Hall of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal is most known for his career with the San Francisco Giants, where he pitched for 14 seasons of his career and earned all his accolades and accomplishments.
But the long-time Giants’ ace spent the final two seasons of his career pitching elsewhere, which included his final season with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the previous year with the Boston Red Sox.
On April 16, 1975, the 37-year-old Marichal made his final start with the Dodgers, and what ended up being the last outing of his career.
Facing the Cincinnati Reds, Marichal pitched only 2.1 innings while allowing four runs on six hits. He also walked two while striking out no one. This performance followed his Dodgers debut on April 12, when he was only slightly more effective, lasting 3.2 innings and giving up five runs while walking three and striking out one.
The 10-time All-Star ended up retiring shortly after the game.
Marichal originally signed with the Dodgers on March 15, 1975 and it came as an enormous surprise to many in the baseball world. However, some welcomed him due to the fact that the right-hander was one of the best pitchers in baseball history.
Dodger fans also had another reason to dislike the right-handed pitcher other than his ties to the Giants. In 1965, Marichal got into a skirmish with John Roseboro while the Dodgers were in the heat of a pennant race.
With tensions high and Sandy Koufax on the mound, Roseboro took it upon himself to whizz a ball by Marichal’s head back to the mound. Marichal took exception and hit Roseboro with his bat.
The two later become friends after both men had retired and all was forgiven.
Marichal’s career
Marichal finished his career as the 1969 ERA title winner with a career 2.89 ERA that was inflated by the poor stretches he had later in his career. The right-hander was a lifetime 243-142 over parts of 16 seasons in the Majors.
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