Don Drysdale: Dodgers Legend

                                        Donald Scott Drysdale was born on July 23rd, 1936, in Van Nuys California. He was the son of Scott and Vera Drysdale. His dad was a repair supervisor for Pacific Telephone Company and that provided a comfortable lifestyle for the family. His father had a brief career as a minor league pitcher in 1935. Drysdale credited his dad for his love of the game. “We used to play catch every afternoon, or we would go to the playground, dad would hit me ground balls and I would take batting practice.”. 

                                         It wasn’t until his senior year at Van Nuys High that he tried his hand at pitching. Before that, he had primarily played second base. One of his classmates at Van Nuys was a kid named Robert Redford. In his debut year as a pitcher, he posted a 10-1 record. That convinced the Dodgers to sign him for a 4,000-dollar bonus. He was sent to Bakersfield of the California League. He was 17 years old. Branch Rickey, who was at the time scouting for the Pirates, wrote a very glowing scouting report on him. 

                                      Drysdale pitched in 15 games at Bakersfield, 14 were starts. He had an 8-5 record with a 3.46 ERA. He struck out 73 in 112 innings but walked 58. Still, the Dodgers thought enough of him to move him all the way up to Montreal, a AAA team at the age of 18. Quite a jump from Class-C Bakersfield. He won 11 and lost 11 at Montreal. His ERA was 3.33. He pitched 173 innings in his 28 games, one was in relief. He struck out 80 but walked 68. He had started the season 10-2 but injured his right hand. It ended up that it was broken, but he continued to pitch and lost 9 of his last 10 decisions. 

                                      Brooklyn once again thought highly of his skills, and he went to camp with the big club for the 1956 season. A couple of things happened that probably contributed to Drysdale being promoted. One was the Dodgers lost Podres to military service in the Navy. Billy Loes, Karl Spooner and Don Bessent all got hurt. So, Brooklyn kept the 20-year-old Drysdale on the roster. He made his MLB debut on April 17th, pitching a scoreless 9th inning in a loss to the Phillies. He made his first start on the 23rd of April, also against the Phillies. He struck out 9 and allowed just one run in a complete game win. He would finish 1956 with a 5-5 record and a 2.64 ERA. He struck out 55 and walked 31 in 99 innings of work. Drysdale pitched in one game in the World Series. He allowed a 2-run homer to Hank Bauer in game 4, a 6-2 loss for Brooklyn. In 1957, he was promoted to the starting staff. 

                                      In his second season in the majors, the side-arming 6’6″ Drysdale started getting a reputation as a headhunter. He certainly was an imposing sight on the mound. on June 13th, he faced off against the Braves at Ebbets Field. He was not having one of his better days. Bill Bruton homered to open the game. In the second inning, Bobby Thompson doubled, yes that Bobby Thompson, then scored on a double by Carl Sawatski the Braves catcher. Bruton then hit his second homer of the day and it was 4-0 Braves. 

                                     Johnny Logan, the Braves SS, was in the on-deck circle, according to Drysdale, once he got in the batter’s box, he was strutting around, and digging in, acting like he owned the place. That fired Big D up. Ok bud, you asked for it. Drysdales intent was an inside pitch to show him who was boss. The pitch nearly took Logan’s head off as he spun out of the way, the ball hit him in the base of his neck. Logan jogged down to first, jawing at Drysdale as he went, with Big D giving it right back.

                                     As Logan took his lead, Drysdale pivoted and threw to first, but Hodges missed the ball, and it hit Logan in the head. Logan charged the mound. That set off one of the biggest fights of the year. Both benches emptied, Drysdale was attacked from all sides and a near-riot erupted. When the dust cleared, both Logan and Drysdale were ejected. The Braves would win the game, 8-5 after the Dodgers tied it at 4-4 in the 7th inning. The Braves scored 4 in the top of the 8th off of Labine. The Braves had their own nickname for Big D. The Shooting Gallery Kid. Drysdale won 17 games, lost 9 and had a 2.69 ERA in 221 innings pitched. He was the Dodgers Ace pitcher at that point in time.  

                                      Koufax and Dysdale did six months reserve duty at Fort Dix after the season and before spring training in 1958. But in 1958, they would be in a new city, Los Angeles. O’Malley had announced the news when negotiations for a new stadium in Brooklyn stalled and were finally shot down. He had bought the territorial rights to LA by purchasing the Cubs LA franchise in the PCL. The Los Angeles Angels and their ballpark, Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. He had a choice to make as to where the Dodgers would play until their new ballpark was finished. He chose the massive LA Coliseum over Wrigley Field, which would hold about 22,000 fans. 

