Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Now THAT'S pitching!


On July 2, 1963, the Giants beat the Braves in the bottom of the 16th inning on a home run by Willie Mays. How many pitchers do you suppose each team used during that game?

ONE EACH!

Juan Marichal pitched all 16 innings, while the 42-year-old Warren Spahn pitched 15.1 innings.


Last night during the Willie Mays interview on the MLB Network, Marichal recalled that game, and how Giants' manager Al Dark told Marichal in the dugout that he was thinking of making a pitching change soon.

The 25-year-old Marichal told Dark "See that guy on the mound? He's 42 years old. There's no way I'm coming out of this game before he does!"

As the game dragged into the 16th inning, Marichal told Mays "I'm tired, help me out, Willie." Mays responded with a home run in the bottom of the 16th.


2/15 update:
I wondered, "After all that pitching, were they ineffective in their next outing?" Ha! They both pitched again 5 days later:

Marichal - Lost 5-0 to Bob Gibson, who pitched a complete game. Marichal's line: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 K, 0 BB.

Spahn - Beat the Astros 4-0. His line: 9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 4 K, 1 BB
.

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