But she looks in my eyes and makes me realize and she says don’t worry baby. Don’t worry baby. Everything will turn out all right. -Beach Boys
Public Service Announcement: Ok, here we go! Whatsamatta binky? Your ace wasn’t the place for the helpful hardware yesterday? Oh my goodness, you say? The sky is falling, you say? You must go and tell the king. Simmer down. Everybody has bad days. Just ask Yankees fans. So your boy Tim Lincecum wasn’t so Tim Lincecummy. So he didn’t look like the Cy Young Award winner and Strikeout King that he is. He’s not the first guy to get roughed up in an opening day start.
There was one other Cy Young winner who lasted as few as three innings in his first start following his award-winning season. There was one other guy who was a strikeout champion with a strong overhand delivery who lasted as few as three innings in his first start following his award-winning season. There was a fellow named Sandy Koufax.
Sandy Koufax won the Cy back in 1965. Sandy Koufax went 26-8 and set what was then the modern big-league record of 382 strikeouts back in 1965. In his first start in 1966, Koufax was lifted after allowing five runs in three innings to the Astros. That’s the bad news. Want the good news? Sure you do. Koufax went on to finish that season, his last before his retirement, with a 27-9 record and a 1.73 ERA, as he won the Cy Young Award for the third time. How about that? So fear thee not Giants‘ fans, everything will indeed be all right.
Public Spectacle:
Peace out homies. Six two and Even!
Need More? Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB, San Francisco Giants, Sandy Koufax, Tim Lincecum
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