Juan Marichal: An Opening Day Dandy

In the nearly 120-year history of the New York and San Francisco Giants, several of the club’s pitchers have distinguished themselves on Opening Days. “Smiling” Mickey Welch won the franchise opener in 1883, followed by three more first day victories. In 1902, Christy Mathewson’s shutout of Philadelphia snapped the Giants’ losing streak of nine consecutive lid lifters (an Opening Day record). Red Ames pitched well in his four outings, including taking a no-hitter into the tenth before eventually losing to Brooklyn in thirteen.

In his prime, Carl Hubbell yielded only six runs in three outings. For shutting out the Dodgers in the San Francisco inaugural at Seals Stadium in 1958, Ruben Gomez gets an honorable mention. More recently, John Burkett can claim back-to-back wins, including an 8-0 shutout of the Pirates in front of 58,077-the Giants’ largest Opening Day crowd-in 1994.

The Giants’ greatest Opening Day pitcher, though, is Juan Marichal. His ten starts, six wins, six complete games, two shutouts and ten strikeouts in one game are all Opening Day franchise records. He lasted at least eight innings eight times and had only one bad outing. His ERA was a phenomenal 1.73.

Here is a brief description of Marichal’s ten Opening Day games, as well as an explanation of why he missed the season starters in 1963 and 1970. A statistical summary is provided at the end of the article.

Tuesday, April 10, 1962.
Milwaukee at San Francisco.

Juan Marichal opened his big league career at Candlestick Park by tossing a one-hitter against the Phillies in the summer of 1960. His 2.66 ERA led the Giants’ talented staff that year, but the effort was not enough to earn Opening Day honors in 1961. Marichal experienced a bit of a “sophomore jinx” in 1961 with an ERA of 3.89, but that figure did not seem to worry skipper Alvin Dark. In the spring of 1962, he wisely gave the Dominican Republic native both permission to fly home to get married and the season-starting honors.

In what could be considered his debut as the Giants’ ace, the twenty-four-year-old bridegroom responded in front of 39,177 at sunny Candlestick. Marichal was occasionally wild, but worked his way out of jams three times. “All day I work the corners,” he told reporters afterwards.

The Giants reached Braves veteran Warren Spahn early. Willie Mays cracked the first pitch he saw over the fence, then Marichal helped his own cause-a double and run scored in the third to give the Giants a 2-0 lead, and a single in the fourth that knocked in two. He took a one-hitter into the ninth and completed the game with a three-hit, ten strikeout, 6-0 shutout.

Tuesday, April 9, 1963.
San Francisco at Houston.

The Giants won the National League pennant in 1962. Marichal had the team’s best ERA, but Jack Sanford got the run support, the wins (24, including 16 in a row) and the subsequent privilege to open the 1963 campaign. Sanford and the Giants beat the Astros, 9-2, in Houston. Marichal pitched the next day, giving up four earned runs and lasting only two innings in a game the Giants won, 8-7.

Tuesday, April 14, 1964.
Milwaukee at San Francisco.

With a league-leading 25 wins in 1963, including a no-hitter and an epic 16-inning win over Spahn and the Braves, Marichal was well on his way to becoming one of the best pitchers in baseball. On Opening Day in San Francisco in 1964, he once again faced Spahn and the Braves. In front of 42,894, the largest crowd yet to see a regular season game at the ‘Stick, Marichal gave up four early runs, three unearned.

With the Giants down, 4-2, Mays, an Opening Day standout in his own right, came to the rescue. In the third inning he clouted a two-run homer to tie the game. In the eighth Willie hit a solo shot to give the Giants a 6-4 lead. Orlando Cepeda and Tom Haller followed with home runs and Marichal, who settled down after the third, went the distance. The win was San Francisco’s sixth opening day victory against only one loss since their move west.

Monday, April 12, 1965.
San Francisco at Pittsburgh.

28,189 at Forbes Field witnessed an extra-inning duel between the craftsman Marichal and the flamethrower Bob Veale. Marichal retired the first ten Pirates he faced, yielded just five hits and one walk, allowed no one past second base in regulation, struck out nine and issued one free pass. The Giants put up threats in the first and fourth, but Veale shut the door both times. The tall righty gave up just three hits, struck out ten, walked one and retired the last nineteen Giants he faced. Both teams backed up their pitchers with brilliant defense and showed the fans “at least a dozen sparkling gems with the glove.”

In the top of the tenth, Veale set the Giants down. Bob Bailey then spoiled Marichal’s attempt to go 3- for-3 in openers. The young infielder deposited a curve ball from the Giants’ ace into the trees beyond the left field fence, sending Number 27 quickly off the mound, and the crowd into a frenzy.

Tuesday, April 12, 1966.
Chicago at San Francisco.

Back in his favorite park, Marichal gave Giants fans what they were coming to expect on Opening Day at Candlestick. He retired the first eighteen Cubbies and went on to give up one lone unearned run in the seventh. “His control was exceptional for this time of the year,” Giants’ catcher Tom Haller said. “I was surprised because he reported so late for spring training.”

