Sandy Koufax
Sanford Koufax (The Left Arm of God)
born Sanford Braun
Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right, Throws: Left
Height: 6' 2", Weight: 210 lb.
Born: December 30, 1935 in Brooklyn, NY
Debut: June 24, 1955 (Age 19.2)
Last Game: October 2, 1966 (Age 30.3)
Inducted into the Hall of Fame by BBWAA as Player in 1972 (344/396 ballots).
Don Drysdale
Donald Scott Drysdale (Big D or Airedale)
Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right, Throws: Right
Height: 6' 5", Weight: 190 lb.
Born: July 23, 1936 in Van Nuys, CA
Debut: April 17, 1956 (Age 19.3)
Last Game: August 5, 1969 (Age 33)
Inducted into the Hall of Fame by BBWAA as Player in 1984 (316/403 ballots).
Died: July 3, 1993 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (Aged 56.4)
Cremated
Koufax was better than Drysdale. Here's something interesting: against right handed batters (RHB) Drysdale was dead even with Koufax in On Base Plus Slugging (OPS) averages against them by opposing batters. PA is plate appearances against them.
| OPS | Koufax | Drysdale |
| RHB | .594 | .595 |
| LHB | .597 | .711 |
| Tot | .594 | .645 |
| PA | 9,497 | 14,097 |
| RHB | 7,479 | 8,023 |
| %RHB | 78.75% | 56.91% |
| %LHB | 21.25% | 43.09% |
Koufax had no platoon advantage. Which meant that switch hitters had no advantage against Koufax, I think mainly because Koufax threw overhand. Drysdale was just the opposite, a tall sidearmer. Drysdale was really tough on RHB but no tougher than Koufax.
Here is some anecdotal data for six RHB, 3 LHB and one switch hitter. Frank Robinson and Billy Williams are listed, not (Jackie or Brooks) or Ted, none of whom batted against Koufax or Dyrsdale in the regular season.
| OPS | Koufax | Drysdale |
| Mays | .962 | .978 |
| Aaron | 1.077 | .925 |
| Banks | .599 | .724 |
| Robinson | .879 | .749 |
| Clemente | .905 | .830 |
| Cepeda | .835 | .559 |
| OPS | Koufax | Drysdale |
| Mathews | .788 | .610 |
| McCovey | .427 | 1.117 |
| Williams | .758 | .720 |
| OPS | Koufax | Drysdale |
| Rose | .410 | .816 |
It looks like Koufax had a bit more trouble against these top hitters.
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