Editing Sandy Koufax (section)

===Playing in pain (1965–66)===
[[File:SandyKoufaxArm1966.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|In his final seasons, Koufax iced his arm for hours after every game he pitched|alt=A dark-haired man looks on while his arm is placed in a tub of ice]]

After resting during the off-season, Koufax returned to spring training in 1965 and initially had no problems from pitching. On March 30, however, he woke up the morning after pitching a complete game against the [[Chicago White Sox]] to find his entire left arm swollen and [[bruise|black and blue]] from [[hemorrhage|hemorrhaging]]. He returned to Los Angeles to consult with Kerlan who warned him that he would eventually lose the full use of his arm if he continued to pitch.<ref>[[#Leavy|Leavy]], p. 156.</ref>

Kerlan and Koufax established a schedule which he followed for the last two seasons of his career. Koufax initially agreed to stop throwing between starts but, as it had been a part of his routine for a long time, he soon resumed it. Instead, he stopped throwing sidearm pitches (which he often did against left-handed batters) and removed his rarely-used slider from his repertoire.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Baseball: With Trauma, Stress & It |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=July 30, 1965 |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,834075,00.html}}</ref>

Before each start, Koufax had [[capsaicin]]-based Capsolin ointment – nicknamed the "Atomic Balm" by players – rubbed onto his shoulder and arm. Afterwards, he soaked his arm in a tub of ice to prevent swelling; during the ice treatments, he often wore a rubber sleeve fashioned from an [[inner tube]] to prevent frostbite. If his elbow swelled up after a game, the fluid would be drained with a syringe. When necessary, he was also given a [[Hydrocortisone|cortisone shot]] in the elbow joint. For the pain, Koufax took Empirin with [[codeine]] every night and occasionally during a game. He also took [[Phenylbutazone|Butazolidin]], a drug used to treat inflammation caused by arthritis which was eventually taken off the market due to its toxic side effects.<ref>[[#Koufax and Linn|Koufax and Linn]], pp. 228–239; [[#Leavy|Leavy]], pp. 156–160.</ref>

====1965 season====
Despite the constant pain in his pitching elbow, Koufax pitched a major league-leading 335.2 innings and 27 complete games, leading the [[1965 Los Angeles Dodgers season|Dodgers]] to another pennant. He won his second pitching Triple Crown, leading the Majors in wins (26), earned run average (2.04), and strikeouts (382).<ref name="triplecrown"/> Koufax captured his second unanimous Cy Young Award,<ref name="cyyoungaward"/> and was runner-up for the National League MVP Award, behind [[Willie Mays]].<ref name="mvp"/>

Koufax's 382 strikeouts broke [[Rube Waddell]]'s modern record of 349 strikeouts in 1904, and was the highest modern-day total at the time.<ref>{{cite web|title=Single-Season Leaders & Records for Strikeouts|website=Baseball-Reference.com|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/SO_p_season.shtml}}</ref> He walked only 71 batters, the first time a pitcher struck out 300 more batters than he walked (311). Additionally, he held batters to 5.79 hits per nine innings, and allowed the fewest baserunners per nine innings in any season ever: 7.83, breaking his own record (set two years earlier) of 7.96.<ref name="bbref-skoufax"/>

Koufax was the pitcher for the Dodgers during the [[Battle of Candlestick|game on August 22]], when Giants pitcher [[Juan Marichal]] clubbed Dodgers catcher [[John Roseboro]] in the head with a bat.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Fight of Their Lives: How Juan Marichal And John Roseboro Turned Baseball's Ugliest Brawl Into A Story Of Forgiveness And Redemption |last1=Rosengren |first1=John |year=2014 |url=https://archive.org/details/fightoftheirlive0000rose |pages=107–141 |publisher=Lyons Press|isbn=978-0762787128 |url-access=registration}}</ref> The game, which came in the middle of a heated pennant race, had been tense since it began, with Marichal [[brushback pitch|brushing back]] Dodgers outfielder [[Ron Fairly]] and shortstop [[Maury Wills]], and Koufax retaliating by throwing over the head of [[Willie Mays]]. After Koufax's retaliation, both benches were warned by umpire [[Shag Crawford]]; despite this, he asked Roseboro, "Who do you want me to get?" Not wanting Koufax ejected in the middle of a crucial game, Roseboro replied, "I'll handle it."<ref>[[#Leavy|Leavy]], pp. 179–180.</ref>

After the clubbing occurred, Koufax rushed from the mound and attempted to grab the bat from Marichal. A fourteen-minute brawl ensued in which he and Mays attempted to restore peace, with Mays dragging the injured Roseboro away from the fight.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stone |first1=Kevin |title=Juan Marichal clubbed John Roseboro 50 years ago in ugly, iconic incident |url=https://www.espn.in/mlb/story/_/id/13463881/juan-marichal-hit-john-roseboro-bat-ugly-baseball-brawl-50-years-ago |work=[[ESPN]] |date=August 19, 2015}}</ref> After the game resumed, a shaken Koufax walked two batters before giving up a three-run home run to Mays. While he eventually settled down and pitched a complete game without allowing more runs, the Dodgers lost the game 4–3.<ref>{{cite web |title=Los Angeles Dodgers vs San Francisco Giants Box Score: August 22, 1965 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN196508220.shtml |website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>

