On December 5, 1973, the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired relief pitcher Mike Marshall from the Montreal Expos in exchange for outfielder Willie Davis. It was a significant trade as both players were quite successful in the years leading up to the deal.
In four seasons for the Expos, Marshall posted a 2.94 ERA over 471 innings with 75 saves, 342 strikeouts and a 1.28 WHIP. During his final season with the Expos in 1973, Marshall finished second in Cy Young Award voting and fifth for MVP after leading the American League with 92 appearances and 31 saves over 179 innings with a 2.66 ERA.
In 1972, he placed fourth in Cy Young voting and 10th in MVP voting after appearing in 65 games and throwing 116 innings with a 1.78 ERA and 18 saves.
In his first season with the Dodgers, Marshall continued his dominant run. He made 106 appearances out of the bullpen and pitched to a 2.42 ERA with 21 saves across 208.1 innings.
During the 1974 season, Marshall was selected to his first All-Star Game, and after the season, was named the Cy Young Award winner and finished third in MVP voting. He was also selected to the All-Star team in 1975 and spent three seasons with the Dodgers, pitching 380.1 innings with a 3.01 ERA and 42 saves.
Marshall retired following the 1981 season, finishing out a 14-year career where he pitched to a 3.14 ERA in 1,386.2 innings. He passed away in June 2021 at the age of 78.
Davis had been with the Dodgers for his entire career until the trade, spending 14 seasons with the club, beginning in 1960 as a 20-year-old. He appeared in 1,952 games with the Dodgers and hit .279/.312/.413 with 154 home runs, 849 RBI, 1,004 runs scored and 335 stolen bases.
He was named to the All-Star team twice, in 1971 and 1973, finished in the top 30 of MVP voting four times, and won three Gold Glove awards, which were all won in his final three seasons with L.A.
Davis batted .285/.320/.444 with 16 home runs, 77 RBI, 82 runs scored and 17 stolen bases in the season before the trade.
Davis only spent one season in Montreal, batting .295/.322/.427 with 12 home runs, 89 RBI, 86 runs scored and 25 stolen bases. He retired following the 1979 season after bouncing around between different organizations, completing an 18-year career where he hit .279/.311/.412.
Dodgers Cy Young Award winners
Marshall was the Dodgers’ sixth Cy Young Award winner, and the organization has since run its total to winning it 12 times.
Clayton Kershaw was last to do so in 2014, capping off a stretch of winning three Cy Young Awards in a four-year span.
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