Classic No Mas – You Call That a Brawl?
(What with Jose Offerman’s recent bat-slinging escapade, it seemed appropriate to take you back to this day in 1965, with a Classic No Mas piece on the infamous John Marichal/John Roseboro/Sandy Koufax showdown at Candlestick. Note the similarities in the two pictures, Offerman on the right and Marichal below. Not much has changed it seems in the business of mound-chargin’ and bat-wieldin’.)
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This was a brawl right here. First of all, look at two of the principals – Juan Marichal and Sandy Koufax. Also note Marichal brandishing the bat. That would cost him dearly.
On this day in 1965, one of the ugliest fights in baseball history occurred, a donnybrook of mythic proportions between the Dodgers and the Giants. There had been some bean-balling in a game two days prior, and in this game, Dodgers’ catcher John Roseboro reputedly wanted Koufax to knock down Marichal. When Koufax refused, Roseboro took the job on himself, whipping a return throw to the mound very close to Marichal’s head. A screaming match ensued, and Roseboro threw off his mask to better express himself. At that point Marichal landed a couple of clean bat-shots to Roseboro’s head.
All hell broke loose. Bats were brandished by other players. Roseboro was led off the field by Willie Mays, bleeding profusely. His wound required fourteen stitches.
Marichal was suspended for nine days and fined the then-considerable sum of $1,750. But the damage stretched far beyond the immediate punishment – the incident would haunt Marichal the rest of his career and may have postponed his entry into the Hall of Fame.
One wonders if Robby Alomar will suffer a similar fate for the gob of spit he planted on John Hirschbeck’s face in 1996 . Somehow I doubt it. Outrage just ain’t what it used to be.
August 22nd, 2007 at 9:23 pm
i think alomar, will be one of those “we wont say it out loud but yeah the spitting thing is gonna cost him” things.
ps large, you ever get your No Mas Pumas?
August 23rd, 2007 at 2:21 pm
I have to disagree…I think that it is a different age now a days…serious, information gives us crap like this everyday happening around the world. Plus, if they let McGuire in there and Bonds will the hall be worth anything? I hear that people even want to let Pete Rose in.
August 23rd, 2007 at 9:35 pm
Alomar’s spitting will delay him 1 or maybe 2 years of voting. He’s the best all-around 2B in the past 20 years. Definately better than Sandberg. Most Gold Gloves for a 2B, Career .300 hitter. The fact that he and Hirschbeck are now friends also says a lot.
Marichal’s credentials pale in comparison to Alomar.
August 24th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
Pale? Easy there, Kopper.
Marichal
1963 – 25-8, 2.41
1964 – 21-8, 2.48
1965 – 22-13, 2.13
1966 – 25-6, 2.23
Had an off year in ’67 and then…
1968 – 26-9, 2.43
1969 – 21-11, 2.10
Compare those to the numbers that have made Koufax a living legend. If he hadn’t pitched in the Koufax/Gibson era (and maybe if he hadn’t beaten up John Roseboro with a bat), Marichal would be an icon today. I put him in the Hall of Fame before Robby Alomar, though I agree that Alomar is a cinch for the Hall. But to me, for a sustained period Marichal dominated the game at a level that Alomar never did.
August 26th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Marichal’s stats do look impressive. Especially in this age, where ERA’s are a good point above what people were putting up 40 years ago. Marichal was in the top 5 in wins in the NL from 63-69 (minus 67), that is true. I think the thing that puts Marichal in the HOF is that a clearly inferior pitcher in every respect, Don Drysdale, is in. Also, their careers overlapped for 9 years.