And the game began with Spahn and Marichal, two of the hottest pitchers in baseball. But would have been just as tough going righthanded. Facing the San Francisco Giants, the 42-year-old Spahn became locked into a pitchers' duel with 25-year-old Juan Marichal. Spahn retired Malkmus on his 108th pitch (73 strikes) to complete his no-hitter in 2 hours and 2 minutes. Javascript is required for the selection of a player. Other substantial hitters included Braves left fielder Lee Maye, who had sizzled all June, and Giants third baseman Harvey Kuenn, catcher Ed Bailey, and right fielder Felipe Alou. I dont want this kid to get hurt, I was thinking. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Spahn became great because of these things and because hes one of the smartest men ever to play the game. April 23, 1921 After being with the Braves a very short time, he clashed with manager Casey Stengel, who sent him to the minors after Spahn refused to throw at a batter in an exhibition game. But fellow Hall of Famer Stan Musial had his doubts as to whether Spahn, a major league pitcher until his mid-40s, would ever be honored in Cooperstown, once half-jokingly stating, I dont think Spahn will ever get into the Hall of Fame. The score was still 0-0 after more than four hours when Willie Mays hit a game-winning solo home run off Spahn with one out in the bottom of the 16th inning. Spahn threw behind him, and Bowman was retired in the ensuing rundown: pitcher to first to shortstop. Anyway, it was encouraging to me that I had such a good fastball. Spahn finished the season witha 21-13 record, making him a 20-game winner for the 12th season with one more yet to come. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. The same situation occurred in the fifth inning when Spahn walked leadoff batter McCovey with four straight balls. We need your help to preserve priceless treasures housed here in Cooperstown. It was the greatest game Ive ever seen by two pitchers Dark said. Spahn pitched in the World Series for the Braves in 1948, 1957, and 1958. Spahn had plenty of thrills, but not the one schoolboys dream of. On April 4, 2009, the facilities of Broken Arrow Youth Baseball, in Spahn's longtime home of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, were dedicated in his honor. Whatever bothered hitters, I was for., No one was sure what theyd seen from Marichal. Warren Spahn served in the United States Army (from 1943 through 1945) during World War II, participated in the battle for the bridge at Remagen (and many other battles), was awarded a purple heart. With one out, Frank Bolling singled. Also, I pitched until I was 44. No one can ever say anything to deny his greatness." Warren Spahn had far more skills than Johnson. Or write about sports? With Berra and him, we are conducting a university this spring, said Casey Stengel, who had managed Spahn with the Braves and would now oversee him as a Met. Many thanks to him. It is very difficult to pick Spahns best season, he averaged 20 wins per season, was in the top 5 in the league in ERA for six of the ten seasons and led the league in wins five out of ten seasons. On Nov. 2, 1974, Hank Aaron received a call from Bud Selig, informing him that he was coming back to Milwaukee. (Season Ticket (1988)). Then the writers converged. Willie Mays elected to one-hop it rather than dive, and he nailed Larker at the plate in one amazing motion, according to the Chronicles Stevens, and on a 100 percent perfect peg, according to his colleague Bill Leister. Braves' lefty led Milwaukee to World Series title. He was 39 years old. He also drove in 10 or more runs nine times, with a career-high 18 in 1951. Amalfitano hit Spahn's first pitch for a two-bouncer to McMillan. Like raging dinosaurs in some prehistoric swamp, the Milwaukee Braves Warren Spahn and the San Francisco Giants Juan Marichal slugged it out for four hours, 10 minutes, and 16 innings, all through the night of July 2 and into the early minutes of July 3, 1963. Scores from any date in Major League history, Minor, Foreign, College, & Black Baseball, Frequently Asked Questions about MLB and Baseball. following an 80 mph off-speed pitch, vs. a 90 . He wishes to thank the following SABR members for assistance on this story: Peter C. Bjarkman, Jim Charlton, Bill Deane, Dennis Degenhardt, Roland Hemond, John Holway, Rod Nelson, Crash and Sheila Parr, Jay Roberts, John Zajc, Phil Sienko, Dave Smith, Bob Sproule, Saul Wisnia, and Rich Westcott. The team swept a Labor Day doubleheader, with Spahn throwing a complete 14-inning win in the opener, and Sain pitching a shutout in the second game. We had just started keeping pitch counts. Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. There wasnt the hype then that there is today, says Crandall, who like some other players in the game cant remember a single detail. Spahn was 2-1 in the 1958 Series, losing only in extra innings, but the Yankees won in seven games. Warren Spahn "vertically body rolling, put snap on a ball slowly" Pitching Mechanics Slow Motion - YouTube 0:00 / 1:01 Warren Spahn "vertically body rolling, put snap on a ball slowly". Stengel later said that it was the worst managing mistake he had ever made: I said "no guts" to a kid who went on to become a war hero and one of the greatest lefthanded pitchers you ever saw. October 1, 1965 Spahn did not leave gracefully, grumbling, "I didn't quit; baseball retired me," and he pitched briefly in Mexico and in the minors until 1967 before finally retiring from the game. game score final decision ip h er bb k; 102. w 2-1. cg(14) w. 14. Pinch hitter Randy Jackson had an opportunity to seize the day for the Cubs, but Spahn got the next two outs, the last one coming as his ninth strikeout. In SportsIllustrated, Ron Fimrite described a high arc to left field, where, after hanging in the night sky for what seemed like an eternity, it landed beyond the fence.. After I pitched the 16th inning, I walked off slow, waiting for some of the players comingin from the outfieldhe told the Oakland Tribune. And maybe the last of its kind. Even at his age, Spahn continued to pitch very effetively. . Spahn posted a .194 batting average (363-for-1872) with 141 runs, 57 doubles, 6 triples, 94 bases on balls and 189 RBI. He retired Johnny Callison leading off the first on a fly to left, then got Malkmus on a grounder to short and Ken Walters swinging at a third strike. His high-kicking motion and impeccable control kept batters off-balance, and his remarkable durability produced 5,243.2 innings pitched - the most of any southpaw. Find more info on AllPeople about Richard A. Spahn and Sparkling Clean Car Wash Inc, as well as people who work for similar businesses nearby, colleagues for other branches, and more people with a similar name. In 1957, Spahn was the ace of the champion Milwaukee Braves. John Buzhardt was on the mound for the Phils. Warren Spahn played for the Braves before and after the franchise moved from Boston to Milwaukee in 1953. The reverse side of the card reminds us that Spahn dominated that National League in strikeouts and led the league in K's four times over his career. Spahn and Marichal werent overpowering but shared excellent control, a fine repertoire of pitches, and a high leg kick that obscured a batters sightlines. After one more off day, the two pitchers were brought back, and won another doubleheader. He just kept busting them in on the hands of our guys and kept getting them out. Hubbell added, He ought to will his body to medical science., Of Marichal, who retired 16 straight late in the game, Dark said, He didnt throw many breaking pitches, thus tiring his arm, but just kept slipping across the fastball with a loose and fluid motion. At the time of his retirement in 1965, Spahn held the MLB record for career strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher. Maybe I wouldn't have been able to do that otherwise. On July 2, 1963. Spahn's pitching helped the Braves win the World Series in . Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. All Rights Reserved by Baseball Almanac, Inc.Hosted by Hosting 4 Less. He had no-hit Houston, 1-0, just 17 days earlier, getting 23 infield outs and throwing only 89 pitches despite two walks. Did players turn to teammates and say, Im going to tell my grandchildren about this one? In truth, they were just trying to get through the night, says Frank Bolling, who played all 16 innings at second for the Braves, going 2-for-7 at the plate and handling seven chances without an error. You dont lose so much salt. Spahn's major league career began in 1942 with the Braves and he spent all but one year with that franchise, first in Boston and then in Milwaukee. sausage pasta bake jamie oliver. Spahn reached the major leagues in 1942 at the age of 20. 