Posted on 12/21/2006 7:05:19 AM PST by rhema
Palmer had the single best pitching motion I've ever seen. He was just a joy to watch. And he had great pacing, too - his games tended to be pretty quick - the Greg Maddux of his day.
Fifteen years, and I still miss Memorial Stadium. No frills, no BS, just a good place to catch a game.
"I saw Koufax strike out 18 in a game at the Coliseum in 1959 when I was a kid."
Then you should be among a fairly small group who remember what a "moonshot" was.
Or how about speeding up the NBA where the final two minutes of a game take 30 minutes to play with all the fouling.
They should allow a team the option to take the ball out of bounds, and reset the shot clock when their player is fouled, instead of forcing them to shoot free throws.
Yes, I remember that. First inning of his no-hitter vs. the NY Mets in 1962. Sure, it was against one of the worst teams ever to be called "major league," but that didn't detract from Koufax' greatness, both on the field and off.
He was my favorite ballplayer as I was growing up, too. I'd suppose that goes for quite a few of us.
Yep, Wally Moon's pop flies over the high screen in short left field. My mom was a big fan and I got to see a lot of games in both the Coliseum and the then-new Dodger Stadium. My great aunt & uncle would take me to games in the upper upper deck of Dodger Stadium--real nose-bleed seats. You paid to get in with a token--it cost $1!!
Koufax, though, was a poor hitter, while Drysdale was considered a good one for a pitcher.
Having been born in Los Angeles, and raised in LA county. I remember when the Dodgers came to town. We went to the Colosieum a few times before they built Dodger stadium. I saw Koufax pitch in person a couple of times and since I was left handed I was impressed.
They had a great team. Baseball just is not the same anymore. Way overpriced prima donas.
Koufax was a pure pitcher, Drysdale was an all-round baseball player-pitch, hit, run, field.
A friend of mine got to sit in the Dodger dugout one game when he was a Boy Scout. He said that Koufax talked to him and was very engaging, while Drysdale wouldn't give him the time of day.
Yes, he had arthritis in his (left) elbow and was concerned that he wouldn't be able to use arm at all if he continued to pitch. Rather than suing the team for exaccerbating his injury with the treatment he was given, Koufax gracefully walked away at the peak of his career. A class act.
If he had gotten the same injury today, he probably could have played longer because of the advances in sports medicine.
Thanks for the ping. Though a Padres and Yankees fan I remember when Sandy was pirching and he was always a class act.
Yes, you hit a home run there! That's one of the biggest problems with major league baseball today: the "here today, gone tomorrow" scenario with much too much player movement from team to team. Both players (and their leech agents) and team managements share the blame for it, but underlying it is the "free agency" structure to which (liberal) management gave in about thirty years ago.
BTW, I don't think it's coincidental that the vast majority of team ownerships, if not all of them, are controlled by DEMONRATS, and the Cammissar, Selig, is a 'Rat fatcat himself.
Hey pal, you're not far wrong with that statement. I too have actually heard him speak...wooden robot comes to mind. He was far worse than Dubya who I also heard speak in public. Heard both during the 2000 prez campaign in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Gore might be the worst public speaker I've ever heard. Naturally Big Media reported many times about his horrible oratorical skills. (smirk)
OH ES thanks for the ping dude
Too bad I was born wayy too late to see Sandy in prime but my dad did he told me two best pitcher he ever saw in lifetime was Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Nolan Ryan
Yep, I went to L.A. Dodger games at the Coliseum too...!!
Wa wa, Woo woo. Vin Scully and Sanday Koufax are both one-of-a-kind classics that contribute to my everlasting love of baseball.
And Larry did a great job of writing here. Until the last line. UGH.
Bump.
My first introduction to Calif. was a much older couple across the street that were diehard Dodger fans.
They had a television and, were hard of hearing.
Me and my brother would stand out in the street listening to the games.
Man that Sandy and Don could pitch.
Man did we hate the Giants. It was a long time before I could acknowledge the greatness of "Say Hey Willie" because he was a giant.
I recall reading that Koufax had arthritis (and I did not know what that was.)
I did not recall that he was only 31 years old at the time.
Fascinating stuff.
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