Editing Sandy Koufax (section)

====1963 season====
In 1963, Major League Baseball expanded the [[strike zone]] to combat what they perceived as too much offense.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/articles/strike_zone_rules_history.shtml|title=The Strike Zone: A History of Official Strike Zone Rules|website=Baseball Almanac}}</ref> Compared to the previous season, walks in the NL fell 13%, strikeouts increased 6%, the league [[batting average]] fell from .261 to .245, and runs scored declined 15%.<ref>{{cite web |title=Major League Batting Year-by-Year Averages |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/bat.shtml |website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> Koufax, who had reduced his [[Bases on balls per nine innings pitched|walks allowed per nine innings]] to 3.4 in 1961 and 2.8 in 1962, reduced it further to 1.7 in 1963, which ranked fifth in the league.<ref name="bbref-skoufax"/>

On April 19, Koufax threw his second [[immaculate inning]], this time in a two-hit shutout win against the [[1963 Houston Colt .45s season|Houston Colt .45s]], becoming the first NL pitcher and the second pitcher ever (after [[Lefty Grove]]) to throw two immaculate innings.<ref name="9pitch9strike"/> However, on April 23, he left a game against the [[1963 Milwaukee Braves season|Braves]] after throwing seven scoreless innings due to injuring the [[Capsule of the glenohumeral joint|posterior capsule]] of his left shoulder. Koufax subsequently missed two weeks, returning on May 7 against the [[1963 St. Louis Cardinals season|Cardinals]].<ref name="SABR Koufax"/>

Koufax threw his second career no-hitter against the [[1963 San Francisco Giants season|San Francisco Giants]] on May 11, besting Giants ace [[Juan Marichal]]. He carried a [[Perfect game (baseball)|perfect game]] into the eighth inning against the powerful Giants lineup which included future Hall of Famers [[Willie Mays]], [[Willie McCovey]], and [[Orlando Cepeda]]. The perfect game ended when he walked catcher [[Ed Bailey]] on a full count. Koufax closed out the game after walking pinch-hitter McCovey on four pitches with two out in the ninth.<ref>[[#Koufax and Linn|Koufax and Linn]], pp. 181–183; [[#Leavy|Leavy]], pp. 122–123.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Aaron |first1=Marc |url=https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/may-11-1963-sandy-koufax-throws-second-no-hitter-to-beat-marichal-giants/ |title=May 11, 1963: Sandy Koufax throws second no-hitter to beat Marichal, Giants |work=Society for American Baseball Research}}</ref>

From July 3 to 16, Koufax pitched 33 consecutive scoreless innings, pitching three shutouts to lower his [[earned run average]] to 1.65. On July 20, he hit the second and last home run of his career, coincidentally again in Milwaukee; he hit a three-run shot off Braves pitcher [[Denny Lemaster]] to propel the team to a 5–4 win; it was his only game with three [[run batted in|runs batted in]].<ref name="bbref-skoufax"/>

In 1963, Koufax won the first of three pitching [[Triple Crown (baseball)|Triple Crowns]], leading the majors in wins (25), strikeouts (306), and earned run average (1.88).<ref name="triplecrown">{{cite web |title=Triple Crown of Pitching|url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/pitrip.shtml |website=Baseball Almanac}}</ref> He threw 11 shutouts, eclipsing [[Carl Hubbell]]'s 30-year, post-1900 mark for a left-handed pitcher of 10 and setting a record that stands to this day. Only [[Bob Gibson]], with 13 shutouts in his iconic 1968 season (known as "the year of the pitcher"), has thrown more since.<ref>{{cite web|title=Single-Season Leaders & Records for Shutouts|website=Baseball-Reference.com|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/SHO_season.shtml}}</ref>

[[File:Roseboro and Koufax celebrate Yankees sweep.jpg|thumb|Koufax and catcher [[John Roseboro]] celebrate the Dodgers' victory over the Yankees in the [[1963 World Series]]|alt="Two baseball players jumping and hugging each other in celebration."]]

Koufax won the National League [[MLB Most Valuable Player Award|Most Valuable Player Award]],<ref name="mvp">{{cite web |title=MLB Most Valuable Player MVP Award Winners |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/mvp.shtml |website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> and was the first unanimous selection for the [[Cy Young Award]], winning at a time when only one was awarded for both leagues.{{efn|Separate Cy Young Awards for each league started being awarded in {{mlby|1967}}, the year after Koufax retired.}}<ref name="cyyoungaward">{{cite web |title=MLB Cy Young Award Winners |website=Baseball-Reference.com |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/cya.shtml}}</ref> He was also named the [[Associated Press Athlete of the Year|Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year]] for the first time, and was awarded the [[Hickok Belt]] as the athlete of the year.<ref name="hickokbelt">{{cite web |title=Hickok Belt winner: Sandy Koufax (1963 & 1965) |url=http://hickokbelt.com/winners/past-winners/winners/sandy-koufax/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918033832/http://hickokbelt.com/winners/past-winners/winners/sandy-koufax/ |archive-date=September 18, 2012 |website=[[Hickok Belt]]}}</ref>

Clinching the pennant on September 27, the Dodgers faced the heavily favored [[1963 New York Yankees season|New York Yankees]] in the [[1963 World Series]]. In Game 1, Koufax beat [[Whitey Ford]] 5–2. He struck out the first five batters and 15 overall, breaking [[Carl Erskine]]'s decade-old record of 14. The Dodgers won Games 2 and 3 behind the pitching of [[Johnny Podres]], [[Ron Perranoski]], and [[Don Drysdale]]. Koufax completed the Dodgers' series sweep in Game 4 with a 2–1 victory over Ford; the only run he allowed was a home run by [[Mickey Mantle]].<ref>[[#Schoor|Schoor]], pp. 280–284.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Zimmerman |first1=Paul |title=Dodgers Make Series History by Beating Yanks Four in Row |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/28892188/ |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=October 7, 1963}}</ref>

During the series, Koufax struck out 23 batters in 18 innings, a record for a four-game World Series, and had a 2–0 record with an earned run average of 1.50; for his performance, he was awarded the [[World Series Most Valuable Player Award]].<ref>{{cite web |title=World Series Pitching Records |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/rb_ws6.shtml |website=Baseball Almanac}}</ref><ref>[[#Koufax and Linn|Koufax and Linn]], pp. 184–216; [[#Leavy|Leavy]], pp. 132–143.</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Leggett |first1=William |title=Koo-Foo the Killer |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1963/10/14/koofoo-the-killer |magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]] |date=October 14, 1963}}</ref>