Koufax says goodbye

Sandy Koufax, coming off a five-year run that arguably is the greatest of any pitcher in history, stuns all of baseball 57 years ago today by announcing his retirement.

Koufax, only 30 at the time, says the arthritis in his left elbow is just too painful to continue, ending a 12-year career that is as fabulous at the end as it is frustrating at the outset.

Once Koufax figures out home plate doesn't move and he indeed can throw strikes – and that process takes most of his first seven seasons – the Los Angeles Dodgers' left-hander becomes the game's most dominant pitcher.

Koufax goes 111-34 with four no-hitters from 1962 through 1966, leading the National League in earned-run average and strikeouts over those five seasons.

Five years after his sudden retirement, Koufax becomes a first-ballot selection for the Hall of Fame, receiving votes on 344 of the 396 ballots.

“I don’t regret for one minute the 12 years I’ve spent in baseball,” Koufax says at his retirement, “but I could regret one season too many. I’ve got a lot of years to live after baseball and I would like to live them with the complete use of my body.”