Koufax

Rating:
Summary: Koufax Acquaintance From N.Y.
Review: "Koufax", as written by Ed Gruver, is a highly focused book that covers the life and times of this most private man with flair and tact.

The strength of this book is the combination of the author's narrative with the insightful quotes from interviews he conducted with Sandy's friends and former teammates.

Gruver covers Koufax's life and career through the spectrum of one game - Game 7 of the 1965 World Series. It's an interesting approach, and it works here since this game is regarded as the defining game in Koufax's great career. (Interesting that Jane Levy's book, published one year later, uses the same format, though with a different game).

"Koufax" is a wide-ranging story of the life and career of the man many consider the greatest left-handed pitcher in history. It's filled with interesting anecdotes and brings to life a highly private individual.

Overall, I found it an accurate portrayal of one of sports' most enigmatic figures.

Rating:
Summary: You learn about the pain he overcame to excel
Review: As a child in the sixties, I watched the game of baseball change dramatically. Due to expansion, it started with an offensive explosion. Home run numbers and batting averages soared in the first few years, with Roger Maris hitting 61 home runs in a season and the Yankees setting an all-time record for home runs by a team. That changed quickly, so by 1968, the pitchers were so dominant that it was practically a fluke that the American league batting champion had an average over .300. However, by then the most dominant pitcher of the decade was gone, removed by an arthritic left arm that could have failed at any time. His name was Koufax, one that still leaves many in awe.
It was common knowledge that he had serious problems with his arm, but it was so hard to believe when you saw him pitch. Until I read this book, I had no idea how many problems he battled through. At one point in his last years, it was thought that he would have to have the index finger of his throwing hand amputated due to lack of circulation. It is to his eternal credit that he has never lamented his misfortune.
The other point that is so significant is the number of innings he pitched in his last few seasons. There appears to be no doubt that his determination to pitch so much shortened his career. Such things are unheard of in the modern era, where starting pitchers are routinely removed after seven innings. Once again, you hear nothing from him about how different things might have been.
Sandy Koufax is also an intensely private man, with little interest in commercial endorsements. Therefore, the only way that you can learn about him is through books like this. Gruver shows us many things about Koufax, but without doubt the two most significant points are how dominant a pitcher he was and how courageous he was to continue that dominance while his left arm deteriorated to the point where his suits needed to be specially tailored. After reading this book, I came away even more impressed with Sandy Koufax, who could have been the best pitcher of all time.

Rating:
Summary: Koufax was the greatest, but the author had Alzheimer's
Review: Being a teenager, a Jewish kid who was a toal baseball freak, and rabid Dodger fan during Sandy's heyday, made him my number one sports idol of all-time. I read this book with relish as I still get shivers, and feel pride, joy, and sadness everytime I see his name in print or hear his name spoken. I feel extremely fortunate to have seen him pitch in his heyday, and would thank him profusely for giving me a Jewish role model in athletics.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed the book and learned things about my hero that I never knew. I, like most fans, was well aware of his physical woes, but could never really forgive him for his "early" retirement in "66. It was one of the saddest days in my life. So sad, that I completely lost interest in baseball until 1974 when the Dodgers started winning again.
Having read the book, I can now understand his decision, and agree that he did the right thing.

I liked the format of the book; using the setting of game 7 of the '65 series as the background for telling the story. It was exciting to relive the inning-by-inning account of the game, and descriptions of the other high and low points of Koufax's career. My main criticism was the constant repetition of the same facts over and over again. It appeared to me as though the author had to reach a certain word limit (like I did when I was assigned an essay in school), and needed to have a high enough word count to please his editor. He kept repeating the descriptions of Sandy on the mound in his sweat and Caposen soaked uniform, brushing away the sweat, shrugging the stiffness out of his massively muscled shoulders between each pitch. Constant repetitive descriptions of the mechanics of his pitching motion and the swelling and disfigurement of his left arm, as well as endless observations by interviewed individuals on how Sandy was shy, but always polite, had a good sense of humor, and was ethical because he refuse to pitch game 1 of the '65 series on Yom Kippur. I was ready to scream about a third of the way though the book.

...
Perhaps a little tighter editing would have alleviated some of the repetitiousness, but I guess sportswriters don't need to produce great literature when they have a subject as intriguing as my hero, Sandy Koufax.

Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ for any baseball fan
Review: I was one of the 69,000 in attendance who jammed into Yankee Stadium to see Sandy Koufax top Whitey Ford in the World Series opener in 1963 . . . in doing so, he set a World Series record of 15 strikeouts . . . I also remember the game because Frank Howard hit the hardest ball I've ever seen . . . if memory serves me correctly, it hit the bottom of the center field fence on a fly . . . but I digress . . . I mention the preceding because i recently finished KOUFAX by Edward Gruver, the story of the
three-time Cy Young award winner and Jewish icon who refused to pitch on High Holy days . . . this is a MUST READ for any baseball fan . . . it provides insight into the elusive, enigmatic hero who left the spotlight at the height of his powers.

There were many memorable passages; among them:
Koufax was aware of the edge his fastball gave him in pitcher-batter confrontations, and he used it to his advantage. "The art of pitching," he said, "is to instill fear in a man by making him flinch."

