Dodgers: 5 greatest seasons by a starting pitcher

There is no surprise that one pitcher dominates the list of the greatest individual seasons by a starting pitcher in Los Angeles Dodgers history.

The key to baseball success begins and ends with the quality of a team’s starting pitching. Winners of six World Series titles, the Los Angeles Dodgers have had no shortage of great starting pitchers over the years.

Between a stable of local heroes and five Hall of Fame arms wearing Dodgers caps ( two with Brooklyn and three from the Los Angeles days), some of the best to even straddle the bump in baseball history have worn Dodger blue. Arms like Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and Don Sutton helped to pave the way while Fernando Valenzuela, Orel Hershiser, and Clayton Kershaw have carried the torch forward.

We all know about the career accolades laid upon some of the Dodgers’ greats. However, not all great seasons led to team greatness or a Hall of Fame induction. Some seasons simply stand out on their own and reflect just how dominant an arm can be when everything clicks.

With that in mind, we want to take a look at some of the most dominant, individual seasons in Dodgers’ history, starting with…well…starting pitchers.

Dodgers Top Individual Seasons by a Starting Pitcher – Honorable Mentions:

Clayton Kershaw – 2015

Clayton Kershaw’s dominance from 2011 through 2015 is certainly legendary among the annals of Dodgers’ history, and his 2015 is no different. While his final record of 16-7 likely held him back from winning the Cy Young award for the third straight season (he finished third), he was still outstanding. He led the league in FIP (1.99), while also posting a 2.13 ERA and a career-best 11.64 K/9 mark while throwing 232.2 innings on the season.

Don Sutton – 1972

For a pitcher to carve out a 23-year career on the mound, he has to show some level of dominance. In 1972, Don Sutton was likely at his best when he went 19-9 with a 2.08 ERA, a 2.24 FIP, a 6.8 fWAR, and hitters managed just a .224 BABIP against him on the season. Most impressive is that he threw 272.2 innings on the back of 18 complete games and 9 shutouts, the second-highest total in Dodgers’ history. He would make his first All-Star appearance and finish tied for 5th in the Cy Young voting in a season dominated by Steve Carlton.

Orel Hershiser – 1988

Orel Hershiser has a special place in the hearts of Dodgers fans worldwide and while he was solid for the four seasons leading up to it, his 1988 campaign carved his name into the team’s history in dominant fashion. He captured the 1988 Cy Young award on the back of a season where he went 23-8, had a 2.26 ERA, a 3.18 ERA, 15 complete games, eight shutouts, and even set the Major League record for consecutive scoreless innings pitched at 59. Oh, and he even threw in a save for good measure. The Bulldog would win the NL Cy Young award unanimously and would help to guide the Dodgers to the 1988 World Series title.

How does a pitcher set a record for consecutive scoreless innings and not make the top five seasons in team history? We’ll get to that in a minute.

Dodgers Top Individual Seasons by a Starting Pitcher: #4 Clayton Kershaw – 2014

While Clayton Kershaw’s 2015 ranks higher in terms of fWAR (8.6 vs 7.9) that is more of a reflection of the quality of pitching from the rest of the league that season than of sheer dominance. That much may be evident by Kershaw’s 3rd place finish in the Cy Young voting that season.

However, we’re not here to split hairs about the 2015 season. We’re here to discuss why the 2014 campaign was truly special.

With two Cy Young awards already to his name and a second-place finish in 2012, Kershaw was already an established arm in the league despite being just 26-years-old. Now entering his prime, the lefty authored a season for the ages.

In 27 starts on the season, Kershaw went 21-3 with a 1.77 ERA, a 1.81 FIP, and a 10.85 K/9. Despite missing all of April with a back injury, Kershaw still led the league in complete games (6), wins (21), and K/9 (10.85). He would surrender more than three earned runs in a game just once on the season (May 7, 2014, vs Arizona).

Of note, Kershaw’s stellar campaign featured a 41-inning scoreless streak and his first-career no-hitter, a game that was nearly perfect save for an error by Hanley Ramirez. His 102 game score for that game was the highest since Kerry Wood‘s 20-strikeout game in 1998.

Kershaw’s efforts resulted in not only his second consecutive Cy Young award, a unanimous win, but also the National League MVP award. It was the 11th time in MLB history that a pitcher had been awarded both the Cy Young and MVP in the same season, joining Sandy Koufax and Don Newcombe as the only Dodgers to accomplish the feat.

Dodgers Top Individual Seasons by a Starting Pitcher: #3 Sandy Koufax – 1966

Sandy Koufax makes his first appearance on the list of best individual seasons with his 1966. That’s pretty impressive considering it almost didn’t happen at all.