=====Perfection=====
{{Main|Sandy Koufax's perfect game}}
On September 9, 1965, Koufax became the sixth pitcher of the modern era, and eighth overall, to throw a perfect game. The game, pitched against the [[1965 Chicago Cubs season|Chicago Cubs]], was Koufax's fourth no-hitter, setting a then-major league record, and the first by a left-hander in the modern era. He struck out 14 batters, the most recorded in a perfect game, and at least one batter in each inning in the 1–0 win.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/september-9-1965-a-million-butterflies-and-one-perfect-game-for-sandy-koufax/ |last1=Huber |first1=Mike |title=September 9, 1965: 'A million butterflies' and one perfect game for Sandy Koufax |work=Society for American Baseball Research}}</ref>

The game also set a record for the fewest hits in a major league contest as Cubs pitcher [[Bob Hendley]] pitched a one-hitter and allowed only two batters to reach base.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/bob-hendley-one-hitter-loses-to-sandy-koufax/c-148255150 |last1=Noble |first1=Marty |date=September 9, 2015 |title=The Day Hendley Allowed Just One Hit, Koufax Was Perfect |website=[[MLB.com]]}}</ref> Both pitchers had no-hitters intact until the seventh inning. The winning run was [[earned run|unearned]], scored in the fifth inning without a hit when Dodgers left fielder [[Lou Johnson]] walked, reached second on a [[sacrifice hit|sacrifice]], stole third, and scored on a throwing [[error (baseball)|error]] by Cubs catcher [[Chris Krug]]. The only hit was a bloop double by Johnson to shallow right in the seventh inning.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chicago Cubs vs Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score: September 9, 1965 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN196509090.shtml |website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>

=====World Series and Yom Kippur decision=====
The Dodgers won the NL pennant on the second-to-last game of the season, against the [[1965 Milwaukee Braves season|Milwaukee Braves]]. Koufax started the game on two days' rest and pitched a complete game 3–1 win, striking out 13, to clinch the pennant for the Dodgers.{{efn|In his career, Koufax pitched in nine games on two days' rest, starting eight times. He never lasted less than seven innings, winning seven of those games and pitching a complete game six times.<ref>[[#Leavy|Leavy]], pp. 185–186.</ref>}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Milwaukee Braves vs Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score: October 2, 1965 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN196510020.shtml |website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>

Koufax garnered national attention when he declined to start Game 1 of the [[1965 World Series]] as it [[Observance of Yom Kippur by Jewish athletes|clashed with Yom Kippur]], the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Rosengren |first1=John |title=Sandy Koufax, Yom Kippur and the 1965 World Series |url=https://www.si.com/mlb/2015/09/23/sandy-koufax-yom-kippur-1965-world-series |magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]] |date=September 23, 2015}}</ref> Instead, Drysdale pitched the opener, but was hit hard by the [[1965 Minnesota Twins season|Minnesota Twins]]. When Dodgers manager [[Walter Alston]] came out to remove Drysdale from the game, the latter quipped: "I bet right now you wish I was Jewish, too."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stewart |first1=Larry |title=Drysdale Didn't Quite Have It This Day |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-04-sp-briefing4-story.html |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=November 4, 2003}}</ref>

In Game 2, Koufax pitched six innings, giving up two runs (one unearned); the Twins won 5–1 to take an early 2–0 lead in the series. The Dodgers fought back in Games 3 and 4, with wins by [[Claude Osteen]] and Drysdale. With the Series tied at 2–2, Koufax pitched a four-hit shutout in Game 5, striking out 10 batters, for a 3–2 Dodgers lead.

The Series returned to [[Metropolitan Stadium]] for Game 6, which the Twins' [[Mudcat Grant|Jim Grant]] won to force a seventh, decisive game. For the series clincher, Alston decided to start Koufax on two days' rest over the fully-rested Drysdale against the Twins' [[Jim Kaat]]. Pitching through fatigue and chronic pain, he threw a three-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts, despite the fact he did not have his curveball and relied almost entirely on his fastball.<ref>[[#Schoor|Schoor]], pp. 290–292.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Briere |first1=Tom |title=L.A. Wins, 2–0, Take Series |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-tribune-1965-world-series/66578834/ |work=[[Star Tribune|Minneapolis Tribune]] |date=October 15, 1965}}</ref>

For his performance, Koufax won the [[World Series MVP Award]], the first player to be awarded it multiple times. Koufax also won the Hickok Belt for a second time, also the first time anyone won the belt more than once.<ref name="hickokbelt"/> That year, he was named the [[Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year|Sportsman of the Year]] by ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' and [[Associated Press Athlete of the Year|Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year]] for a second time.<ref>[[#Koufax and Linn|Koufax and Linn]], pp. 256–268; [[#Leavy|Leavy]], pp. 167–194.</ref>