"Won his last MLB game on August 27th 1955 and won his first MLB game on that same date. Both end up in the Hall Of Fame."
That would be the Brooklyn Dodgers' Sandy Koufax. And Cleveland Indians' Bob Feller.
We don't think of Koufax too much in the Dodgers history in Brooklyn. 1955 was his first season in the bigs. Feller was in his second-last season. Each was able to go at a .500 pace as Koufax was 2-2 and Feller 4-4. Though both pitched the next season (1956, Feller's last), Bob was not able to win any additional contests, and Sandy just two himself.
Feller had his last great season in 1954, the year his team won 111 games and the American League pennant. But Rapid Robert was sort of lost in the mix. Early Wynn and Bob Lemon won 23 games each. Mike Garcia 19. Art Houtteman, 15. Feller won 13, but also lost just 3 games for a .813 W%, tops among starters.
But when it came time for the World Series, Feller didn't pitch despite being on the postseason roster. Could he have helped? The New York Giants swept 'em in four straight.
So it was the next year that the writing was sort of on the wall for the Indians. First of all, Herb Score joined the team and won 16 games. The rest of the staff was still pretty good: Wynn, 17-11, Lemon 18-10, Houtteman 10-6. Garcia finished a disappointing 11-13, but Score won 16 games and reliever Ray Narleski (Just 3-3 with 13 saves in '54) had a great year. The closer went 9-1 and lead the junior circuit with 19 saves.
So where was Feller among all this? He went just 4-4, although his ERA was still pretty good, (3.47). He looked good at times, even throwing a CG 1-hitter (The 12th of Bob's career) on May 1st. But he had to wait until June 23rd to win his second game. Feller's record had dropped to 1-3, his ERA as high as 6.03 on June 19th. His ERA was just 1.92 from that game forward. However, Feller was now pitching more out of the bullpen. When the year was over, he'd started just 11 games.
Koufax was on a pennant-winning team in 1955. But like Feller was that year, he was lost in the mix. The first six games of that year (And they were the first six games of Koufax's MLB career) were games the Brooklyn Dodgers lost. Sandy didn't start any of them. But when he did start, look out!
On August 27th, Sandy went the distance on a 2-hit shutout of Cincinnati. His ERA at that point was 1.31. He beat Pittsburgh in his first September start, a 4-0 CG shutout! However, that proved to be the high-water mark for him that season. The Reds avenged their August lost to Koufax and handed him a 5-3 loss on September 11. Koufax struggled in his next two outings, including a loss on September 24th to Pittsburgh. In it, Sandy got just one batter out and walked three. That pushed his ERA over 3 (3.02).
The Dodgers liked what they saw, and put Sandy on the postseason roster. However, like Feller the year before, he didn't get to pitch. The Dodgers won the World Series in seven games over the New York Yankees, Koufax being the only pitcher named to the postseason roster not to appear.
Koufax and Feller both fell back the next season. Feller was clearly past it, although the Indians thought he could be the fifth starter. As it turns out, Bob started just two games. He failed to win any contests, alas. Bob retired in December of that year.
Sandy saw his ERA go up. Though he appeared in more games (16 compared to 12 in '55) and started 10 of them, Koufax's ERA for 1956 was 4.91. He matched his win total from the last season, but also lost 4 games. And, for the only time in Koufax's 12-year career, he surrendered more hits than innings pitcher.
The Dodgers again added him to the postseason roster. But once again, Sandy didn't pitch. Brooklyn would move to Los Angeles after the 1957 season. Koufax had improved to 5-4. At this point, he was nowhere near a Hall Of Famer. It took him some time. Sandy won a career-high (To that point) 11 games in 1958, but slipped back to just 8 the next two seasons. He finally pitched in the postseason in 1959. Bob Shaw beat Sandy Koufax 1-0 in the fifth contest of the World Series. Los Angeles won it all anyways. In 1960, he was only 8-13. But then something happened.
Koufax lost 13 games again the next season, but now that ERA was dropping! It had been 4.48 in 1958. 4.06 in '59. 3.91 in 1960. It was down to just 3.52 in '61, good enough for 7th in the National League. And he'd posted 18 wins in 1961. He had finally arrived. The rest, as they say, is history.
Whether your a promising rookie looking to find a spot, or a tired veteran winding down a Hall-Of-Fame career, you have to earn your place on a team. For Sandy Koufax and Bob Feller, 1955 was a warning shot for one and a last hurrah for another.
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Nemec, David. The Baseball Chronicle: Year-By-Year History Of Major League Baseball. Publications International, Ltd., 2008. Print.
Rogers III, C. Paul. “Bob Feller.” Society for American Baseball Research, SABR, <https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/de74b9f8>.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 25 Nov. 2018.
