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15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
Where have all our heroes gone?, June 11, 2000
On a balmy, summer's evening in Southern California during the mid-60's, I tune my transistor radio to KFI, and loop the handstrap around my bicycle's handlebar. Peddling aimlessly through the darkening twilight, my thoughts are solely on the vision conjured up by the Voice of the Dodgers, Vin Scully. I remember as if it was only yesterday..."On the mound tonight for the Los Angeles Dodgers ... number 32 ... the great left-hander... Sandy Koufax". "Koufax", by Edward Gruver, brings it all back. It's more than just a straightforward biography. The backbone of the book is a narrative of Sandy's gutsy, phenomenal performance in the seventh game of the 1965 World Series with the Minnesota Twins, relived batter by batter and pitch by pitch, at roughly one inning per chapter. The author fleshes out each inning's action with the story of Koufax's life: parents, childhood, education, religion, early baseball career, peak baseball career, teammates, adversaries, pitching style, injuries, retirement, and post retirement. And enough pitching stats to satisfy even the most hardball of fans. My only criticism might be that the author's evident hero worship of his subject is almost slavish. However, who am I to criticize considering the knuckle-biting attention I paid to Sandy's every outing, every pitch and every decision? This is a must-have book about a truly great gentleman and ballplayer. Thirty-four years after my hero's final walk to the mound, I'm no longer a baseball fan, much less a follower of the Dodgers. Nowadays, star baseball (and football, and basketball) players seem to get more media attention when they abuse drugs, commit felony assault or rape, or are just downright obnoxious. Yes, I suppose professional athletes have always had their darker side, but the paying fans rarely heard about it, and the reputation of The Game was the better for it. For me, there are no present-day heroes. But, if I surrender to memory on a balmy, Southern California, summer evening, I can still hear Vin Scully across the decades ... "Sandy looks in to Roseboro for the sign ... He goes into his wind-up ... Now the pitch... FASTBALL! ... Swung on and missed! Strike three!... Oh, my!"
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Add This Book to Your Library, October 9, 2000
I saw Sandy Koufax pitch one game. It was in Milwaukee on August 8,1964, against the Braves. I remember two things about the game. Tony Cloninger's pick-off attempt at second base in which Koufax dove back into the bag but endured a hard tag. When he reached third base he was twirling his arm around in circles. The following day his elbow swelled up and his arm was in a hooked position. Shortly thereafter, he was diagnosed with arthritis. The author does a good job of covering Sandy's career and those who may be too young to remember Koufax from the years 1963 through 1966 should familiarize themselves with his career. I didn't especially care that the author spent part of a number of chapters covering inning by inning of the 7th game of the 1965 Series against the Minnesota Twins. This could have been covered in one chapter. I did find what I believe to be two errors in the book. On page 78 the author says, "Umpire Ed Hurley ruled CATCHER'S interference, called Nossek (the batter) out, and returned Versalles to first." I believe it should be BATTER'S interference. On page 223 I believe the author misquotes once more when Koufax was named Baseball Athlete of the Decade. Sandy is quoted as saying, "I think it's incredible because there were guys like Mays and Henry Aaron who were great players for 10 years of more," Koufax said. "After all, my big years were spread over a full decade. I only had four or five good years." Instead of saying MY good years, I'm sure he meant to say THEIR good years. Koufax credits Dodger pitching coach Joe Becker for his success and also catcher Norm Sherry, who in spring training of 1961 suggested that Sandy throw somewhat easier to gain control. It turned out that his overthrowing was causing his wildness. The epilogue asks the question as to where Koufax belongs in regard to other great pitchers in the game. Rather than argue that, let's just say the game was blessed by this fantastic athlete who pitched with pain probably unlike any other hurler and excelled in spite of it.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Doesn't do justice to the man, May 20, 2003
Koufax was the greatest, he deserves a better book. I suspect that some of the more positive reviews posted are more a reflection of the reviewers' feelings about Koufax, rather than the book. This book is poorly written and incredibly boring. How any writer could make the subject of Sandy's brilliant career boring is beyond me. But Gruver finds a way. The writing is dry and disorganized, there is little flow to the material, too many meaningless quotes from others are included without sufficent editing, and a plethora of unimportant details not only overwhelm the narative but are frequently repeated, sometimes three or four times. I've just ordered Jane Leavy's book, it's got to be better.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
You learn about the pain he overcame to excel, August 17, 2001
As a child in the sixties, I watched the game of baseball change dramatically. Due to expansion, it started with an offensive explosion. Home run numbers and batting averages soared in the first few years, with Roger Maris hitting 61 home runs in a season and the Yankees setting an all-time record for home runs by a team. That changed quickly, so by 1968, the pitchers were so dominant that it was practically a fluke that the American league batting champion had an average over .300. However, by then the most dominant pitcher of the decade was gone, removed by an arthritic left arm that could have failed at any time. His name was Koufax, one that still leaves many in awe.
