The long-planned Sandy Koufax statue will be installed in Dodger Stadium’s Centerfield Plaza prior to the team’s June 18 home game and in time for viewing at the July 19 MLB All-Star Game.
The Koufax statue will be the second one of its kind to be installed by the club, following the Jackie Robinson statue, unveiled in 2017 and shown below in the Dodger Stadium Centerfield Plaza. The Koufax statue will be installed adjacent to the Robinson statue. The piece will be sculpted by Branly Cadet, who also created the Robinson statue.
It was announced in 2019 that Koufax would be honored in the Dodgers’ “statue series,” with a 2020 unveiling planned, but the global pandemic altered those plans. TThe former teammates were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962 (Robinson) and 1972 (Koufax), respectively, and both had their numbers retired by the Dodgers on June 4, 1972.
Throughout his 12 seasons, Koufax had a career record of 165-87, a 2.76 ERA, 2,396 strikeouts, 137 complete games and 40 shutouts. He was also the first major leaguer to pitch four no-hitters, including a perfect game.
“I am very proud to announce that the unveiling of the Sandy Koufax statue at Dodger Stadium will take place on Saturday, June 18,” said Dodger President and CEO, Stan Kasten via press release. “The statue will be located at our main entrance in the Centerfield Plaza, right next to Jackie Robinson’s statue, and fans entering those gates will be ‘greeted’ by Jackie and Sandy. Not only are both of these Hall of Famers part of our rich Dodger history, they are also continuously inspiring sports fans everywhere.”
From 1962-66, Koufax led the National League in earned run average and shutouts. He was the first pitcher to average fewer than seven hits allowed per nine innings pitched in his career (6.79) and to strike out more than nine batters (9.28) per nine innings. In his last 10 seasons, batters hit .203 against him with a .271 on-base percentage and a .315 slugging average.