That would be the Brooklyn Dodgers' Sandy Koufax. And Cleveland Indians' Bob Feller.
We don't think of Koufax too much in the Dodgers history in Brooklyn. 1955 was his first season in the bigs. Feller was in his second-last season. Each was able to go at a .500 pace as Koufax was 2-2 and Feller 4-4. Though both pitched the next season (1956, Feller's last), Bob was not able to win any additional contests, and Sandy just two himself.
Feller had his last great season in 1954, the year his team won 111 games and the American League pennant. But Rapid Robert was sort of lost in the mix. Early Wynn and Bob Lemon won 23 games each. Mike Garcia 19. Art Houtteman, 15. Feller won 13, but also lost just 3 games for a .813 W%, tops among starters.
But when it came time for the World Series, Feller didn't pitch despite being on the postseason roster. Could he have helped? The New York Giants swept 'em in four straight.
So it was the next year that the writing was sort of on the wall for the Indians. First of all, Herb Score joined the team and won 16 games. The rest of the staff was still pretty good: Wynn, 17-11, Lemon 18-10, Houtteman 10-6. Garcia finished a disappointing 11-13, but Score won 16 games and reliever Ray Narleski (Just 3-3 with 13 saves in '54) had a great year. The closer went 9-1 and lead the junior circuit with 19 saves.
So where was Feller among all this? He went just 4-4, although his ERA was still pretty good, (3.47). He looked good at times, even throwing a CG 1-hitter (The 12th of Bob's career) on May 1st. But he had to wait until June 23rd to win his second game. Feller's record had dropped to 1-3, his ERA as high as 6.03 on June 19th. His ERA was just 1.92 from that game forward. However, Feller was now pitching more out of the bullpen. When the year was over, he'd started just 11 games.
Koufax was on a pennant-winning team in 1955. But like Feller was that year, he was lost in the mix. The first six games of that year (And they were the first six games of Koufax's MLB career) were games the Brooklyn Dodgers lost. Sandy didn't start any of them. But when he did start, look out!
On August 27th, Sandy went the distance on a 2-hit shutout of Cincinnati. His ERA at that point was 1.31. He beat Pittsburgh in his first September start, a 4-0 CG shutout! However, that proved to be the high-water mark for him that season. The Reds avenged their August lost to Koufax and handed him a 5-3 loss on September 11. Koufax struggled in his next two outings, including a loss on September 24th to Pittsburgh. In it, Sandy got just one batter out and walked three. That pushed his ERA over 3 (3.02).
The Dodgers liked what they saw, and put Sandy on the postseason roster. However, like Feller the year before, he didn't get to pitch. The Dodgers won the World Series in seven games over the New York Yankees, Koufax being the only pitcher named to the postseason roster not to appear.
Koufax and Feller both fell back the next season. Feller was clearly past it, although the Indians thought he could be the fifth starter. As it turns out, Bob started just two games. He failed to win any contests, alas. Bob retired in December of that year.
Sandy saw his ERA go up. Though he appeared in more games (16 compared to 12 in '55) and started 10 of them, Koufax's ERA for 1956 was 4.91. He matched his win total from the last season, but also lost 4 games. And, for the only time in Koufax's 12-year career, he surrendered more hits than innings pitcher.
The Dodgers again added him to the postseason roster. But once again, Sandy didn't pitch. Brooklyn would move to Los Angeles after the 1957 season. Koufax had improved to 5-4. At this point, he was nowhere near a Hall Of Famer. It took him some time. Sandy won a career-high (To that point) 11 games in 1958, but slipped back to just 8 the next two seasons. He finally pitched in the postseason in 1959. Bob Shaw beat Sandy Koufax 1-0 in the fifth contest of the World Series. Los Angeles won it all anyways. In 1960, he was only 8-13. But then something happened.
Koufax lost 13 games again the next season, but now that ERA was dropping! It had been 4.48 in 1958. 4.06 in '59. 3.91 in 1960. It was down to just 3.52 in '61, good enough for 7th in the National League. And he'd posted 18 wins in 1961. He had finally arrived. The rest, as they say, is history.
Whether your a promising rookie looking to find a spot, or a tired veteran winding down a Hall-Of-Fame career, you have to earn your place on a team. For Sandy Koufax and Bob Feller, 1955 was a warning shot for one and a last hurrah for another.
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Nemec, David. The Baseball Chronicle: Year-By-Year History Of Major League Baseball. Publications International, Ltd., 2008. Print.
Rogers III, C. Paul. “Bob Feller.” Society for American Baseball Research, SABR, <https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/de74b9f8>.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 25 Nov. 2018.
No comments:
Post a Comment