Israeli baseball team drafts Sandy Koufax

Forty-one years after he retired from baseball, Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax was the final player chosen in the draft to stock the six teams for the inaugural season of the Israel Baseball League.

Koufax, 71, was picked by the Modi'in Miracle in the draft conducted Thursday night by former major league general manager Dan Duquette, who heads baseball operations for the league.

"His selection is a tribute to the esteem with which he is held by everyone associated with this league," said former big leaguer Art Shamsky, who will manage the Miracle. "It's been 41 years between starts for him. If he's rested and ready to take the mound again, we want him on our team."

In the 1965 World Series, Koufax refused to pitch Game 1 for Los Angeles because it fell on Yom Kippur.

In his career with the Dodgers, in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, the left-hander threw four no-hitters, including one perfect game. He retired due to arm problems after the 1966 season and was later voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.