Before the 1966 season, Koufax and fellow ace Don Drysdale were locked in a tense contract negotiation with Dodgers management, resulting in both starters holding out and refusing to report to Spring Training. At the same time, Koufax’s pitching arm was hanging on by a thread and the Dodgers’ team physician was urging him to retire. The pitchers finally came to a contract agreement with a week remaining before the start of the season and Koufax opted to pitch through the pain.

Despite arthritis in his elbow, Koufax went on to tie his career-high in starts (41) and complete games (27), both set the year prior. In 323 innings of work, the lefty went 27-9 with a 1.73 ERA, a 2.07 FIP, an 8.08 K/9, and a league-leading 5 shut-outs. Koufax’s 317 strikeouts outpaced all of baseball by 65 (Bunning – 252) and his 9.1 fWAR was nearly two wins above the next closest pitcher (Gaylord Perry – 7.3).

The Dodgers would win the National League pennant in 1966, but would ultimately be swept in the World Series by the Baltimore Orioles. However, Koufax would win his second-consecutive Cy Young award and third overall. For the second straight season, would finish as the runner-up in the NL MVP voting, missing out on sweeping both awards by finishing just 4% behind Roberto Clemente in the balloting despite having more first-place votes.

They say you should always go out on a high note, and that’s precisely what Dodgers legend Koufax did in 1966, retiring after the season.

Dodgers Top Individual Seasons by a Starting Pitcher: #2 Sandy Koufax – 1963

Koufax’s last season was one for the ages, but it is hardly the greatest performance of his career. One could argue that he set the precedent for Clayton Kershaw and other Dodgers pitchers with his 1963 performance.

Most baseball players hit their prime during their mid to late 20s. Sandy Koufax was no exception to the rule. The Dodgers moved to Dodgers Stadium in 1962, leaving behind the short fences of LA Coliseum, and the now 25-year-old Koufax responded in kind, going 14-7 and dropping both his ERA (3.52 to 2.54) and home runs allowed (27 to 13) by large margins. That set the stage for one of the best seasons ever authored by a starting pitcher.

1963 would mark the first time in Koufax’s career that he would win 20+ games when he led the league with a 25-5 record, 306 strikeouts, 11 shutouts, a 1.88 ERA, and a 1.85 FIP. Koufax would then add the second no-hitter of his career. He led the league in strikeouts by 41, ERA by nearly a third of a run, FIP by half a run, and WPA (win probability added) by 1.2. His 11 shutouts in a single season still represent the MLB record today.

Koufax would go 2-0 in the World Series, won by the Dodgers over the hated Yankees in a sweep. He would win his first World Series MVP award on the back of two complete games and 23 strikeouts over 18 innings of work.

In 1963, Koufax would become the second Dodgers player to take home both the Cy Young Award and the MVP in the same season, joining teammate Don Newcombe in accomplishing the feat. Koufax won unanimously, capturing 100% of the vote. Likewise, he captured 85% of the vote for MVP, taking home 14 of the 20 first-place votes.

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Dodgers Top Individual Seasons by a Starting Pitcher: #1 Sandy Koufax – 1965

It seems almost unfair to discuss the top individual pitching seasons in a team’s history and have three of the five being authored by the same pitcher.  Unfair, but pretty extraordinary to say the least.

Such is the case with Sandy Koufax, who makes his third appearance on this list, and holds all of the top-three seasons. It is hard to top the performances of 1966 and 1963, but then again Koufax enjoyed a run like few pitchers ever see and we have to pay props to what is arguably his greatest campaign.

By 1965, Koufax was still just 29-years-old, but he had ended his previous season after suffering traumatic arthritis in his pitching arm after sliding into second base in an August game. The injury continued to rear its ugly head early in the 1965 season when Koufax experienced hemorrhaging in his left arm after pitching a complete game in Spring Training. The team doctor told him to limit his throwing, but Koufax did what he always did and pitched when the Dodgers needed him instead.

The lefty would set career-highs in innings (335.2), games (43), complete games (27), and strikeouts (382). His strikeout mark was the highest total since the turn of the century and now sites second all-time (Nolan Ryan – 383 in 1973). That effort led to a 26-8 record, a 2.04 ERA, a 1.93 FIP, a 10.2 K/9, and 8 shut-outs. Koufax would also throw his only perfect game, marking the fourth no-hitter of his career.

Sandy would follow-up the stellar regular season with a brilliant turn in the World Series, going 2-1 with a 0.38 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 24 innings of work, including two complete-game shutouts to once again take home MVP honors. That would propel the Dodgers to the 1965 World Series title, the last one the team would win before the 1981 team broke through.

Koufax would finish the season with his second Cy Young award win, once again making it unanimous among voters. He would also finish second in the NL MVP ballot, behind Willie Mays.

This season stands out above the rest due to the pain that Koufax had to put himself through just to take the mound when his name was called. To do so and still put up the seventh-best fWAR by a pitcher since 1900, and will your team to the World Series title, shows just how much the Dodgers meant to Sandy Koufax and how much he meant to the game of baseball.