Koufax enjoyed the confrontations with great hitters. Baseball, he said once, is a form of warfare. He never believed in fraternizing with opposing players, because the guys in the other uniforms represented the enemy. He never wanted to get to know an opponent well enough to feel anything towards them except, as he put it, "sheer hostility."

[on loss of income when he was forced to retire] ". . . let's put it this way. If there was a man who did not have the use of one of his arms and you told him it would coast a lot of money if he could buy back that use, he'd give every dime he had, I believe. That's my feeling, and in a sense, maybe this is what I'm doing. . . . I don't regret one minute of the last twelve years, but I think I would regret one year that was too many."

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't do justice to the man
Review: Koufax was the greatest, he deserves a better book. I suspect that some of the more positive reviews posted are more a reflection of the reviewers' feelings about Koufax, rather than the book. This book is poorly written and incredibly boring. How any writer could make the subject of Sandy's brilliant career boring is beyond me. But Gruver finds a way. The writing is dry and disorganized, there is little flow to the material, too many meaningless quotes from others are included without sufficent editing, and a plethora of unimportant details not only overwhelm the narative but are frequently repeated, sometimes three or four times. I've just ordered Jane Leavy's book, it's got to be better.

Rating:
Summary: Recommended for All Sports Fans
Review: Koufax...The name evokes visions of perfection. One who had it all and dominated baseball like no pitcher before or since. Stricken by arthritis, the great Dodger southpaw walked away from the game in 1966 and seemingly vanished from the public eye. In his book, aptly titled "Koufax", author Ed Gruver successfully recreates the dynamic career of Sandy Koufax from the sandlots of Brooklyn to his final outing in the '66 World Series.

The only shortcoming of the book is Gruver's inability to unravel the mystery of Koufax the man. But, then again, the Koufax mystique has reached DiMaggio-like proportions over the years and it is doubtful that anyone will ever crack it. Mystique is what makes Koufax such an intiguing subject.

Koufax was not interviewed for the book, so Gruver relies on the input of former teammates and sportswriters. The details of Sandy's career are neatly framed within a series of flashbacks from his gutsy victory in Game 7 of the '65 World Series (A nice touch a la Kevin Costner's "For Love of the Game"). Gruver describes, in horrific detail, the sheer torture that Koufax endured not only during the crucial 7th game, but during the final three years of his career. In 1964 a mysterious circulatory ailment nearly prompted the amputation of a finger on his pitching hand. The following year Koufax pitched a mindboggling 336 innings (modern day aces usually rack up only 250 innings), while striking out what was then a record 382 batters. After each game his left arm , permanently bowed from arthritis, would swell to the size of his leg. The man never complained, he just "treated" his arm with an oinment so hot it seared his skin. So great was Koufax -- he won 26 games in '65, and 27 in '66 --that opposing players had difficulty believing his golden left arm was ravaged by arthritis. Ironically, by relaying such tales of anguish, Gruver inadvertently reveals a great deal about Koufax the person, not just Koufax the pitcher. We learn of the utter devotion and selflessness that this remarkable athlete possessed. We discover the drive and the relentless pursuit of perfection that landed the great hurler in the Hall of Fame. Most of all, we are left remembering the class act that was, and still is, Sandy Koufax. Recommended for all sports enthusiasts. (This is a rewrite of my review orginally submitted Aug. 21, 2000).

Rating:
Summary: Recommended for all sports fans
Review: Koufax...The name evokes visions of perfection; one who had it all and dominated baseball like no other pitcher before or since. Stricken with arthritis, the great Dodger southpaw walked away from the game in 1966 and seemingly vanished from the public eye. In his book, aptly titled "Koufax", author Ed Gruver successfully recreates the career of Sandy Koufax from the sandlots of Brooklyn to his final outing in the '66 World Series.

The only shortcoming of the book is that Gruver does little to unravel the mystery of Koufax the man. But, then again, Gruver can hardly be faulted as the Koufax mystique has reached DiMaggio-like proportions over the years and it is doubtful that anyone will ever crack it. As always, the mystique creates the legend.

Koufax was not interviewed for the book, so Gruver relies on former teammates and sportswriters to provide the meat of the book. The antedotes of Koufax's career are framed within a series of flashbacks relating to his gutsy victory over Minnesota in the 7th Game of the 1965 World Series.(A nice touch; reminiscent of Kevin Costner's "For Love of the Game".)Gruver describes, in horrific detail, the amount of pain and sheer torture that Koufax endured not only during the crucial 7th Game, but also during the final three years of his career. We learn of the near amputation of the middle finger of his pitching hand after suffering a mysterious circulatory ailment in 1964. In '65, when Sandy set what was then a Major League record 382 strikeouts, his left arm would swell to the size of his leg. Prior to each start, Koufax "treated" his arm with with an ointment so hot, it seared his skin. After each game he dipped his permanently bowed left arm into a tub of freezing ice-water.