                                      The 1958 Dodgers finished in 7th place. Drysdale had a 12-13 record with an ERA of 4.17. He led the league in hit batsmen with 14. The first of four years in a row leading the league in that category. Don got the opening day start at Seals Stadium in San Francisco and gave up six runs in 3.2 innings. He did not get his first win until May 6th, a 7-6 walk off win against the Phillies at the coliseum. He would go 11-8 the rest of the season. The 1958 Dodgers were the first Dodger team to finish below .500 since 1938. 

                                     The Dodger staff in 1959 featured Don, Koufax, Johnny Podres, Roger Craig and Danny McDevitt as the starters. Big D won 17 games for the second time in his career. He has a 3.46 ERA, 4 shutouts, which led the league, he struck out a league leading 242 batters in 270.2 innings and led the league in hit batsmen with 18. LA tied the Braves for the NL pennant and won a 2-game playoff. Drysdale pitched game 3 of the World Series, earning a 3-1 win in his only series appearance.

                                     Drysdale was also a pretty good hitter. He hit 7 homers in 1958 and then hit 4 in 59. He would hit 29 during his career. He hit 7 again in 1965. He holds the team record for homers by a pitcher along with Don Newcombe. He also was selected as an All-Star for both All-Star games in 59. He started the first one, a win for the NL. And he took the loss in the second game. 1960 was not as successful as the Dodgers slipped to 4th place. Don was 15-14 with a very good 2.84 ERA. He led the league in strikeouts with 246 and led again with 10 batters hit.  The American League had expanded to 10 teams with the Angels and Senators being the new expansion teams. The former Senators had relocated to Minnesota and became the Twins.

                                   1961 would be the team’s last season playing at the coliseum. It would also be the last year that there were only 8 teams in the National League. Several Dodgers were playing their last seasons in Dodger blue. Gil Hodges and Roger Craig were drafted by the Mets, Norm Larker, Jim Golden, Dick Farrell and Bob Aspromonte would be drafted by the Houston Colt 45s. Charlie Neal was later traded to the Mets that winter. 

                               The team improved some and finished in second place to the Reds. Sandy Koufax had his finest season to date winning 18, losing 13 and striking out 269 to lead the league. He also threw his first no-hitter. Big D was the #2 at this point. He won 13, lost 10 and led the league with 20 hit batters. He slugged 5 homers and drove in 14 runs. He and the team were more than happy to move into their new home in 1962.

                              When the Dodgers opened the season at Dodger Stadium against the Reds, it was Johnny Podres who got the assignment and not Big D or Koufax. They lost the opener, 6-3 to Bob Purkey. Koufax pitched game 2 and won. Big D started his season with a win over the Braves, 6-3. The Dodgers were in the lead or very close to the lead until July 2nd when they went into first place and stayed there until the Giants tied them on the last day of the season forcing the 3-game playoff. 

                               Koufax, who had been injured and missed close to two months, started game one and was hammered by the Giants in an 8-0 loss. Big D started game 2 at Dodger Stadium against Giants ace, Jack Sanford. Don had won 25 games during the season, but this day, he was not that sharp. He allowed 7 hits and 5 runs, 3 of which were earned. He struck out 4 but he also walked 4 in his 5.1 innings of work. LA though came back to win the game after being down 5-0, they scored 7 runs in the sixth to take the lead. SF tied the game in the top of the 8th before LA walked it off in the bottom of the 9th. The run scored on a sac-fly by Tommy Davis off of Mike McCormick.

                              The next day, LA would lead going into the top of the 9th, only to lose 6-4 when the pitching failed them in the 9th inning. Drysdale and Duke Snider pleaded with Alston to use Don to close the game since Ed Roebuck, who had pitched 3 innings of relief, was totally gassed going into the 9th. Alston opted for Stan Williams. Williams would get only 1 out, and he walked 2, allowing all the inherited runners to score. Drysdale finished with a 25-9 record. He pitched 314.1 innings. He led the league in strikeouts with 232. For the first time in 4 years, he did not lead the league in hit batters. He won the Cy Young award and Maury Wills won the MVP. 

                                LA would win the pennant and then sweep the Yankees in the World Series in 63. But the ace of the staff that year was Sandy Koufax. Drysdale won 19 games, but Sandy won 25 to lead the league. He also led the league in Ks with 306 plus he pitched his second no-hitter. With those two as the 1-2 punch of the staff, the team led the NL most of the way. But they also got solid contributions from Johnny Podres and Bob Miller. Ron Perranoski was superb out of the pen winning 16 and saving 21. 

                            Koufax and Podres got the starts in Yankee Stadium, maybe to negate some of that left-handed power, Maris and Mantle, the Yankees had. Koufax struck out 15 winning game 1, and Podres went 8.1 innings, before Perranoski came in to save game 2. Back in Dodger Stadium, Dysdale got the start in game 3 against Yankees 21 game winner, Jim Bouton. Drysdale was up to the task. He allowed just 3 hits to the Yankees, who were missing Maris because of injury, and won 1-0. The game was not without drama though. The Dodgers had scored their run in the first inning on a single by Tommy Davis that scored Gilliam. Drysdale kept the Yankees at bay. In the top of the 9th inning, with two outs, Joe Pepitone lifted a long fly ball to right field, Fairly drifted back and caught the ball just short of the fence for the win. 