The Giants broke open a scoreless game in the fourth. Mays hit a circuit shot to get things rolling. Singles by Jim Ray Hart, Jesus Alou, Haller, and Marichal, and a double by Hal Lanier put the game out of reach. The 9-1 win brought Marichal’s Opening Day record at Candlestick to 3-0, and the victory was his fourth straight Opening Day complete game.

Tuesday, April 11, 1967.
San Francisco at St. Louis.

The ’67 opener in the nation’s heartland matched up two of the National League’s greatest franchises, two teams with excellent chances to win the pennant and, arguably, the two best pitchers in the game. Marichal was coming off a brilliant 25-6 campaign that included ten wins in a row and an appearance on the cover of Time magazine.

The Cardinals, who went on to win 101 games and the World Series, launched a 14-hit assault against Marichal. Although he lasted seven innings, the acrobatic righty gave up six runs. Meanwhile, Bob Gibson completely shut down the Giant machine. He struck out the first five, scattered five hits, walked none and fanned an Opening Day record-tying 13 batters. St Louis’s 6-0 win proved to be Marichal’s only bad Opening Day outing.

Wednesday, April 10, 1968.
New York at San Francisco.

The Giants three-game Opening Day home win streak was in serious jeopardy against the Mets in 1968. In what would prove to be his last Opening Day start at home, the Dominican Dandy gave up four early runs, including a three-run homer to Ron Swoboda. He settled back down after the shaky third and shut the Mets out for five more innings.

With his team down, 4-2, Marichal was removed for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the eighth. Giants’ reliever Fred Linzy did his job in the top of the ninth, giving San Francisco one last chance.

Seaver yielded an infield single to Mays who then scored on Hart’s single to left. Mets’ reliever Danny Frisella came on and could not overcome the Giants’ Opening Day magic at the ‘Stick. A single by shortstop Nate Oliver moved Hart over to second. Jesus Alou then laced a double into the left field corner, scoring Hart with the tying run and Oliver the winner when shortstop Bud Harrelson’s relay throw home was high. The come-from-behind win ran San Francisco’s Opening Day record to 6-1 at home and kept Marichal undefeated in Candlestick starters.

Monday, April 7, 1969.
San Francisco at Atlanta.

Exciting finishes characterized the Giants’ openers in 1965, 1968, and again in 1969. The “Surprise Braves,” who would end up sending San Francisco to a frustrating fifth straight second-place finish, hosted the Giants at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Marichal, who had minor foot surgery during the off-season, gave up a run in the second and two more in the third. In the middle three frames, he shut the Braves out.

With a Giant on third in the top of the seventh, and San Francisco down, 3-2, skipper Clyde King lifted his ace (Marichal’s earliest Opening Day departure) for a pinch hitter. King’s strategy may have raised a few eyebrows, but it worked. Bob Burda’s pinch hit scored Lanier from third. Two runs later, the Giants were ahead, 5-4.

Fred Linzy retired the side in the eighth and took the Giants’ one-run lead into the bottom of the ninth. But to the delight of those in the crowd who had remained, light-hitting but speedy Sonny Jackson knocked a triple over the head of Mays in center field. The shot drove in Clete Boyer from second to tie the game. Mike Lum followed with a squibber past the Giants’ drawn-in infield, giving Atlanta the thrilling come-from-behind victory.

Tuesday, April 7, 1970.
Houston at San Francisco.

Conspiracy theorists would have a field day with the tribulation Marichal went through in the spring of 1970. First he fell ill with the flu during the team’s spring training trip in Japan. Then his trainer, showing no sympathy, simply reminded him he had to pitch the next day. A few days later, Marichal reacted poorly to a shot of penicillin. After telling him, “Oh, no, you don’t have a reaction,” another doctor in Phoenix gave him a second dose of the medicine. That injection landed Marichal in St. Luke’s hospital in San Francisco and prevented him from trying to improve his Opening Day home record to 4-0.

At Candlestick, a somewhat disappointing (and surely disappointed) crowd of 30,333 watched Gaylord Perry give up seven runs in seven innings to the Astros. San Francisco, winner of its previous four openers at home, lost, 8-5. Marichal was out of action until April 25, when he returned to Candlestick to pitch five scoreless innings against the Expos in a contest the Giants lost, 7-3.

Tuesday, April 6, 1971.
San Francisco at San Diego.

1971 turned out to be a comeback season for both the Giants and their ace. Marichal was coming off a year of chronic arthritis, back pain, and an ERA that soared to 4.12. The Giants were aging and were not among the favorites to win the National League West.

Marichal, who would win three key games down the stretch of the division race and the clincher on the last day of the season in San Diego, sent the Giants off to a great start in ’71 with his forty-seventh career shutout. In front of a record crowd of 34,554 in San Diego, he scattered four hits and allowed no one past second base. Mays hit career homer number 629 in the first inning and the Giants went on to win, 4-0. After the game, Marichal told reporters, “There’s nothing better than something like this.”

Saturday, April 15, 1972.
San Francisco at Houston.

