Cy Young Profile: Don Drysdale, 1962

Pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers

Age:  26 (July 23)

7^th season with Dodgers

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’5”    Weight: 190

Prior to 1962:

A native of Van Nuys, California, Drysdale originally played second base in high school until he took up pitching as a senior and posted a 10-1 record. Signed by the then-Brooklyn Dodgers to a $4000 bonus contract, he was initially assigned to Bakersfield of the Class C California League where he went 8-5 with a 3.46 ERA and 73 strikeouts over 112 innings pitched. Drysdale advanced to Montreal of the Class AAA International League in 1955 but, hindered by a hand injury, he broke even at 11-11 with a 3.33 ERA. With his good fastball and with the Dodgers short on pitching, he joined the parent club in 1956. Utilized as a reliever and spot starter during his rookie year, Drysdale appeared in 25 games and compiled a 5-5 record with a 2.64 ERA. Moved into the starting rotation, he broke out in 1957 with a 17-9 tally and a 2.69 ERA with 148 strikeouts. With his fine fastball, curve, slider, and change-up, “Big D” was also an intimidating pitcher who quickly established a reputation for throwing inside and hitting batters. The Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958 and, playing home games at the Memorial Coliseum, a football venue reconfigured for baseball, proved difficult for the pitching staff. Drysdale dropped to 12-13 with a 4.17 ERA and 131 strikeouts. 1959 was a better year for the Dodgers, who won the NL pennant. Drysdale contributed a 17-13 record with a 3.46 ERA and league-leading 242 strikeouts and 4 shutouts and was an All-Star for the first time. He also started and won a game in the World Series victory over the White Sox. Drysdale led the NL in strikeouts again in 1960 with 246 to go along with a 15-14 record and 2.84 ERA. By 1961 hard-throwing LHP Sandy Koufax had emerged as a star in his own right and would combine with Drysdale to create a formidable tandem. During the ’61 season, the fourth straight in which he led the NL in hit batters, he was suspended for five games for throwing at batters. He finished with 20 hit batters to go with his record of 13-10 with a 3.69 ERA and 182 strikeouts for the second place Dodgers.

1962 Season Summary

Appeared in 43 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 43 [20, tied with four others]

Games Started – 41 [1]

Complete Games – 19 [4]

Wins – 25 [1]

Losses – 9

PCT - .735 [3]

Saves – 1

Shutouts – 2 [10, tied with fourteen others]

Innings Pitched – 314.1 [1]

Hits – 272 [3]

Runs – 122 [7]

Earned Runs – 99 [13]

Home Runs – 21 [17, tied with Dick Farrell & Vern Law]

Bases on Balls – 78 [14, tied with Al Jackson]

Strikeouts – 232 [1]

ERA – 2.83 [4]

Hit Batters – 11 [5]

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 8 [14, tied with seven others]

League-leading games started were +1 ahead of runner-up Johnny Podres

League-leading wins were +1 ahead of runner-up Jack Sanford

League-leading innings pitched were +26 ahead of runner-up Bob Purkey

League-leading strikeouts were +16 ahead of runner-up Sandy Koufax

Most strikeouts, game – 13 (in 9 IP) vs. NY Mets 7/1

10+ strikeout games – 2

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 3 (in 9 IP) at Houston 5/10, at Cincinnati 8/19, (in 8 IP) vs. Chi. Cubs 9/10, (in 7 IP) at Cincinnati 7/18

Batting

PA – 126, AB – 111, R – 9, H – 22, 2B – 4, 3B – 1, HR – 0, RBI – 14, BB – 5, SO – 29, SB – 0, CS – 1, AVG - .198, GDP – 4, HBP – 2, SH – 8, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 77

Put Outs – 10

Assists – 60

Errors – 7

DP – 5

Pct. - .909

Awards & Honors:

MLB Cy Young Award: BBWAA

MLB Player of the Year: Sporting News (co-winner with teammate Maury Wills)

NL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News

All-Star (starting P for NL in first game)

5^th in NL MVP voting (85 points, 30% share)

MLB Cy Young voting:

Don Drysdale, LAD: 14 of 20 votes, 70% share

Jack Sanford, SF: 4 votes, 20% share

Billy Pierce, SF: 1 vote, 5% share

Bob Purkey, Cin.: 1 vote, 5% share

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Dodgers went 101-61 to finish tied for first in the NL with the San Francisco Giants, which necessitated a season-extending best-of-3 playoff. The teams split the first two contests, but the Giants won the deciding game. LA finished second in the NL with a final record of 102-63. The pitching staff led the league in strikeouts (1104) and fewest hits allowed (1386). In their first season in Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers were in first place in September despite the loss of LHP Sandy Koufax with an index finger injury. They slumped badly, going 1-6 to close out the schedule while the Giants finished at 5-2 to catch LA and force the climactic playoff.

Aftermath of ‘62:

The Dodgers won the NL pennant in 1963 and Drysdale contributed a 19-17 record with a 2.63 ERA and 251 strikeouts, adding another win in the World Series sweep of the Yankees. “Airedale” had another strong season in 1964, going 18-16 with a 2.18 ERA and 237 strikeouts while the Dodgers fell to sixth place. But the club returned to the top of the NL in 1965 as Drysdale and Koufax won 49 games between them. Drysdale was 23-12 with a 2.77 ERA and 210 strikeouts. He went 1-1 in the World Series triumph against Minnesota. Always a good hitting pitcher, he batted .300 during the ’65 season with 7 home runs and 19 RBIs. Following a joint holdout with Koufax during spring training in 1966, Drysdale slipped to 13-16 with a 3.42 ERA and 177 strikeouts, although he dropped under 300 innings for the first time since 1961. The Dodgers won the NL pennant once more and Drysdale lost twice in the World Series sweep to Baltimore. Koufax retired after the season and “Big D” was 13-16 again in 1967 with a 2.74 ERA and 196 strikeouts while pitching 282 innings. The Dodgers dropped to eighth with a 73-89 mark. In 1968 Drysdale set a then-major league record by pitching 58.2 consecutive scoreless innings on his way to a 14-12 record with a 2.15 ERA, 8 shutouts, and 155 strikeouts. A torn rotator cuff finished Drysdale’s career after 12 starts in 1969. For his major league career, spent entirely with the Dodgers, he compiled a 209-166 record with a 2.95 ERA and 2486 strikeouts over 3432 innings. He pitched 167 complete games and 49 shutouts. Furthermore, he led the NL in hit batters a total of five times and his career total was 154. He was also 3-3 in World Series action with a 2.95 ERA and 36 strikeouts over the course of 39.2 innings. As a batter he hit a total of 29 career home runs. An eight-time All-Star, the Dodgers retired his #53 and he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. Drysdale moved to the broadcast booth after his playing career, where he remained until his death by a heart attack in 1993.

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Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.