                          Koufax beat the Yankees 2-1 the next day, and the Dodgers won their second championship in Los Angeles. 1964 was not as good for the Dodgers. The team dropped under .500 again and finished 6th. It wasn’t because of Koufax or Don as they won 19 and 18 respectively. Number 3 starter, Johnny Podres was injured and only pitched in 2 games. Joe Moeller, Phil Ortega and Larry Miller were all under .500 with Ortega and Moeller winning 7 each and Miller 4. Drysdale led the league in innings pitched, but Koufax earned the ERA title with a 1.74 mark. Big D and Sandy were the only All-Stars from the Dodgers that year.

                          1965 did not start out well for the Dodgers. Tommy Davis went down with a broken ankle in the 17th game of the year. He would be replaced by journeyman outfielder, Lou Johnson. Johnson was a breath of fresh air, and although he was not in Davis’s league offensively, he would end up tied for the team lead in homers with the Rookie of the Year, Jim Lefebvre with 12. Behind Koufax, 26 wins, Drysdale, 23, and new addition, Claude Osteen, 15 wins, the Dodgers would win the pennant by 2 games over the Giants. 

                          They would play the American League champion, Minnesota Twins. The Twins boasted a power filled lineup led by Harmon Killebrew, 25 homers, Bob Allison, 23, Jimmie Hall, 20 and Don Mincher 22 homers. The had solid pitching with 21 game winner, Mudcat Grant, 18 game winner, Jim Kaat, and Jim Perry who won 12. Al Worthington won 10 out of the pen with 21 saves. With game one falling on Yom Kippur, Koufax would not pitch, and Drysdale got the start. 

                       The Twins got to him for 7 runs in 2.2 innings on 7 hits. Only 3 of the runs were earned. He gave up homers to Versailles and Mincher. LA lost 8-2. Koufax fared no better in game 2. Although he pitched 6 innings of 2-run ball, he would get the loss in a 5-1 game. Perranoski gave up the other 3 runs. LA headed home down 2-0. Claude Osteen would pitch game three. Osteen pitched a 5-hit shutout, 4-0 and the Dodgers were back in the series. 

                     In game four, Drysdale atoned for his game one start. He would pitch a complete game, beating Grant 7-2. He allowed solo homers to Killebrew and Oliva in the 4th and 6th innings, but otherwise kept the Twins bats silent. Wes Parker and Johnson homered for LA and Ron Fairly drove in 3 runs. Koufax bounced back from his bad start and beat the Twins, 7-0 in game five. LA piled up 14 hits, just three of them for extra bases. The teams headed back to Minneapolis with LA up 3-2. 

                   Osteen lost game six, as the Twins brought Grant back on three days’ rest, 5-1. Alston had a decision to make. Go with Drysdale on normal rest, or pitch Koufax on just two days rest. He opted for Koufax with Drysdale going to the pen. It proved to be a wise choice. Koufax pitched a complete game shutout, 2-0. He allowed 3 hits and walked 3. The Dodgers scored twice off of Kaat in the fourth inning on a homer by Johnson and a run scoring single by Parker following Fairly’s double. Koufax had trouble landing his curve early, so he ditched it and used his fastball for most of the game. He struck out 10.

               LA had won their third championship in Los Angeles. It would be their last for a while. They won the pennant again in 1966. Drysdale at age 29, won only 13 games and he lost 16. Koufax went 27-9 and led the league winning his third Cy Young. Osteen won 17 games and young Don Sutton won 12. LA was no match for the Orioles in the World Series and they were swept four games to none. They scored just 2 runs in the first game and were shut out the next three. Big D lost game one, 5-2. He gave up 4 runs in just two innings of work. He allowed 2 homers in that game. He then lost game four, 1-0 as the anemic Dodger offense sputtered again. It would be his last World Series game. He finished with a 3-3 record in five World Series with a cumulative 2.95 ERA. Koufax retired after the season, breaking up the Dodgers 1-2 punch.

           The Dodgers sank to 8th place in the NL in 1967. Several factors came into play. Koufax had retired; Wills was traded to the Pirates after ditching the teams tour of Japan, and then being spotted playing his banjo in Las Vegas instead of having his sore legs worked on like he said he was going to do. Tommy Davis was traded to the Mets for Jim Hickman. The only Dodger starter above .500 was Bill Singer, who went 12-8. Osteen won 17 and lost 17. Don was 13-16 again. Sutton won 11 and lost 15. The Dodger offense was awful. 

