Koufax and Drysdale in 1965
They Had One of the Greatest Seasons of Any Duo in History
Many teams have had two pitchers who produced great seasons together, but few could compare to Koufax and Drysdale in 1965.
There have been many one-two pitching combinations that led their team to the pennant and World Championship, but few, if any, had greater seasons together than Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale in 1965. Koufax started 41 games, completed 27, won 26 while losing 8, and pitched 8 shutouts. He led the league with a 2.04 ERA and struck out 382 hitters in 335 2./3 innings. Drysdale was almost as good, starting 42 games and completing 20 of them. He was 23-12, pitched 308 1/3 innings and had a 2.77 ERA with 210 strikeouts.
The 1965 National League Pennant Race
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cincinnati, and Milwaukee were locked in a classic pennant race going into September. The Dodgers led the Giants by 1 ½ games, with the Reds and Braves trailing by 2, but on September 1, the Pirates swept the Dodgers in a twin bill, beating Koufax and Drysdale, while the Reds swept the Braves, putting the Reds into first by a percentage point over the Dodgers. The Dodgers played well but the Giants reeled off 14 consecutive wins and at the end of play on September 15, they led the Dodgers by 4 ½ games and the Reds by 3 ½.
Los Angeles Had Its Own Winning Streak
Then the Dodgers, Koufax and Drysdale went to work. Claude Osteen led the Cubs 2-0 going to the ninth inning in the getaway game of a three game set at Wrigley. The Dodgers had lost the first two games. When Osteen walked Billy Williams to start the ninth, bringing the potential tying run to the plate, Koufax was brought in and saved the game. Drysdale beat the Cardinals 3-2 the next day, Koufax beat them 1-0, and Osteen beat Bob Gibson, 1-0. The Dodgers proceeded to win 13 in a row and ended the season by winning 15 of their last 16 games, with Koufax and Drysdale each winning 4 of those games. The Dodgers took over first place on September 28 and won the pennant by two games.
Los Angeles faced the Twins in the World Series and started Drysdale in Game 1 because it was played on Yom Kippur and Koufax observed the Day of Atonement. The Twins blasted Drysdale for 7 runs, 3 of them earned, in only 2 2/3 innings on the way to an 8-2 victory. Koufax started Game 2, allowed only 1 earned run and struck out 9 in 6 innings, but Jim Kaat and the Twins won, 5-1 to take a 2-0 Series lead.
Los Angeles Sweeps At Home
In Los Angeles, the Dodgers won all three games, with Osteen in Game 3 and Koufax in Game 5 pitching shutouts. Koufax struck out 10, walked only 1, and gave up 4 hits. Drysdale won Game 4, 7-2, striking out 11 Twins. Back in Minneapolis-St. Paul, the Twins beat Osteen to force a seventh game.
Pitching On Two Days Rest
Drysdale had opened the Series on Wednesday, October 6. He started Game 4 on Sunday, October 10 and was ready for Game 7 on Thursday, October 14, but manager Walt Alston chose to start Koufax, on TWO days rest. There is no manager today who would do that. Bob Brenly was questioned when he started Curt Schilling on three days rest in the 2001 World Series, as was Jack McKeon when he started Josh Beckett on three days in the 2003 Series.
Koufax Shut Out the Twins
All Koufax did was shut out the Twins on three hits while striking out 10 as the Dodgers won, 2-0. The World Series win capped one of the greatest seasons any two starting pitchers on the same team ever put together. The way starting pitchers are used today, there is absolutely no chance that any team will ever have two starters who even approach Koufax and Drysdale’s 1965 season.
