Episode Details

Sandy Koufax pitched four no-hitters, won three Cy Young Awards, and was the most dominant pitcher in baseball. Then, at thirty years old and at the absolute peak of his abilities, he retired. His left arm was so damaged by arthritis that he could not straighten it, and he chose his health over his career when every incentive pointed the other way.

This episode traces Koufax from his Brooklyn childhood through his years of wildness, his sudden transformation into the best pitcher alive, and the principled decision to walk away that shocked the sports world.

• He retired at thirty with a career ERA of 2.76 while still the most dominant pitcher in the game
• He famously refused to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur
• He threw four no-hitters, including a perfect game, in four consecutive seasons
• He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame at age thirty-six, the youngest player inducted at the time