making him even harder to hit. Not to say he wouldn’t have dominated anyway.
Blame the Yankee fans. The geniuses should have worn black.
Yes, not to take anything away from Koufax, but there had been what, maybe twenty some odd world series played in Yankee Stadium by 1963. Each one of them played during the day, with all those darned white shirts. Somehow, in that first game, Koufax set a world series record for strike outs; something that eluded all those other pitchers who, incredibly, managed not to benefit from so much white laundry. Four days later, Koufax totally dominated the Bombers again, this time in Dodger Stadium. They probably wore white there too…But not to take anything away from Koufax!!!
Interesting point. But you have to assume that the “white shirt” scenario was the same for all pitchers. I haven’t done the research, but I don’t think there’s a similar “bump” strikeouts for the other pitchers who appeared in the then daylight-only series.