#567 Juan Marichal #568 In Action - Juan Marichal

A premiere pitcher of the 60’s…. Dominant Dominican Republic Right hander….HOF ….Unique high kick pitching style…signed during the New York Giant era, tore up minors and made smooth transition to San Francisco, going 6-2 in eleven games….next two season he would improve his standing on the staff winning 13 and 18….Breakout was in 1963 which brought 25 wins and a no hitter… Won a 16 inning complete game against Warren Spahn which some considered the greatest pitching duel ever… started an impressive resume won over 20 games in a 6 out of 7 year stretch…exemplary seasons are 1969: 21 wins and NL ERA crown:  1968 career and NL season best of 26 wins most complete games… All star game appearance in 8 out of 9 years… ….despite high sucess no Cy Young…overshadowed by Koufax in the first half of the decade and Bob Gibson in the later half….also contributing to lack of recognition was the Giants inability to make the postseason and the ugly John Roseboro incident…did not garner the high win total that was typical fashion in 1970…  in a small comeback 1971 was his last productive year …declined afterwards…14  seasons by the bay ended in 1974 with trade to Boston and his playing days over soon after….Elected to the hall of fame in 1983 a couple of years behind Bob Gibson.....“If you placed all the pitchers in the history of the game behind a transparent curtain, where only a silhouette was visible, Juan’s motion would be the easiest to identify. He brought to the mound beauty, individuality and class." — Bob Stevens in "Baseball’s Greatest Quotes" (1982)….Juan’s career is the subject of 3 books in recent years:   Juan Marichal : my journey from the Dominican Republic to Cooperstown,  The greatest game ever pitched : Juan Marichal, Warren Spahn, and the pitching duel of the century,  The fight of their lives : how Juan Marichal and John Roseboro turned baseball's ugliest brawl into a story of forgiveness and redemption.