Draft:Milwaukee Braves 0, San Francisco Giants 1 (1963)

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Milwaukee Braves at San Francisco Giants
MLN SFG
0 1
16 innings
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 R H E
MLN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1
SFG 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 9 1
DateJuly 2, 1963 (1963-07-02)
VenueCandlestick Park
CitySan Francisco
Managers
Umpires
Attendance15,921
Time of game4:10

On July 2, 1963, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, Juan Marichal of the San Francisco Giants and Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves engaged in what is considered one of the greatest pitchers' duel in baseball history. The pair matched fifteen scorless innings until Willie Mays hit a walk-off home run off Spahn in the bottom of the 16th to win the game for the Giants.

The game lasted four hours and ten minutes, with both men pitching complete games and throwing over 200 pitches each. Including both Marichal and Spahn, the game involved seven future Hall of Famers.

Game play[edit]

At the start of the 1963 season, Spahn was 42 years old and nearing the end of his 21-year career. By contrast, Marichal was a 25-year-old pitching phenom who had broken into Major League Baseball in 1960. The game, which took place at night, lasted 4 hours and 10 minutes. Each pitcher threw 15-plus inning complete games, something that had not happened before or since in the major leagues.[1]

Marichal allowed eight hits – all singles except for a double hit by Spahn in the 16 innings – and struck out 10. Future Hall of Famer Henry Aaron went an 0-for-6 against Marichal. Spahn allowed nine hits in 15.1 innings and struck out two. The only walk he allowed was intentionally to Mays in the 14th, after Harvey Kuenn's leadoff double.[2]

Alvin Dark, manager of the Giants, visited the mound in the 9th, 10th, 11th, 13th, and 14th innings, but was talked out of removing Marichal each time. During the 14th-inning visit, Marichal told Dark, "Do you see that man pitching for the other side? Do you know that man is 42 years old? I'm only 25. If that man is on the mound, nobody is going to take me out of here." Dark did not go back out for the rest of the game.[2]

At the bottom of the 16th, Mays hit a walk off home run off Spahn to break the 0-0 tie.[3] Marichal ended up throwing 227 pitches in the 1–0 win, while Spahn threw 201 in the loss, allowing nine hits and one walk.[4]

Aftermath[edit]

1963 was Spahn's last great season in the Major Leagues. After winning 20 games in 1963, he declined the following year and retired in 1965, after brief stints with the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants. He would be elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973, on the first ballot.[5]

Marichal went on to become the winningest pitcher of the 1960s, winning 191 games during the decade. However, his reputation never recovered after the August 22, 1965 game where he struck John Roseboro of the Los Angeles Dodgers with a bat. Despite crafting a Hall of Fame career, he struggled to get elected to the Hall of Fame on his first two tries, succeeding only when Roseboro campaigned on his behalf.[5]

Box score[edit]

Tuesday, July 2, 1963 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 R H E
Milwaukee Braves 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1
San Francisco Giants 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 9 1
Starting pitchers:
MLN: Warren Spahn
SFG: Juan Marichal
WP: Juan Marichal (13–3)   LP: Warren Spahn (11–4)
Home runs:
MLN: None
SFG: Willie Mays (15)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Kaplan, Jim (July 1, 2011). "Nearly half century later, Spahn-Marichal duel still the best ever". Sports Illustrated.
  2. ^ a b Kaplan, Jim. "The Best-Pitched Game in Baseball History: Warren Spahn and Juan Marichal". Society for American Baseball Research.
  3. ^ Kroner, Steve (July 2, 2020). "July 2, 1963: Giants' Juan Marichal beats Braves' Warren Spahn 1-0 in 16 innings". San Francisco Chronicle.
  4. ^ Adler, David (June 28, 2023). "Marichal, Spahn and the greatest game ever pitched". MLB.com.
  5. ^ a b Kaplan, Jim. "Hall of Fame Matchup". National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Further reading[edit]

  • Kaplan, Jim (2013). The Greatest Game Ever Pitched: Juan Marichal, Warren Spahn, and the Pitching Duel of the Century. Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1600788215.

External links[edit]

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