by my count, there have been 10 pitchers who have won the national league mvp award. three of them were dodgers - dazzy vance (ok, he was a brooklyn robin), don newcombe, and sandy koufax. koufax won in 1963, and then finished 2nd in 1965 (to willie mays) and in 1966 (to roberto clemente in a very close vote).
let's see some koufax cards in honor of the most valuable player award - the 2014 winners of which will be announced later today
here's koufax with his right-handed compatriot don drysdale making a tony cloninger sandwich on a 1966 topps league leaders card
and here's koufax sharing space again, although this time it's with ryan braun on a 2011 topps update diamond duos card.
here's a card from 2012 topps that recognizes his effort in game 1 of the 1963 world series
koufax struck out 15 yankees that day. a few days later, he struck out 8 more to complete the dodgers' sweep.
i've had this short print of koufax from 2012 topps archives for awhile
there's next year's heritage design.
koufax had a couple of cards in 2014 topps allen & ginter as well - here's his pastime's pastimes insert
koufax's pastime is listed as 'actor'
which was not uncommon for the dodgers of the late 1960's/early 1970's. the don drysdale and wes parker episodes of 'the brady bunch' were two of my favorites. those and the hawaii trip episodes featuring vincent price.
here's koufax's base card from this year's ginter
in his mvp season, koufax won the pitching triple crown with 25 wins, a 1.88 era, and 306 strikeouts. he also led the league in shutouts and whip. meanwhile, clayton kershaw led the league in wins and era in 2014, falling just 3 strikeouts behind stephen strasburg and johnny cueto. we'll see later today if kershaw joins dazzy, newk, and sandy as a league mvp. i'm betting that he does.
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