In 1963, Major League Baseball expanded the strike zone

In 1963, Major League Baseball expanded the strike zone.[39] Compared to the previous season, National League walks fell 13 percent, strikeouts increased six percent, the league batting average fell from .261 to .245, and runs fell 15 percent.[40] Koufax, who had reduced his walks allowed per nine innings to 3.4 in 1961 and 2.8 in 1962, reduced his walk rate further to 1.7 in 1963, which ranked fifth in the league.[1] The top pitchers of the era – Don Drysdale, Juan Marichal, Jim Bunning, Bob Gibson, Warren Spahn, and above all Koufax – significantly reduced the walks-given-up-to-batters-faced ratio for 1963 and subsequent years.[41]
On May 11, Koufax carried a perfect game into the eighth inning against the powerful Giants lineup, including future Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and Orlando Cepeda. He walked Ed Bailey on a 3-and-2 pitch, but preserved the no-hitter by closing out the ninth.[42] As the Dodgers won the pennant, Koufax won the pitchers' Triple Crown, leading the league in wins (25), strikeouts (306) and ERA (1.88). Koufax threw 11 shutouts, a total that only Bob Gibson has surpassed since. Koufax won the NL MVP Award, the Hickok Belt, and was the first-ever unanimous selection for the Cy Young Award.[43][44]
Facing the Yankees in the 1963 World Series, Koufax beat Whitey Ford 5-2 in Game 1 and struck out 15 batters, breaking Carl Erskine's decade-old record of 14 (Gibson would break Koufax's record by striking out 17 Detroit Tigers in the 1968 World Series opener). After seeing Koufax's Game 1 performance, Yogi Berra said, "I can see how he won 25 games. What I don't understand is how he lost five,"[45] to which Maury Wills responded, "He didn't. We lost them for him."[46] In Game 4, Koufax completed the Dodgers' series sweep with a 2–1 victory over Ford, clinching the Series MVP Award for his performance.[47]


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