Ironically, by relaying tales of pain and torment suffered by Koufax, Gruver inadvertently lets the reader gaze into the psyche of Koufax the man, not just Koufax the pitcher. We learn of the utter devotion and selflessness that this great athlete possessed. We discover the drive and the relentless pursuit of perfection that landed the hurler in the Hall of Fame. Most of all, we remember the one of a kind class act that was, and is, Sandy Koufax. Recommended for all sports enthusiasts.

Rating:
Summary: Koufax Acquaintance From N.Y.
Review: Sandy Koufax is frequently described as a shy, introverted, and very private man. Perhaps because of this truth, it's hard to really get to know the real man... and even a biographer has trouble shedding any light on Sandy.

Gruver's book doesn't offer any new insight into Sandy's personality or private life. And the book frequently repeats several phrases over and over again! His pitching motion is described at least five times using the same description, and everyone interviewed for the book chimes in with the same description of his private side. Very repetitive! Lacking any real depth or anything new to say about Sandy Koufax, I guess the author decided to pad the book with repeated phrases. Sandy threw a great curve because of his "long fingers and overhead delivery." Sandy's lack of a good curve in the World Series forced him to "rely almost entirely on his fastfall." I can't tell you how many times I read this same information within the space of this short book.

Taking up the rest of the book is a pitch-by-pitch retelling of Game 7 of the 1965 World Series. Koufax was amazing to see pitch, and his dominance over other players was exciting to watch. But retold by Gruver in minute detail doesn't recreate the drama, it only puts us to sleep. Football fans have long said that "baseball is boring," and Gruver helps prove them right.

The author attempts to frame Koufax's story on the aforementioned 1965 World Series game 7, and jumps forward and backward between that game and the rest of Koufax's life and career. It's a literary device that doesn't work; I found myself confused about what year it was and what important game was being played. Also, Gruver's segue phrases between the 1965 World Series and moments earlier in Koufax's career are forced... moving from the eighth inning of Game 7 to an earlier Koufax pitching start, Gruver might say, "It was just like that time in San Francisco in 1962," and - BOOM - now he's recounting the details of a game played three years earlier. And then back to the 1965 World Series for the bottom of the eighth. And so on.

Hopefully, that newer Koufax biography ("Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy") is better and more exciting than this one. I don't think I've ever read a more boring baseball book, and certainly never one as monotonous as this one.

Rating:
Summary: Koufax, Martinez, Walter Johnson
Review: Sandy Koufax, Pedro Martinez, and Walter Johnson are the three greatest pitchers in history. This book makes a strong case for Koufax as THE greatest. Certainly others -- Cy Young,Christy Mathewson,Lefty Grove, Bob Feller,Warren Spahn,Tom Seaver,and today's Maddux and Clemens,among others -- have had greater lifetime careers than Sandy,but has anyone been as good as he at their peak years? Maybe Martinez, maybe the two Johnsons,Walter and Randy.It's probably a flat-out dead heat. However, Koufax finished most of his games,something even the great Pedro and Randy seldom do. Also, Koufax frequently went extra innings -- 11,12,13 innings,something Pedro and Randy NEVER do.Koufax pitched for one of the weakest hitting championship teams of all time. From the time he matured into greatness, he became the sole deciding factor as to whether the Dodgers won the pennant or not;in 1962, with the Dodgers on top, Koufax goes out with a circulatory ailment sometime around midsummer and misses most of the rest of the season and the Dodgers lose the pennant.In '63, with a healthy Koufax all year, they win it.In '64, he goes out again in mid-summer with an arthritic arm, and again the Dodgers lose the pennant. In '65, a healthy Koufax leads them to another pennant. In '66, once again with a healthy Koufax, the Dodgers win the pennant. Do you start to see a pattern here? If the greatest measure of an athlete is how he helps his team win, then surely Koufax has to be at the top of anyone's list. If he'd been able to continue pitching,like Nolan Ryan he'd no doubt have been able to pitch at a master level til he was past 40 due to his work ethic and commitment to conditioning. With that scenario, how many games might he have won? How many pennants for the Dodgers? How many no-hitters? Let's see, at a conservatve estimate of 24 wins a year for 10 more years, that would give him 405 lifetime wins, more than anyone except Walter Johnson and Cy Young, both DEAD BALL pitchers. He pitched 4 no-hitters in his last 5 years.At that rate, he'd have pitched 8 more over the next ten years, for a total of 12, obliterating Ryan's mark of 7. He was the greatest clutch pitcher of all time. His World Series lifetime E.R.A. of 0.95 is the best ever for starting pitchers,eclipsing even the Dead Ball guys! When he retired, he was unbelievably still getting BETTER! He had just reached his all-time personal high in wins(27) and his personal best E.R.A.(1.73). In the last 26 days of his career, he started seven times, threw five complete-game wins, and had an E.R.A. of 1.07! Bill James's all-time favorite pitcher,Lefty Grove, can't match up with Koufax, Martinez, or either of the Johnsons; sorry, Bill. The all-time dream game: Koufax vs. Martinez in the seventh game of the Series. Result? The Dodgers in 13 innings,1-0.
More even than all this, Sandy Koufax is one of the most modest,unassuming athletes ever, a true gentleman. It's a shame today's kids don't have such role models.