Meet Juan Marichal

JUAN MARICHAL

Positions: Pitcher
Full Name: Juan Antonio Marichal Sanchez

Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Born: October 20, 1937 in Laguna Verde, Dominican Republic

Organizations: San Francisco Giants (14), Boston Red Sox (1), Los Angeles Dodgers (1)

JUAN MARICHAL'S WALL OF GLORY

HONORS AND AWARDS

• Hall of Fame: Inducted as a Player in 1983, by BBWAA with 83.7%
• All-Star: 10 (1962-1, 1962-2, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971)
• All-Star MVP: 1 (1965)

PITCHING

• Wins Leader: 2 (1963, 1968)
• ERA Leader: 1 (1969)
• W-L% Leader: 1 (1966)
• CG Leader: 2 (1964, 1968)
• SHO Leader: 2 (1965, 1969)
• IP Leader: 2 (1963, 1968)
• WHIP Leader: 2 (1966, 1969)

FIELDING

• PO as P: 2 (1964, 1968)
• Assists as P: 1 (1968) 

WHO?

Juan Marichal "the Dominican Dandy" is a former Dominican MLB pitcher, known for his high leg kick, great control and intimidation tactics (including aiming pitches directly to batters' heads). Although he was the winningest pitcher during the 1960's he played in just 1 World Series game and was frequently overshadowed by Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson in post-season awards.

Marichal's characteristic windup featured an almost vertical high kick of his left leg. He maintained this windup for his entire career. His trademark movement allowed him to conceal the kind of pitch he would be delivering. 

Marichal debuted in MLB in 1960 with San Francisco, and from 1963 to 1969 he posted more than 20 victories (except in 1967). His career-high was 26 wins in 1968. Marichal won more games in the 1960's (191) that any other pitcher. The "Dominican Dandy" participated in every All-Star game of the 1960s, starting in 1962. Also, he had a great control: 2,303 Strikeouts with just 709 base on balls. In 1963 Marichal pitched a no-hitter against Houston Colt .45s

In 1965 Giants and Dodgers were involved in the pennant race. Both teams clashed in August 22, with future HOF members Marichal y Koufax pitching.The game was heating because both pitchers were pitching close to batters, some of them being forced to dive to the ground. In that context, during his first AB in the game, Marichal argued with Dodgers' catcher John Roseboro, and hit the backstop with his bat twice. Marichal was ejected from the game, fined and suspended. Also sued by Roseboro. After their retirement both players became close friends.

MY COMMENT:

When I was young, when finishing High School, I wanted to be a pitcher, and modeled my windup to resemble Juan Marichal's. Needless to say, I had far less success than him (he is in the Hall of Fame, and I became a diplomat).

A fierce competitor and a winner, Marichal raised from humble origins to become the second Dominican Republic-born pitcher in MLB history (after Rudy Hernandez).

Even being the pitcher with more victories in the 1960's, it did not allowed him to get a Cy Young Award. In this regard you could say that Marichal was probably the most unlucky pitcher, considering that he had 3 seasons with 25 victories or more. 

Although his mark of 242 career wins (the most by a Dominican pitcher) was tied by Bartolo Colon in 2018, Juan Marichal is still considered  a reference in Dominican baseball in particular, and Latino baseball in general. 

BEST FIVE SEASONS

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP
1963	25	SFG	NL	25	8	.758	2.41	41	40	18	5	0	321.1	259	102	86	27	61	248	0.996
1965	27	SFG	NL	22	13	.629	2.13	39	37	24	10	1	295.1	224	78	70	27	46	240	0.914
1966	28	SFG	NL	25	6	.806	2.23	37	36	25	4	0	307.1	228	88	76	32	36	222	0.859
1968	30	SFG	NL	26	9	.743	2.43	38	38	30	5	0	325.2	295	106	88	21	46	218	1.047
1969	31	SFG	NL	21	11	.656	2.10	37	36	27	8	0	299.2	244	90	70	15	54	205	0.994

Note: If you are using a cell phone to look at this table, put it horizontally for a better experience
What do you think? was Marichal the unluckiest player (regarding awards) If not, who is? Share your thoughts!