Koufax Ends Boycott, but He’s Only Visiting
VERO BEACH, Fla. — Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax officially ended his yearlong boycott of the Dodgers with an appearance Friday at Dodgertown.
Koufax spoke with reporters, commenting for the first time on the situation that prompted him to end his relationship with the only franchise for which he had played.
“There was a reason and it’s over and done with now,” said Koufax, whose brilliance on the mound captivated fans in the 1960s and defined the Dodgers’ greatest era in Los Angeles.
“It doesn’t mean anything. There’s no reason anymore.”
Koufax, a Vero Beach resident, turned away from the team last spring, protesting against the Dodgers’ former parent company, News Corp., after a report in the New York Post, a News Corp. subsidiary, apparently had intimated that he was a homosexual.
The Dodgers had been hopeful that Koufax would rejoin them in some unofficial capacity this spring after Frank and Jamie McCourt bought the club from News Corp. Reconciliation appeared probable when Koufax returned to Dodgertown Feb. 19 to have his torn calf muscle examined by team physician Frank Jobe.
“The true significance of his visit is that he can once again see his friends and put this to rest,” Derrick Hall, senior vice president, said Friday.
Koufax, 68, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, downplayed his return.
“It’s a non-story,” he said. “I’m still going to come out and see friends but probably not that often.
“My life has changed. A lot of things have changed, but the reason for not coming out is definitely in the past.”
Koufax broke off ties with the Dodgers in response to a two-sentence gossip item published in the Post on Dec. 19, 2002. The Post reported that a “Hall of Fame baseball hero” had “cooperated with a best-selling biography only because the author promised to keep it secret that he is gay. The author kept her word, but big mouths at the publishing house can’t keep from flapping.”
Koufax, who was not named by the paper, is the subject of Jane Leavy’s biography, “Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy,” published in September 2002.
At the time, Leavy, a former Washington Post reporter, called the report “thoroughly erroneous on all counts.... It was thoroughly without basis insofar as it had to do with Sandy or any relationship I had with him professionally.”
On Friday, Koufax spent about 20 minutes with Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox -- “He was in Dodger camp when he was 18,” Koufax said -- and pitching coach Leo Mazzone at Holman Stadium before the Dodgers’ 6-5 victory over the Braves.
Koufax also visited with Dodger pitching coach Jim Colborn, minor league pitching coordinator Rick Honeycutt and All-Star right fielder Shawn Green, among others.
“I haven’t worked here for 12 years and I still don’t work here,” he said. “I just come out to see friends and that’s all I’m doing. I saw Dr. Jobe and I saw Pat [Screnar, physical therapist]. I come out to see people and every year I know less of ‘em.”
Koufax said he’d spoken with the McCourts “once and they seem like very nice people,” but he’s not pursuing an official position with the club. Green was pleased Koufax was back.
“He’s a great guy and he’s probably the best pitcher to ever wear this uniform, if not a major league uniform,” Green said. “He should be treated with respect.”
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Left fielder Jolbert Cabrera had his second two-homer game to help the Dodgers improve to 3-0.... Leadoff batter Dave Roberts was two for three with a run scored, and Adrian Beltre was two for two with an RBI.
