On Election Day, a Little Non-Political Historical Comparison Given the World Series Dodger Win

I know, this isn’t a political story exactly, but it does relate to a recent event, namely, the World Series. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, and naturally became an avid Dodger fan. I had the immense privilege of witnessing Sandy Koufax pitch in person more than once. He was an absolute marvel. I was a pitcher in Little League and Pony League, so my interest was always focused on the pitchers. 

I no longer reside in Los Angeles. I have lived in Santa Cruz, California, for almost 40 years. I have subsequently become a San Francisco Giants fan and a Dodger hater. Yup, I switched teams and I was very unhappy when the Dodgers won the World Series. Dodger pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched 6 innings in the 6th game of the Series, allowing only a single run. He came back and pitched another 2+ innings in the final extra inning victory for the Dodgers and the Series victory. Dodger manager Dave Roberts declared that Yamamoto was not only the MVP of the Series, but GOAT. I beg to differ. Yamamoto’s performance was exceptional, but it does not measure up to Koufax who still holds the career playoff record with a miniscule 0.95 ERA. Koufax also pitched 4 no-hitters, one of which was a perfect game. In fact, Koufax threw 113 pitches in that perfect game and struck out the last 6 batters in the 8th and 9th innings. Announcers marveled at how Yamamoto could pitch the next day after pitching 6 innings the day before in game 6, but he had a day’s rest between his 96 pitches in game 6 and his 34 pitches in game 7. Give Yamamoto credit for a superb performance, but he is no Sandy Koufax, and no one else ever has been. Koufax pitched 137 complete games during his 12-year career cut short by arthritis in his pitching arm. By comparison, Kershaw has pitched 15 complete games in his 18 year career. Kershaw, like Yamamoto, is a great pitcher, but the GOAT is clearly Sandy Koufax.