5. He won 25 games twice and 26 once. Spahn issued his second walk in the fifth when he passed Neeman on a 3-1 pitch with one out. Warren Spahn pitched for half a season with the Mets in 1965 after he was sold to New York by the Milwaukee Braves in Nov. 1964. Beginning to tire in the top of the 10th, he found himself in a jam. While he struck out at least two batters in five different innings, Spahn poured it on in the final innings. vs. CIN 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 SO, 1 BB, 0 ER. Warren Spahn was also an excellent hitter for a pitcher. I struck out Tommie Agee four times. During the 1948 season, he combined with teammate Johnny Sain to anchor a pitching rotation that was generally considered to be exceptionally weak otherwise, resulting in the saying, "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.". His teammates were silently waiting for him in the clubhouse. With two out and two on, Crandall hit a sinking liner to center. But it did not change his effectiveness. In his last major league game, he passed Bob Feller in career strikeouts. As the keepers of the Games history, the Hall of Fame helps you relive your memories and celebrate baseball history. Spahns warm-ups, this day as every day, seemed perfunctory. He used to drive me crazy, says Spahns son Greg, a real estate executive. As the game progressed, Spahn was drinking very littlewater, because it gave him a stomachache. But once the game started I felt fine. I learned a lot from that man. His string of consecutive whiffs reached five in the third when he got Jim Woods on a 2-2 pitch leading off the inning. In addition to his fastball, Spahn also developed a number of off-speed pitches, all thrown with the same high-kicking motion. They were not to be blamed. When he and Burdette were teammates, the guy pitching would come off the field and find his friend waiting in the run way behind the dugout holding a lit cigarette for him. Entering the season, the strike zone had been expanded from knees to armpits all the way to knees to top of shoulder level. The Giants and Braves were playing night ball at San Franciscos typically breezy, chilly Candlestick Park, a pitchers paradise because balls dont carry as far in cold weather as they do when its humid. Some high school data is courtesy David McWater. Prior to Warren Spahn's 18-strikeout game, Bob Feller had held the record for most strikeouts in a game. In eight All-Star games he had an 0.50 ERA. After the season he was sold to the Mets who would release him in July of 1965 after a 4-12 record. It's all about changing speeds. The 15-inning contest was the tip of the iceberg for the southpaw, who would pitch until he was 44 and lead the National League in complete games in nine of his 21 seasons. It wasnt like the night in Philadelphia when I lost 8 pounds, or the afternoon game in Atlanta when I lost nine.. Baseball Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. When the Giants were batting, Marichal sat with a warm-up jacket, a towel over his pitching hand to keep his fingers loose, chewing Bazooka gum. Warren Spahn was known for his high-kicking pitching motion, pictured above when he was playing for the Boston Braves. JIM KAPLAN is former editor of the Baseball Research Journal and author of Lefty Grove: American Original (SABR, 2000). (In 1962, another Hall of Famer hit his first career home run off Spahn: Sandy Koufax, who only hit one other. Spahn made his big league debut with the Boston Braves in 1942, the same year he would join the Army. Spahn holds the NL record for most homeruns by a pitcher with 35. Marichal never got a single vote during the 1960s, when only one first-place vote was allowed per ballot. When youre in a game like that, you dont think of anything until its over. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. On June 14, 1952, Warren Spahn became the second player in baseball history to record 18 strikeouts in a single game. McMillan momentarily fumbled Jose Pagan's grounder while going far to his left in the sixth, and bobbled Kuenn's bouncer in the seventh, but both times he threw the runners out. Healthcare Logistics For Healthcare People. It was one of the last and best memories of Spahn: kicking and joking. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and . Spahn had established himself as the best lefthander pitcher in baseball. 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