On April 18th, 1964 Sandy Koufax becomes the first pitcher in history to strike out the side on 9 pitches.
Koufax's final two seasons were his most dominating (26 wins in 1965, 27 in 1966), but he was in agony, relying on frequent cortisone shots and painkillers to enable him to get through games. His pain had little effect on his ability. Hitting Koufax, Pirates slugger Willie Stargell memorably said, was like trying to drink coffee with a fork.
Koufax had only two pitches, his overwhelming fastball and a devastating curveball. By his windup, he would often tip off which pitch was coming, but it didn't matter. "I knew what was coming," Willie Mays said, "and I still couldn't hit it."
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