Reaping and Sowing

Sandy Koufax

"The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied."--Proverbs 13:4

It goes without saying that Sandy Koufax was the best pitcher in baseball from 1961 until 1966 when he was forced to retire after the World Series that year because of an arm injury.

And certainly, his great ability and his accomplishments have been well documented. He had great stuff and great command of that stuff as anyone who played against him readily admitted. Willie Stargell, a slugging first baseman who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates during that era, compared hitting against Koufax to eating soup with a fork. Pitcher Ray Culp, who played for several teams, claimed that Koufax had the best stuff of any pitcher he ever saw.

However, one thing that Koufax has rarely been noted for was his work ethic. While many have raved about his great fastball and his explosive curve that helped get him into baseball's Hall of Fame, few have acknowledged or even understood that Koufax became a Hall of Fame pitcher because he worked extremely hard to develop his skills.

You see, Koufax had little interest in baseball while growing up in Brooklyn N.Y. He played a lot of basketball and he was very good at it. So good that he earned a basketball scholarship to the University of Cincinnati. He also dabbled in baseball, but he was a lousy hitter. And anyone who understands baseball knows that lousy hitters who are left handed usually don't have a future in that sport since baseball discriminates against left handers. 

But Koufax had a terrific arm. And his terrific arm landed him a spot on Cincinnati's baseball team after a tryout. Ironically, Koufax admitted that he wanted to make the baseball team so he could travel with them to New Orleans for a spring junket. However, when he began pitching, he immediately attracted the attention of pro scouts and his baseball career was launched.

Koufax signed in 1954 with his hometown Brooklyn Dodgers who were the best team in the National League in those days. He was signed as a bonus player which in those days necessitated that he remain with the major league team. Under the rules back then, bonus players who were sent down to the minors could be drafted by other teams. The Dodgers had previously made that mistake with a great young outfield prospect named Roberto Clemente who they lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates. They didn't want to make that mistake again with Koufax.

Unfortunately, that became a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing for Koufax because he learned his craft under some great pitchers such as Don Newcombe, Carl Erskine, Clem Labine, Billy Loes and Johnny Podres. But it was a curse because he was a proverbial fish out of water--an inexperienced young pitcher on a great team loaded with talent. He seldom pitched and he was reviled by some veteran players because he took a roster spot that should've gone to a more seasoned veteran player.

But he endured, worked hard and learned how to pitch. When he finally became a regular rotation pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1961, he became a superstar. He won 20 games three different times, (1963, 1965, 1966) pitched four no hitters including a perfect game in 1965 and he won the Cy Young Award three times when that award was only given out once instead of twice.

What's the moral of this story? Hard work. Talent alone doesn't guarantee success. Without long hours of practice and hard work, Koufax never would have become the star that he became. That principle applies to everyone, not just to professional athletes. You always reap what you sow.