Opening Day Auction Closing May 9th
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/10/2015
This 1956 letter pertaining to Sandy Koufax documents a pivotal event in his young career that is perhaps responsible for his remaining in baseball after the 1956 season with the Brooklyn Dodgers to become the dominant pitcher that he was. The December 19, 1956 letter which is typed in Spanish on the letterhead of the “Caguas Rio Piedras Baseball Club, Inc.” documents his visit to play winter ball in Puerto Rico after having played his first two seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers; having appeared in only 28 games and pitching to a record of 4 wins and 6 losses. To prepare for the 1957 season and to justify his place on the Dodgers roster of starting pitchers, Dodgers Manager Walter Alston sent him to play winter ball. Upon his return Koufax completed his first full game as a starter, pitching against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley and recording 13 strike outs. The rest shall we say is history! Koufax continued to dominate batters throughout the rest of his career; pitching four no-hitters including a perfect game and winning three Cy Young Awards. Loosely translated, the letter reads: “We include contract for imported pitcher Ryne Duren substituted by Sanford Koufax leaving tomorrow aboard Eastern Airlines flight 800." Ink notations on the bottom of the letter provide further details pertaining to his flight arrival and picking up Koufax from the airport. This is a rare chronicle of Koufax’s visit to play winter ball and perhaps the turning point in his career, much like when the young Mickey Mantle was first sent to the minor leagues as a young player in 1951 only to return with the confidence to continue in what was one of the most heralded careers in baseball.