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In the annals of Los Angeles Dodgers history, the loss to injury of right-handed pitcher Don Drysdale did not carry quite the wallop that the sudden retirement of Sandy Koufax smacked LA baseball fans with in 1966. Without Koufax, the Dodgers went from the World Series to a losing record. Two seasons later, in 1968, Drysdale set a record they still talk about by pitching six straight shutouts, plus a few more innings without allowing any one to score. Midway through the following season, he was done at age 33.
Dodgers historian Mark Langill revisited August of 1969 in a blog post recently.
Drysdale reported to Spring Training 1969 with a sore shoulder, later diagnosed as a torn rotator cuff. He twice spent time on the disabled list and tried a variety of treatments. In 12 games, Drysdale went 5-4 with a 4.45 ERA.
The local star from Van Nuys High School made his final Major League appearance on August 5, 1969 against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Dodger Stadium. Drysdale received a no-decision in an 11-3 loss, allowing two earned runs on eight hits in six innings...Team physician Dr. Frank Jobe prescribed complete rest for Drysdale, but the impatient patient didn’t want to postpone the inevitable. On August 11, Drysdale held a press conference at the Stadium Club and announced his retirement. He had spent his entire 14-year career with Brooklyn and Los Angeles, compiling a 209-166 record and 2.95 ERA in 518 games, 2,486 strikeouts in 3,432 innings and 49 shutouts.
Koufax was the more superlative pitcher and a true legend, forced out in his prime at age 30. But Drysdale was right there in Dodgers culture. Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers out of Van Nuys. Winner of 209 games. He led the league in games started, strikeouts and hit batters. He was also dangerous with the bat, one year hitting more home runs (7) than the Dodgers shortstop and third baseman combined. He went to the Hall of Fame, married former UCLA basketball star and Olympian Ann Meyers, and became a broadcaster, eventually for the Dodgers.
On July 3, 1993, Vin Scully had to announce on the air that his broadcast partner and former Brooklyn Dodgers compadre had been found dead in his hotel room. They were in Montreal to play the Expos. Big D, as they called him, was 56.
Drysdale with his first wife Ginger on the Groucho Marx show, "You Bet Your Life," in 1959:
Drysdale's Hall of Fame induction speech in 1984:
Vin Scully's TV call is the more remembered, but here is Drysdale's radio call of Kirk Gibson's pinch-hit home run in the 1988 World Series. He doesn't say much:
Vin Scully in 1993: "Friends, we've known each other a long time….Never have I ever been asked to make an announcement that hurts me as much as this one. And I say it to you as best as I can, with a broken heart..."
