At age 40, Spahn had his sixth consecutive 20+ win season. It
was also the fifth straight year he led the NL in both wins and
complete games, and the third time in his career he won the ERA
title. The total package makes him a pretty obvious choice for the
award. Spahn would have two more big years, before Father Time
finally pulled his career to a close.
Jim O'Toole was 24 years old; he had pitched fairly well the
previous year, but now broke through with an outstanding season. He
continued to pitch well the next three years, then had a really
awful season in 1965, from which he never recovered. Joey Jay spent
seven years with Milwaukee, where the Braves' management barely
knew he existed. His first two seasons with the Reds were very
good, though his career quickly deteriorated soon after.
After six frustrating seasons of fighting his control, the
superbly talented Sandy Koufax finally broke through with a big
year. Dodger fans must have been optimistic about Koufax's future,
but I don't think that anyone guessed how much improvement Koufax had left.
First, to become one of the best pitchers in the league, and then
to become one of the greatest pitchers ever, all within five years.
Stu Miller was 34 years old, and entering the most productive
phase of his career. For the last decade Miller had been bouncing
back and forth between the bullpen and the starting rotation, with
mixed results. After this season, he never started another game,
and became one of the first true relief specialists. Miller, as is
well known, threw three pitches: slow, slower, and slowest. But he
kept hitters off balance, and was one of the best relievers of his
time.
