"A certain magic still lingers in the name, stirring memories of the sixties supernova whose half-decade of dominance was so brilliant, yet so fleeting. Decades removed from his final game, Koufax's stats still jump from the pages of history like one of his fastballs." (Gruver, 1)

In Koufax, the first book in more than thirty years on the inimitable Sandy Koufax, sportswriter Edward Gruver illuminates the astonishing story of the man many consider the greatest left-handed pitcher of all time. Between 1962 and 1966, he dominated the game as no pitcher before or since. His 382 strikeouts in '65 remain a National League record to this day. Koufax's hopping curve and blazing fastball, sometimes spotted with blood from his ailing hand, confounded hitters while slowly tearing his arm apart. He suffered agonizing arthritis, immersed his inflamed elbow in ice baths following games, and required specially tailored suits to accommodate his bowed left limb. Even

Sandy place in baseball history was secure on August 7, 1972, the day he was inducted into the hall of Fame in Cooperstown. His place among the Game's immortals, however, remains an open question. Was he the greatest pitcher of the pitching-rich sixties, a decade that included Whitey Ford and Warren Spahn, Don Drysdale, Bob Gibson and Juan Marichal? Is he the greatest left-handed pitcher ever, better that Hall of Fame predecessors Lefty Grove, Lefty Gomez, and Carl Hubbell or successors Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson? Is he the greatest pitcher, period, better that Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson, Dizzy Dean, and Bob Feller, Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux? There seems to be little argument that Koufax was indeed the best southpaw of the sixties, reaching his peak in 1963 just as the Cooperstown careers of Ford and Spahn were winding down. Baseball historian Bill Mazer once wrote that if you ask a fan of the game today who the best pitcher is, you will probably get a variety of answers. But if you asked a fan in the mid-sixties who the best pitcher was, you would only get one: Sandy Koufax. If he was the best pitcher of the sixties, how does he rank among the greatest pitchers of all time , Hall of Famers Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, and Lefty Grove, and future member of the Hall Greg Maddux? In Koufax, Gruver matches his peak years of 1962-1966 against the best five years of this century's greats; Mathewson, Johnson, Grove, and Maddux. Of the six major categories; record, win percentage, ERA, ERA titles, strikeouts, and strikeout ratio, Koufax finished first three times. As astonishing as Sandy was during the regular season, he had that rare ability to raise his game in the clutch. He pitched in eight World Series games and posted a dazzling ERA of .95. In 57 innings pitched, he allowed 36 hits and 11 walks while striking out 61. There is of course, no definitive answer as to who is baseball's best pitcher. Still, many including Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer still refer to Koufax as being "as good as anyone has ever seen." (Koufax, 230) Ans that's why no won will ever be like him, even among current major leaguers. Bob Feller, using Koufax as a measuring stick for greatness, said Pedro Martinez has a great season in '99, but added, "He's not Sandy Koufax yet." (G

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Approximate Word count = 1564
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)