Quote:
Originally Posted by Tabe
All of that is completely legitimate but Koufax still played those years so they still count for/against him.
Did he get good at 24 because he figured it out? Or because they raised the mound, increased the size of the strike zone, added two awful teams via expansion, and moved into Dodger Stadium?
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Obviously that helped, but it hardly did EVERYTHING or every average pitcher who came to the Dodgers would've become Koufax. It doesn't explain the precipitous drop in his walk rate. I mean Koufax didn't become Claude Osteen, or even Don Sutton or Don Drysdale, He became KOUFAX. When every hitter in the league this side of Hank Aaron talks about practically giving up when they face him that can't all just be hype and a good stadium.
Willie Stargell - trying to hit Koufax was like “trying to drink coffee with a fork."
Pete Rose - "I couldn't hit my weight against Koufax" (he was 10 for 57 for his career)