An 18 year old amateur free agent, otherwise know as "bonus baby." Back then, that meant the team had to keep the player on the roster for the first two years before he could be sent to the minor leagues. The Dodgers signed Koufax to a $6,000 salary, with a $14,000 signing bonus. Because the signing bonus was greater than $4,000, thus the designation "bonus baby."

Prior to signing witht he Dodgers, Koufax was more known for his basketball ability in high school. He had only started playing baseball at the age of 15, with a youth baseball league then in a sandlot league, first as a left-handed catcher then moving to first base. Milt Laurie, the father of two sandlot league teamates, first recognized that Koufax might be able to pitch and recruited the 17 year old to do just that. Sandy then attended the University of Cincinnati to play basketball, later earning a partial scholarship. In the spring he tried out for and made the baseball varsity team as a pitcher going 3-1 with 51 strikeouts and 30 walks in 31 innings.This would be all of his baseball experience, all three years worth, prior to signing with the Dodgers at 18 years of age.

He would be paid, for all practical purposes, to watch baseball games from the bench. What might have been had the Dodgers not designated him a "bonus baby" and sent him to the minor leagues for his first two years? Instead his talent was wasted at least for the first two years and arguably for the first six years.

Posted on

Sunday 16 January 2022

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• Sandy Koufax: The Left Arm of God

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