It was common knowledge that he had serious problems with his arm, but it was so hard to believe when you saw him pitch. Until I read this book, I had no idea how many problems he battled through. At one point in his last years, it was thought that he would have to have the index finger of his throwing hand amputated due to lack of circulation. It is to his eternal credit that he has never lamented his misfortune.
The other point that is so significant is the number of innings he pitched in his last few seasons. There appears to be no doubt that his determination to pitch so much shortened his career. Such things are unheard of in the modern era, where starting pitchers are routinely removed after seven innings. Once again, you hear nothing from him about how different things might have been.
Sandy Koufax is also an intensely private man, with little interest in commercial endorsements. Therefore, the only way that you can learn about him is through books like this. Gruver shows us many things about Koufax, but without doubt the two most significant points are how dominant a pitcher he was and how courageous he was to continue that dominance while his left arm deteriorated to the point where his suits needed to be specially tailored. After reading this book, I came away even more impressed with Sandy Koufax, who could have been the best pitcher of all time.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
As boring as football fans claim baseball is!, June 9, 2003
Sandy Koufax is frequently described as a shy, introverted, and very private man. Perhaps because of this truth, it's hard to really get to know the real man... and even a biographer has trouble shedding any light on Sandy.Gruver's book doesn't offer any new insight into Sandy's personality or private life. And the book frequently repeats several phrases over and over again! His pitching motion is described at least five times using the same description, and everyone interviewed for the book chimes in with the same description of his private side. Very repetitive! Lacking any real depth or anything new to say about Sandy Koufax, I guess the author decided to pad the book with repeated phrases. Sandy threw a great curve because of his "long fingers and overhead delivery." Sandy's lack of a good curve in the World Series forced him to "rely almost entirely on his fastfall." I can't tell you how many times I read this same information within the space of this short book. Taking up the rest of the book is a pitch-by-pitch retelling of Game 7 of the 1965 World Series. Koufax was amazing to see pitch, and his dominance over other players was exciting to watch. But retold by Gruver in minute detail doesn't recreate the drama, it only puts us to sleep. Football fans have long said that "baseball is boring," and Gruver helps prove them right. The author attempts to frame Koufax's story on the aforementioned 1965 World Series game 7, and jumps forward and backward between that game and the rest of Koufax's life and career. It's a literary device that doesn't work; I found myself confused about what year it was and what important game was being played. Also, Gruver's segue phrases between the 1965 World Series and moments earlier in Koufax's career are forced... moving from the eighth inning of Game 7 to an earlier Koufax pitching start, Gruver might say, "It was just like that time in San Francisco in 1962," and - BOOM - now he's recounting the details of a game played three years earlier. And then back to the 1965 World Series for the bottom of the eighth. And so on. Hopefully, that newer Koufax biography ("Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy") is better and more exciting than this one. I don't think I've ever read a more boring baseball book, and certainly never one as monotonous as this one.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
This review isn't helpful but I really don't care., July 27, 2001
While thinking about what to say in this review I was reminded of some commentary written about Miles Davis where a jazz critic I have long since forgotten observed, "Miles plays for himself. The listener's appreciation is merely an irrelevant by-product." Under no circumstances do I consider myself to be the literary equivalent of the musician (and artist) that was Miles Davis however the spirit of the quote is a fair assessment of the following review. If Ed Gruver had written a biography of commensurate quality about any other baseball player, at most I would have rated it four stars. Imposition of the name Koufax, establishes an entirely unique dynamic for me. Throughout my childhood, every member of my family and basically every adult I knew well were Dodger fans, nevermind the fact the team was initially 600, and eventually 3000 miles removed from where I lived. I must have been enveloped by a steel industry induced rust belt fog for my pre-teen, adolescent and young adult years because up to the point of Jackie Robinson's death the basis for our unwavering support never occurred to me. No one ever said a thing, it was just the way it was. My family would gather around and listen to Bob Prince's call of Pirates' games just so we could find out how the Dodgers were doing. If the Dodger's were on NBC's game of the week, it became an event comparable to today's Superbowl parties. As a lefthanded kid who fancied himself a future major league pitcher and a Dodger fan to boot, Sandy Koufax was the embodiment of perfection. I'm forced to smile in consideration of my now obvious hypocrisy when I think about the number of times I admonished my children regarding adulation of sports figures, chiding them to remember the athlete should be admired for accomplishments on the field but heroes should be sought from other disciplines. This coming from a man who a few years ago came across an old elementary school autograph book where some erstwhile friend had written, "to the boy who thinks he's Sandy Koufax but is not and never will be," thereby terminating our friendship on the spot. Not only did I consciously attempt to emulate the Koufax delivery, but while recently watching some tapes of my son, I realized when I taught him to pitch, his delivery became a right-handed version of the Koufax form. My first job was hawking newspapers in the stands of Forbes Field during Pirates games. I found out that way I could get in for free. In 1965, I was fortunate