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Juan Marichal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Personal Info | |
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| Birth | October 20, 1937, Laguna Verde, Dominican Republic |
| Professional Career | |
| Debut | July 19, 1960, San Francisco Giants vs. Philadelphia Phillies, Candlestick Park |
| Team(s) | San Francisco Giants (1960-1973) |
| HOF induction: | 1983 |
| Career Highlights | |
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Juan Antonio Marichal Sánchez (born October 20, 1937, in Laguna Verde, Dominican Republic) is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball known for his high leg kick, dominating stuff and intimidation tactics, which included aiming pitches directly at the opposing batters' helmets. Marichal played for the San Francisco Giants for most of his career and he also played for the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers for the final two seasons of his career.
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Marichal entered the major leagues in 1960 with the San Francisco Giants, for whom he made an immediate impression by going 6-2 in 11 starts with a 2.66 ERA. He improved his victory totals to 13 and 18 over the following two seasons, respectively, before finally cracking the 20-victory plateau in 1963, when he went 25-8 with 248 strikeouts and a 2.41 ERA. Marichal enjoyed similar success through the 1969 season, posting more than 20 victories in every season except 1967, and never posting an ERA higher than 2.76. He led the league in victories in 1963 and 1968 when he won 26 games.
Marichal exhibited exceptional control. He had 2,303 strikeouts with only 709 walks, a strikeout-to-walk ratio of about than 3.25 to 1. By contrast, Bob Gibson, Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Walter Johnson and Roger Clemens have strikeout-to-walk ratios of less than 3:1.
One regular-season game in Marichal's career deserves mention, involving him and Milwaukee Braves' Hall of Famer Warren Spahn in a night contest played July 2, 1963, before almost 16,000 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The two great pitchers matched goose-eggs until Giants superstar Willie Mays homered off Spahn to win the game 1-0 — in the 16th inning. Both Spahn and Marichal tossed complete games, something that almost certainly will never happen again in the big leagues. Marichal allowed eight hits in the 16 innings, striking out 10, and saddling eventual career home-run king Hank Aaron with an 0-for-6 collar. Spahn permitted nine hits in 15 and one-third innings, walking just one (Mays intentionally, in the 14th, after Harvey Kuenn's leadoff double) and striking out two. The game, almost the innings-duration of two contests, lasted only 4 hours, 10 minutes. (Information courtesy of Retrosheet)
Marichal is also remembered for a notorious incident that occurred on August 22, 1965, in a game played against the Giants' arch-rival, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Batting against Sandy Koufax, Marichal felt that Dodger catcher Johnny Roseboro's return throws had flown too close to his head. Words were exchanged, and Roseboro, throwing off his catcher's helmet and mask, rose to continue the argument. Marichal responded by hitting Roseboro's unprotected head with his bat. The benches cleared into a 14-minute brawl, while Giant captain Willie Mays escorted the bleeding Roseboro (who would require 14 stitches) back to the clubhouse. Marichal was ejected, suspended for nine days and fined $1,750. Roseboro filed a lawsuit, but eventually settled out of court, supposedly for $2,000. Marichal and Roseboro would eventually go on to become close friends, reconciling any personal animosity and even autographing photographs of the brawl.
Many people protested the apparently light punishment meted out, but as it was it hurt the Giants considerably. They were in a neck-and-neck pennant race with the Dodgers and the race was decided with only two games to play. Marichal's nine-day suspension cost him two pitching turns, and the Giants lost the pennant by two games; thus the suspension turned out to be poetic justice.
In 1970, Marichal experienced a severe reaction to penicillin which led to back pain and chronic arthritis. Marichal's career stumbled in 1970, when he only posted 12 wins and his ERA shot up to 4.12, before straightening itself out with a stellar 1971 season in which he won 18 games and his ERA dropped below 3.00. It was his final great season, however, as he posted 6-16 and 11-15 records in 1972 and 1973 respectively. He played briefly with the Boston Red Sox in 1974 and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1975 before retiring. He finished his career with 243 victories, 142 losses, 244 complete games, 2,303 strikeouts and a 2.89 ERA over 3,507 innings pitched. His teams appeared in two postseasons (in 1962 and 1971) but were not victorious in either series against the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates, respectively. Between 1962 and 1971, The Giants averaged 90 wins a season, and Marichal averaged 20 wins a year.
Marichal pitched a no-hitter on June 15, 1963, and was named to nine All-Star teams. He was selected MVP in the 1965 game. His All-Star Game record was 2-0 with a 0.50 ERA.
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| Juan Marichal is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame |
Juan Marichal was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983. His uniform number 27 has been retired by the Giants. In 1990, Marichal, who was working as a broadcaster for Spanish radio, was on hand to see his son-in-law, José Rijo, win the World Series Most Valuable Player Award.
In 1999, he ranked #71 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. He was honored before a game between the Giants and Oakland Athletics with a statue outside AT&T Park in 2005, and was named one of the three starting pitchers on Major League Baseball's Latino Legends Team.
- Marichal was the second native of the Dominican Republic to pitch in the major leagues. Rudy Hernández of the Washington Senators preceded him by sixteen days.
- Juan Marichal at:
| Preceded by Johnny Callison |
Major League Baseball All-Star Game Most Valuable Player 1965 |
Succeeded by Brooks Robinson |
| Preceded by Willie Mays |
Major League Player of the Month May, 1966 |
Succeeded by Gaylord Perry |
Categories: Baseball Hall of Fame | National League All-Stars | Boston Red Sox players | Los Angeles Dodgers players | San Francisco Giants players | Major league pitchers | Dominican Republic baseball players | 1937 births | Living people | Major League Baseball announcers | Major League Baseball pitchers who have pitched a no-hitter | Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVPs