On June 30, 1962, Los Angeles Dodgers legendary left-hander Sandy Koufax threw the first no-hitter of his career. Koufax issued five walks and finished with 13 strikeouts against the New York Mets in the 5-0 victory at Dodger Stadium.
The five baserunners are the most allowed in a no-hitter in franchise history, and it was the club’s first no-hitter since relocating to Los Angeles in 1958 but second no-hitter at Chavez Ravine. Bo Belinsky of the Los Angeles Angels threw a no-hitter at Dodger Stadium on May 5, 1962.
Koufax began the historic performance on a dominant note, striking out the side on nine pitches to complete an immaculate first inning.
While the then-26-year-old went to a 3-2 count on nine occasions and handed out five free passes, Koufax did not allow a runner to reach second base. The 1962 season marked the start of arguably the best five-year stretch by an individual in MLB history.
Koufax went on to throw a no-hitter in each of the next three seasons. Included in that was a perfect game on Sept. 9, 1965 in a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium. It still stands as the only perfect game in Dodgers franchise history.
During his 12 seasons with the Dodgers, spanning across Brooklyn and Los Angeles, Koufax was on four World Series teams, won unanimous Cy Young Awards in 1963, 1965 and 1966, the 1963 National League MVP, and was a seven-time All-Star.
He retired at 30 years old after the 1966 season and at 36 years and 20 days old became the youngest player elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.
Pedro Guerrero ties MLB record with home run
June 30 is also a memorable date in Dodgers history for Pedro Guerrero. In 1985 he slugged a home run off Bruce Sutter in the eighth inning that was the difference for the Dodgers in a 4-3 win over the Atlanta Braves.
The homer came in Guerrero’s final at-bat in June, and tied an MLB record for most in a single month with 15.
Sammy Sosa holds the current MLB record for most home runs in one month with 20 hit in June of 1998. Cody Bellinger came close to matching Guerrero’s production during his MVP campaign in 2019, slugging 14 homers during games played at the end of March and through April.
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