enough to be at a doubleheader where the Dodgers starting pitchers were Koufax and Drysdale. Koufax gave up first inning homers to Bob Bailey and Donn Clendenon, then he shut down the Pirates, went all nine (naturally) and the Dodgers won 5-2. I don't have the slightest clue what happened with Drysdale in the second game. Without question, baseball is the american sport with the most time-tested adages and overwhelming conventional wisdom. The book says a fastball cannot rise and in the late innings, hitters will catch up with the pitcher who depends on the fastball. The book didn't factor in Sandy Koufax. He even affected my perceptions of historical significance. Two people I promised myself I would never forget were Michael Collins and Bob Hendley. The former did not get to walk on the moon, and the latter only gave up one hit, one walk and no earned runs, but found himself on the short end of the Koufax perfect game against the Cubs in 1965. Mr. Gruver transported me back to an era of pleasant memories. It is hard to get younger fans in the present era to comprehend just how dominating a player was Sandy Koufax. Comparisons between eras are always difficult however rating Randy Johnson, Martinez, Clemons or Maddox against the man I consider to be the greatest seems so inadequate, particularly when you consider the physical challenges he had to overcome the last two seasons he played every time he picked up the ball. The guidelines have changed but this is a man who completed as many games in those two seasons as today's 5 man rotation pitchers start. I only wish the authors' style and format had been as inspiring as his subject matter. The storyline of Koufax's life takes place around the backdrop of a pitch by pitch account of the 7th game of the 1965 World Series. Mr. Gruver seems to suffer from short term memory loss as time after time he repeats the same information, occasionally in successive paragraphs. Anyone who knows anything about Koufax knows his legendary reclusiveness would inhibit any author writing an unauthorized biography, so the absence of input from Mr. Koufax was not surprising. Mr. Gruver, however, fails to adequately compensate. Nevertheless, KOUFAX is still a book any baseball fan will enjoy. It's been said there will never be another Ruth, Brown, Laver, Ali, Nicklaus, Jordan, only time will tell. But in the case of Sandy Koufax...
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
A True Dodger Hero, July 9, 2000
This book is an excellent, exciting read and is well worth the time. Gruver uses the pivotal 7th game of the 65 World Series as a backdrop for Sandy's career. However, it is painfully obvious that Koufax himself did not contribute any interviews or personal observations, which is missed. Because of this, little new information is revealed to fans familiar with Koufax and his illustrious life and career. Nonetheless, I do highly recommend this book to Dodger fans and Baseball fans alike.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
A Modest Super Star for the Ages!, September 3, 2000
Edward Gruver has done an excellent job of summarizing Sandy Koufax's amazing career, using public information and interviews with those who knew or played during Mr. Koufax's career. Mr. Koufax, well known for his preference for privacy, did not provide new information for the book. As a die-hard Dodger fan who seldom missed attending a home game (or listening to away games on KFI) when Sandy Koufax was pitching in the 1960s, there was little here that I did not know. But Mr. Gruver brought it all back in a vivid way that made those days return again in my mind. Even with my eyes open, I can now see again that incredible curve crashing towards the bottom of the strike zone, just like I am still at an early September game in 1965. Long-time Dodger fans will enjoy this re-creation of the career of one of the team's greatest players. It's also great fun to read again about Don Drysdale, Johnny Podres, John Roseboro, Maury Wills, Claude Osteen, and the Boys of Summer. Those who never saw Mr. Koufax pitch will learn what they missed, and hopefully will find a video somewhere to watch. But what is most rewarding for me is to remember what a fine person Sandy Koufax always has been. Few sports heroes leave me with that impression. Perhaps the ultimate test of greatness is how one handles it. The book is designed around a play-by-play review of Mr. Koufax's incredible victory in the 7th game of the World Series in 1965 against the Minnesota Twins. Pitching on two days rest with an arthritic arm causing him great pain, Koufax pitched his second shut-out while relying almost solely on his fastball. It was a performance seldom seen before or since in baseball. The story of his life fills in around the game. A lot of books about great athletes are pretty rah-rah. One of the strengths of this book is a balanced discussion of how good Sandy Koufax actually was. Temporary factors like the increased size of the strike zone, the expansion of the league, and the playing conditions in Dodger Stadium are all discussed along with good statistical information. You come away with a sense that Sandy Koufax reached heights where no one had gone before, but did it for a shorter period of time than many other great bseball players because of his arm injuries. (At various times, he lost the circulation in a finger, had trouble picking up objects, and had severe swelling in his arm to go with the constant pain.) What his life means is the ultimate mystery that this book does not answer. Sandy Koufax himself adds nothing before or then to answer that question. That's all that is missing to make this a five star book. So you'll just have to address that for yourself! Perhaps the answer has to come from how his example inspires us to live better lives. Certainly, he will always be remembered for skipping a World Series start to attend Yom Kippur services. And certainly people of all religions were helped by his example that our duty to God comes before our work. Not too many sports heroes are remembered for their religious observances. Even fewer inspire others to greater religious devotion as Mr. Koufax has done. For those who do not know his record, he pitched four no-hitters in consecutive years including one perfect game. His great years were from 1962 to 1966 when he retired at the top of his game, to avoid further permanent | |
