[EmpireWF]

1965 was the year that MLB's nastiest brawl occured. Why you say? It's the only brawl where a player actually used a baseball bat as a weapon. Juan Marichal upset at the Dodgers after nearly being hit and arguing with the Dodgers catcher, hit John Roseboro with the bat. According to the Sportscolumn Blog, Roseboro needed 14 stitches to close his head wound.

MLB only suspended Marichal for 8 games and fined $1750.

It's amazing something like this hasn't happened since but it's nice to know the players and their teammates realize what could go wrong.

[ThePundit]

On the Yankees network, the were replaying that Yanks-Sox game from a few years ago when Pedro threw Zimmer to the ground. When Clemens pitched inside to Manny Ramirez, Manny actually had the bat in his hand for a while, and then as it got heated, somebody pulled it out of his hands. That went unnoticed because of the Pedo/Zimmer thing.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by EmpireWF

1965 was the year that MLB's nastiest brawl occured. Why you say? It's the only brawl where a player actually used a baseball bat as a weapon. Juan Marichal upset at the Dodgers after nearly being hit and arguing with the Dodgers catcher, hit John Roseboro with the bat. According to the Sportscolumn Blog, Roseboro needed 14 stitches to close his head wound.

MLB only suspended Marichal for 8 games and fined $1750.

It's amazing something like this hasn't happened since but it's nice to know the players and their teammates realize what could go wrong.

SI once ran a great pitcher of Marichal with his bat over his head about to pounce on Roseboro...anyone else seen the pic?

[legend]

What precipitated that brawl in 1965 was Roseboro throwing the ball back to the pitcher and almost hitting Marichal in the head. The two teams had been going back and forth with a beanball war that had begun a few games earlier. Something had already gone on in this particular game- Marichal had knocked a couple guys down in the top of the inning.Koufax was pitching, and Roseboro knew he woudn't throw at anybody's head, so he whizzed one by Marichal's ear. Marichal was so ultra-sensitive that something was going to happen that when Roseboro whizzed the ball by his ear, he just lost it and used his bat on the catcher,starting a huge brawl. Willie Mays of the Giants actually helped carry Roseboro into the dugout during the fight. Marichal immediately regretted what he did, and eventually became friends with Roseboro. He was even a pallbearer at his funeral. The 8 game suspension was crucial, as he was unable to pitch and the Dodgers went on to win the pennant by 2 games. The $1,750 was a huge number back then.

[MJHMarc]

I can't believe this infamous incident was fourty-one years ago.

Originally Posted by Gotham Dark Knight

I once ran a great pitcher of Marichal with his bat over his head about to pounce on Roseboro...anyone else seen the pic?

Thank you for informing us about this great picture. You probably saw this famous shot in last year's volume of Sports Illustrated, commerating the 40th anniversary of this ugly fight.

Originally Posted by legend

Koufax was pitching, and Roseboro knew he woudn't throw at anybody's head, so he whizzed one by Marichal's ear.

Sandy Koufax was a very smart pitcher. What had happened to Roseboro could've happened to him if he made that same poor decision. If I was on the mound, I would act very kind to the opposing team so I don't get the wind knocked out of me.

[legend]

