Juan Marichal: Pioneer
To many, Dominican pitcher Juan Marichal was the best pitcher in the majors during the 1960s, yet he never won the coveted Cy Young Award. While there has been much speculation as to why, speculation cannot change history. Marichal was a pioneer for the great Latin American hurlers who reached lofty pinnacles with numbers that rival the best pitchers in history.
He has been a Hall of Famer for 35 years and is proud of his life and accomplishments.
Dominican Dynamo
Marichal, the first Dominican enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., was born in Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic, on Oct. 20, 1937.
Monte Cristi, located in the northwest region of the Caribbean nation 70 miles from Haiti, was also home to Ozzie Virgil, Sr., the first Dominican to play in Major League Baseball.
Virgil, an infielder, debuted with the New York Giants on Sept. 23, 1956.
Marichal, from a family of hard working farmers, stated during a 1974 interview at Fenway Park, “As a kid I took care of our animals, played some baseball, fished and swam a lot. My brother, Gonzalo, taught me the basics of baseball, a game I really loved.”
Commencing with amateur teams sponsored by the likes of Esso Company, Bermudez Rum Company and United Fruit Company, Marichal worked his way up to the very competent Dominican Air Force team.
Marichal never flew a mission for the air force. He refined his pitching abilities while Ramfis, the son of dictator, Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, who put him on course to become a professional with the San Francisco Giants. Scouts Horacio Martinez, “Chick” Genovese and Alex Pompez were instrumental in Marichal getting a $500 signing bonus when he signed in 1958 at age 21.
MLB Debut
Marichal excelled in the minors, compiling 50 wins with just 26 losses and an impressive 2.35 ERA from 1958-1960 in the Midwest League (Class-D), the Eastern League (Class A) and the Pacific Coast League (Class AAA).
In his MLB debut against Philadelphia on July 19, 1960, the Giants 2-0 win. He retired the first 19 batters he faced and allowed only one hit (a single by Clay Dalrymple in the 8th inning while striking out 12 Phillies.
Marichal was the talk of the town among baseball fans. Only a few days before his MLB debut, he pitched for Tacoma, Wash., some 38 miles south from my family’s Magnolia neighborhood home. Although I did not see him pitch against the Seattle Rainiers at Sicks Stadium that summer, I spotted him on the field prior to a game.
Memorable Feats
On June 15, 1963, Marichal became the first Latin American to throw a no hitter in MLB history when he defeated the Houston Colts 1-0. He walked two struck out five to improve to 10-3 with a 2.39 ERA.
Seventeen days later, Marichal pitched in one of the most amazing duels in baseball history. In San Francisco during a 16-inning game against the Milwaukee Braves, Hall of Famer Willie Mays homered against lefty Warren Spahn to win 1-0 on a night both Hall of Fame pitchers threw complete games.
All-Star Game Performances
Juan Marichal was named to 10 National League All-Star teams during his career (1960-1975) with San Francisco, Boston and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He participated in eight of them with a record of (2-0) and 0.50 ERA in 18 innings.
He earned his first All-Star victory on July 10, 1962, when the NL won 3-1 at D.C. Stadium, becoming the first Latin American to win a Midsummer Classic.
The Best to Never Win the Cy Young Award
Don Drysdale, Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, and Marichal were among the best pitchers during the 1960s. All but Marichal won Cy Young awards as the best in the National League .
To this day, fans and historians wonder why he never won the Cy Young if he was arguably the best pitcher during the 1960s. During the 1960s he led MLB with 45 shutouts and 197 complete games.
Marichal, who was 243-142 with his 2.89 ERA in his career, was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1983.
He had a repertoire of five pitches – fastball, curveball, slider, screwball and a change-up. However, to add to his effectiveness, he could throw each pitch from different angles.
“This honor is not mine alone,” Marichal said after he was elected to the Hall of Fame. “This honor is for baseball fans everywhere, for the fans in the Dominican Republic … and of course, in San Francisco and Latin America.”
While he brought magnificence to the game, this soft-spoken man possesses a beautiful mentality that allows him to be happy among friends in the ambiance in which he grew up in the Dominican Republic away from glorification.
Featured Image: Jean Fruth / La Vida Baseball
Inset Image: Boston Red Sox