An Epic Duel

Recently, I was standing in my hotel lobby in The Dominican Republic when a staff member asked me where I lived. When I told him Boston, he reacted like most Dominican males do “I love The Red Sox, Big Papi, and Pedro Martinez”. I said that Pedro is my all-time favorite pitcher, but I also love Pedro’s role model, Juan Marichal. Immediately, four other dudes came over and we had a lively discussion about Marichal and the greatest pitching duel in history.

Marichal was born in a small Dominican fishing village in 1937. Juan and his friends needed to improvise in order to play baseball. They wrapped thick cloth around stray golf balls to get them to baseball size. Tree branches served as bats and canvas tarps for gloves. Juan left high school to pitch for the United Fruit Company team. When he shut out a Dominican Air Force squad, Air Force officials ordered Marichal to join their team.

Marichal was signed by The San Francisco Giants and opened his big-league career by tossing a one-hitter in 1960. Going into the now-famous 1963 duel, he had a 12-3 record and had recently pitched a no-hitter.

Opposing the 25-year-old Dominican was 42-year-old Milwaukee Braves legend, Warren Spahn. Born in 1921, Spahn was raised in Buffalo, NY. His 363 career wins make him the sixth winningest pitcher in history. He would have been higher on the list, but he enlisted in the army during WWII. Spahn served in the Battle of The Bulge, won a purple heart and earned a battlefield commission.

Both pitchers faced future Hall of Fame hitters. Milwaukee had Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews while the Giants boasted Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and Orlando Cepeda. Two years earlier, Spahn had pitched a no-hitter against the fearsome Giants. Going into this game, Spahn’ record was 11-3 with five straight victories

Both pitchers possessed excellent control, a confounding array of pitches, and a high leg kick that obscured batters’ sightlines

July 2, 1963
The game was scoreless after nine innings. In innings 10-12, Marichal retired nine straight batters while Spahn yielded only a bunt hit. Marichal begged Giants manager Alvin Dark not to remove him saying,” He’s 42 and I’m 25 – you can’t take me out until that man is not pitching.” Marichal chewed gum furiously to help his concentration. Spahn also chewed gum and allegedly smoked unfiltered Camels between innings.

in the fourteenth, the Giants loaded the bases, but Spahn escaped. The 16th started around 12:20 A.M and Marichal only gave up a single. He then told Willie Mays that he couldn’t continue pitching. Willie said, “Don’t worry, I’m going to win this game for you.” True to his word, Willie homered and the Giants won 1-0. In the epic duel, Spahn threw 201 pitches and Marichal 227.

Spahn spent several hours in the clubhouse drinking beer while Marichal went home and collapsed into bed. The next day Spahn took Marichal aside in the visitors’ clubhouse. Spahn, the winningest pitcher of the ’50s passed on his wisdom to the winningest pitcher of the ’60s. The Dominican never forgot Spahn’s thoughtfulness.

Marichal finished 1963 at 25-8, with a 2.41 ERA, His career record was 243-142 with an eye-popping 2.89 ERA.

Spahn became the oldest pitcher to win 20 games, finishing at 23-7, His career declined after 1963 and he retired after two losing seasons. Spahn managed several minor league teams and was the Cleveland Indian’s pitching coach. For many years he operated a ranch in Oklahoma. Warren died in 2003 at the age of 82.

The 88-year-old Marichal owns a farm in the Dominican Republic. He previously served as the DR’s Minister of Sports and Physical Education. His charitable works are legendary.

Then Versus Now
The stamina displayed by the two icons is extraordinary. Today, franchises adhere to limited pitch counts to protect their pitchers. Rarely does a starter pitch nine innings. The average innings pitched by a starter continues to fall and now stands at only five innings per start.

That sound you just heard is Ole Warren spinning in his grave.

Have a great weekend