I found the article i wrote on this incident-here it is-

On August 22nd 1965, Juan Marichal faced Sandy Koufax in the midst of a heated pennant race. The Giants and Dodgers had almost brawled just two days earlier over catcher's interference calls, when the batter tips the catcher’s mitt as he swings. Los Angeles star shortstop Maury Wills had allegedly tipped the Giant’s catcher’s mitt with his bat on purpose in that contest, and Juan Marichal's best friend, outfielder Matty Alou had in turn tipped the edge of Dodger’s catcher John Roseboro’s facemask with his bat. Roseboro, in retaliation, had nearly hit Alou in the head with his toss back to the pitcher. This set the stage two days later for an ugly incident in Juan Marichal’s life, a black eye on what was otherwise a brilliant Hall of Fame career.
In the game of August 22nd, Marichal had knocked down Wills and Dodger Ron Fairly with brush back pitches when Roseboro supposedly asked Koufax to hit Marichal with a pitch. Tensions were high and when Koufax refused, Roseboro's return throw came close to hitting Marichal in the head. The resulting name calling erupted into a melee when the irate Dodger receiver ripped off his mask and stood up. Suddenly, Marichal struck the catcher on the head with his bat and one of the most violent brawls in Major League Baseball history started. Willie Mays of the Giants helped the stunned Roseboro, now suffering from a concussion, to the dugout, while Dodger Bob Miller went after Marichal. Matty Alou punched Miller, and second baseman Tito Fuentes of the Giants threatened to use his own bat on the Dodgers. Roseboro would sue Marichal, but eventually dropped the lawsuit. Marichal was fined $1750, suspended for a week, and missed two important starts as the Giants finished a scant two games behind their archrivals. As the years passed, the two initial combatants, Marichal and Roseboro, became good friends, and Marichal always lamented the fact that he had used his bat in such a way. The entire episode would tarnish Juan Marichal’s legacy, as one of the greatest hurlers in baseball history.
Born October 20th 1937, in Laguna Verde, Dominican Republic, Juan Antonio Marichal Sanchez was the first and only Dominican inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He had quit high school in the eleventh grade to concentrate on the sport, and was signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent in 1957. The Giants headed out west to San Francisco shortly after, and Marichal went to Tacoma, Washington, where he compiled an 11-5 record before being called up to the big club in 1960. He made his Major League debut on July 19th, 1960, tossing a one-hit 2-0 shutout of the Philadelphia Phillies. The only hit was a two out eighth inning single, and the man who would soon be nicknamed “The Dominican Dandy” struck out twelve batters. He went 6-2 in 1960 and soon found himself anchoring the rotation of the Giants. He followed with a pair of okay seasons the next two years, but blossomed in 1963 with a 25-8 record and 5 shutouts among his 18 complete games.
The prejudice against Latin players at that time was so strong that Marichal received little backing for the Cy Young Award. It didn’t help that for the first seven years he pitched in the majors, there was only one award given out as opposed to the one that each league gives the best pitcher today. Compounding his situation was the presence of Sandy Koufax, who took the trophy home repeatedly. Marichal no-hit the Houston Colt .45s at Candlestick Park, the windy and cold home of the San Francisco club, in 1963. He needed only 89 pitches to do the trick, considerably more in a sixteen inning duel with Milwaukee’s Warren Spahn later in the year, a 1-0 victory on the strength of a Willie Mays home run.
Juan Marichal, with his variety of pitches delivered with an exaggerated and high leg kick, won more games in the Sixties than any other National League pitcher. His 194 total wins were well ahead of the next man, the Cardinal’s Bob Gibson, who recorded 164. He went a remarkable 154-65 from 1963 through 1969, with little fanfare. Roberto Clemente, the Puerto Rican icon and Hall of Fame outfielder, said of Juan Marichal, “It doesn’t matter what he throws; when he’s got it, he beats you.”
Marichal pitched in a total of nine All-Star games and won the 1962 and 1965 summer classics. His combination of fastballs, screwballs, sliders, curves, and changeups, coming from all angles, baffled hitters to no end. In 1970, Juan suffered a back injury and the pain nearly ended his career. He bounced back in 1971 with an 18-11 mark for the National League West champion Giants. Eventually the back problems forced him to retire, after short stints with the Boston Red Sox in 1974, and of all teams, the Dodgers, in 1975. He finished his distinguished run with a record of 243-142, 52 shutouts, and a 2.89 ERA. He was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Giants retired his uniform number, number 27. He currently resides in the Dominican Republic, where he is the Minister of Sports for his native country.
In May of 2005, a life-sized bronze statue of Juan Marichal was dedicated at the Giants new stadium, Pac Bell Park. It depicts the Latino legend in his familiar high leg kick, fixing to release the ball. In front of the other four living Giant Hall of Famers, Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda, Gaylord Perry, Willie McCovey, and a packed house, Marichal was asked to speak. He thanked the crowd for being there for his special occasion and told current slugger Barry Bonds the he was glad he was present, as it made it feel like Bonds’ dad, Bobby, a deceased teammate of Marichal’s, was there as well. He stepped to the mike and acknowledged the fans and turned to Barry Bonds and said, “I think I could get you out.” Few in the park should have doubted that he could.

[MJHMarc]

Great article, legend. You are a natural writer! Were you born that way?

[legend]

Unfortunately for me I have wasted half my life in the greyhound business! But I could always write. Baseball reference and baseball library are great sites to get facts and figures, and the rest is easy. Thanks for the compliment.

[Tim Weil]

I was 13 years-old at that game in Candlestick Park. The incident has been etched in my Sports Memory all these years. I have used this in both Martial Arts and Baseball Team settings to remind kids and peers about
CONFLICT RESOLUTION & HOW NOT TO AVOID A CONFRONTATION.

Tim Weil
Silver Spring, Maryland