Juan Marichal was "3" of the big three pitchers of the 60s, behind Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax. He never won a Cy Young award.
He hailed from Laguna Verde, Monte Cristi in the Dominian Republic, and was renown for his extreme high leg kick that he made in his delivery.
I rank him below Koufax and Gibson like most people, but you didn't want to bat against him, believe me.
And just that, he wasn't that far off those two.
Gibson posted a 22-9 record in 1968, the year of the pitcher. Denny McLain won 31 games to lead the American League. But it was Marichal who lead the NL in wins with 26, and also in innings pitched (325 2/3).
And he completed 30 of 38 starts that year!
Actually, we should look at that entire decade of the 60s when we talk about Marichal.
Trivia question: What pitcher won the most games in the majors in the 1960s?
Answer: Juan Marichal
When I think of Marical, I think of two things. 1) The night he almost killed John Roseboro, the Dodger catcher, and 2) The pitching duel with Warren Spahn in 1963.
The first was a rather gruesome incident. August 22, 1965, Dodgers and Giants. Frustrated when Roseboro returned a pitch of Sandy Koufax's too close to Marichal (who was batting), he swung his bat and hit John in the head, injuring him.
The other is much more pleasant and will make anyone who loves a pitcher's duel, mouth water.
It was on July 2, 1963. Marichal and Spahn were in, as I like to call it, "The Pitching Zone" where no one can hit you.
Actually there were a plenty hits in the game. But they were spread out!
How this for a pitching line?
Marichal: 16 IP, 8H, 0R 0ER, 10K, 4BB
Sphan: 15 1/3 IP, 9H, 1R, 1ER, 2K, 1BB
Willie Mays won the game with a dramatic walkoff homerun in the bottom of the 16th.
References
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 25 July 2011.
Kaplan, Jim. The Greatest Game Ever Pitched: Juan Marichal, Warren Spahn, And The Pitching Duel Of The Century. Chicago, IL: Triumph, 2011. Print.
Tinley, Scott. "Nearly Half Century Later, Spahn-Marichal Duel Still The Best Ever." SI.com. Sports Illustrated, 1 July 2011. Web. 25 July 2011. <http://www.si.com/more-sports/2011/07/01/kaplan-spahnmarichal>
References
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 25 July 2011.
Kaplan, Jim. The Greatest Game Ever Pitched: Juan Marichal, Warren Spahn, And The Pitching Duel Of The Century. Chicago, IL: Triumph, 2011. Print.
Tinley, Scott. "Nearly Half Century Later, Spahn-Marichal Duel Still The Best Ever." SI.com. Sports Illustrated, 1 July 2011. Web. 25 July 2011. <http://www.si.com/more-sports/2011/07/01/kaplan-spahnmarichal>
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