“Few fans, lots of booing,” one headline said. In the spring of 1972, the enthusiastic articles about the magic and aura of Opening Day were replaced with depressing news. The thirteen-day strike was disappointing to fans and the sparse first day crowds reflected their anger. But interestingly enough, 23,021, one of the largest crowds that day, showed up at the Astrodome for the delayed season opener.

With one out and the game tied at zero in the fifth, the Astros loaded the bases. Marichal was in trouble and had to face the speedy Cesar Cedeno. The highkicking righty came in with a slider. Cedeno hit the ball sharply to shortstop Chris Speier who quickly threw to Tito Fuentes covering at second. The Giants’ second baseman fired to Willie McCovey at first, nailing Cedeno in the nick of time. Marichal led the Giant cheers with a reach towards the heavens. “The double play ball. .. that was the whole ball game,” he told reporters after the game.

In the top of the sixth, McCovey crashed a two-run homer to give San Francisco a 2-0 lead. Marichal continued to retire batters and helped his own cause with a double and run scored in the eighth. In the eighth inning, skipper Charlie Fox inserted relief specialist Jerry Johnson to close out his starter’s effort and the righty did just that. The victory pushed San Francisco’s Opening Day record to 10-5 and Marichal’s to 5-2.

Thursday, April 5, 1973.
San Francisco at Cincinnati.

In terms of how historians would one day regard Marichal’s Opening Day record, his season starter in 1973 proved to be pivotal. Up to that point, he could claim no victories against any team that went on to win 90 or more games. The better teams, like the ’65 Pirates and the ’66 Cardinals, had defeated him.

Going into the ’73 opener, a sixth Opening Day victory did not seem likely for Marichal. His record had fallen to 6-16 in 1972, due in part to continued back problems. During the off-season he underwent spinal surgery. And in the traditional season opener in Cincinnati, the thirty-five-year-old veteran had to deal with not only cold weather, but a lineup that featured Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, and Johnny Bench and a Reds team that would go on to win the National League West division by 14-1/2 games.

Marichal fell behind, 1-0, in the second inning, breaking his Opening Day consecutive scoreless inning streak at 21. The Giants responded with a run in the fifth, only to watch the Reds rally in the bottom half of the frame. With one out, Cincy ignited the home crowd of 51,569 by putting runners on first and second. Marichal came in with a slider to Bobby Tolan, who hit a weak popup to shortstop Chris Speier. He then got slugger Johnny Bench to ground into an inning-ending double play.

In the seventh inning, with the score still tied at one, the Giants took control of the contest. A key moment in the uprising came with one on and one out. Starter Don Gullet walked Marichal, a .325 hitter in 26 Opening Day at bats. Chris Speier and Bobby Bonds then cracked timely hits off the tiring Gullet, and San Francisco forged a 4-1 lead. In what would prove to be his last Opening Day start, Marichal completed the game in a blaze of glory by retiring the final thirteen Cincinnati batters. The victory was his third straight Opening Day win on the road. In those three contests, he gave up just one run.

Epilogue

The nagging injuries and medical problems that plagued Juan Marichal throughout much of his 16-year career began to take their toll during the 1973 season. He became increasingly ineffective, and owner Horace Stoneham sold him to the Boston Red Sox at the end of the season. His departure was one of the final acts of the Giants’ first era in San Francisco. During the 14 years Marichal had been on the ball club, the Giants had been involved in a pennant race eight times. Their average record from 1962 through 1973 was 89-73.

In 1974, the first year without Marichal, Opening Day attendance at Candlestick Park was only 17,527. The season’s average attendance (7,027) is the record low for the Candlestick Era. During the next ten years, Opening Day honors went to seven different pitchers. The Giants won only one at Candlestick and lost a team-record five in a row from 1980 to 1984.

Marichal pitched in eleven games with the Red Sox in 1974, two with the Dodgers in 1975, then retired from the game at age thirty-seven. His name will probably always be associated with the John Roseboro incident in August of 1965 and the Cy Young awards that eluded him.

What isn’t well known about Juan Antonio Marichal is his Opening Day record. Like the man himself, that record is a dandy: Wins, 6; Losses, 2; No decisions, 2; Innings, 83; Hits, 65; Runs, 20; Earned Runs, 16; Walks, 19; Strikeouts, 57; ERA, 1.73.

Giants’ Opening Day Records Held by Marichal

Most Starts, 10; Most Wins, 6; Most Complete Games, 6; Nine-inning Shutouts, 2 (1962, 1971); Most Strikeouts, 10 in 1962; (Tied) Fewest Hits Allowed, 3 (1962 and in 1966).

 

Sources

Atlanta Journal.

Cincinnati Enquirer.

Houston Post.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

New York Times.

San Francisco Chronicle.

Washington Post.

The Sporting News.

Baseball Weekly.

Dickey, Glen. San Francisco Giants: 40 Years.

Einstein, Charles. Juan Marichal, A Pitcher’s Story.

Kerr, Don. Opening Day: All Major League Baseball Season Opening Games, by Team, 1876-1998.

Mandel, Mike. An Oral History of The San Francisco Giants.

Peters, Nick. San Francisco Giants Almanac.

Schou, Torn and Nick Peters. The Giants Encyclopedia.

Total Baseball. Sixth Edition.