         1968 wasn’t much better. The team finished 7th this time. Drysdale led the staff with 14 wins, this time he was the only starter above .500 with his 14-12 record. Among his 14 wins were 8 shutouts, including 6 in a row. He pitched a record 58.2 consecutive scoreless innings. That record would stand until Orel Hershiser passed it with 59 scoreless innings in 1988, 20 years later, and when he did it, Big D was in the booth. 1968 would be Drysdales last hurrah.

            Drysdale would pitch in just 12 games in 1969 before he went down with a shoulder injury. He had been experiencing shoulder problems for a few years, and it had slowed him down. But in 1969, the rotator cuff in his arm finally tore enough for him to retire after just 12 games. He finished his career with a 209-166 record. His career ERA was 2.95 and he struck out 2486 batters. He finished with 154 hit batters. That card is the 1969 Topps Drysdale card.

            Drysdale immediately took a job as a broadcaster for the Montreal Expos on radio and TV as a color analyst. He worked for the Expos from 1970 to 71. He worked for the Rangers in 72, then moved to the Angels from 73-79, and also in 81. He went to work for the White Sox from 82-87. He joined the Dodgers in 88 and worked for them up until his untimely death in 1993. Don and his first wife Ginger divorced in 1982. He married former UCLA basketball star, Ann Meyers in 1986. The former All-American at UCLA, she was the only woman ever to sign a professional contract in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers in 1979. They would have three children, Don Jr., Darren and a daughter, Drew. Drysdale said he would not play her one on one, she was too tough. 

           He had one child from his marriage to Ginger, a daughter, Kelly. On August 12th, 1984, Drysdale was elected to the Hall of Fame in his 10th year on the ballot. He got 78% of the vote. He went in with former teammate, Pee Wee Reese, Harmon Killebrew, Luis Aparicio and Rick Ferrell. Both his and Reese’s uniform numbers were retired soon afterwards by the Dodgers. On July 3rd, 1993, Drysdale died of a heart attack while in Montreal to broadcast the Dodgers-Expo series. A week earlier, the Dodgers had lost Roy Campanella, also to a heart attack. ” I think God needed a battery because he got the best heaven could have ever accepted.” said Tommy Lasorda.

         A story was later told about a day against the Reds in July of 1961. The Reds were leading the NL, and the Dodgers were four games back. Drysdale came in to pitch in relief in the top of the fifth inning. LA was down 7-2. In the sixth, Don Blassingame was knocked down by a pitch that whizzed by his head. Dusty Boggess, the home plate umpire came out and warned Don. Blassingame popped out and Vada Pinson doubled. 

       Frank Robinson stepped to the plate. Drysdales first pitch was inside and sent Robinson sprawling in the dirt. Boggess again warned Big D who replied, “Shit Dusty, what do you want me to do? Lay the ball right down the middle so they can beat my brains in? Don came inside on the next pitch and hit Robinson on the right forearm. Boggess immediately ejected him from the game. The next day, Drysdale was suspended for five games and fined 100$ by NL President, Warren Giles. 

      Drysdale decided to pay his fine in person. The next time the Dodgers were in Cincinnati, where Giles kept his office, he went to a bank and got 100$ worth of pennies. He walked into Giles office, placed all of the pennies in a sack and set it on the desk of his secretary. He walked back to his hotel room feeling pretty proud of himself. When he got there, he got a phone call summoning him back to Giles office. Their conversation was amiable, and at the end Giles said, ” And by the way, I want you to take all these pennies of yours and roll them back up for me.” Drysdale spent the next few hours cursing and rolling pennies. He may have been rolling pennies, but he was a million-dollar pitcher to Dodger fans. 

                                               Foot Note

                                I failed to mention something that happened in the winter of 1965 that was important to Dodger history. Both Drysdale and Koufax decided not to sign their contracts for 1966. They decided they would hold out together for better contract terms and fair negotiations. To that end, they hired Koufax’s business manager, J. William Hayes and told the Dodgers they would negotiate only through him. 

                               Koufax was upset at being used by Buzzie Bavasi in contract negotiations with Big D and Drysdale was upset at being used against Koufax. The Dodgers went on the offensive against the two, accusing them of being greedy and selfish. Meanwhile, both pitchers heeded the advice of Hayes and did not engage the press. Hayes in the interim, prepared a lawsuit challenging the reserve clause based on an old California case law. The suit so unnerved the Dodgers that they softened their stance. 

                           Another factor was that Drysdale felt he could not hold out indefinitely. After 32 tension filled days, the hold-out ended. Dysdale signed for 110,000$ and Koufax for 125,000$. The hold-out was the first significant event of the labor movement in baseball challenging the absolute stronghold the owners had over the players prior to free agency. Big D and Sandy became baseball’s first 100,000$ pitchers, with Koufax, the highest paid player in 1966.