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The Greatest Game Ever Pitched: Juan Marichal, Warren Spahn and the Pitching Duel of the Century
Even before their epic pitching duel, Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn already had a lot in common. Future Hall of Famers with high-kicking deliveries, they were shaped into winners by character-building experiences in the military. Spahn had been baseball's most winning pitcher in the 1950s, and Marichal would be equally dominant in the 1960s. Marichal's and Spahn's incredible performances on July 2, 1963, would forever link their names together in baseball history. The Braves' Spahn and the Giants' Marichal began their duel in San Francisco's cold and windy Candlestick Park. Four hours later, the two pitching legends were deadlocked in a scoreless tie when Willie Mays hit a walk-off home run to end the greatest game ever pitched. In between, Marichal and Spahn each threw more than 200 pitches and went 16 innings without relief. Considering today's culture of pitch counts and coddled arms, it was a night we won't see repeated ever again. In The Greatest Game Ever Pitched, author Jim Kaplan weaves the 1963 contest through a dual biography of its principals in a book that is sure to be a home run with baseball fans everywhere.
296 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
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September 1, 2024
It’s September 1 and that means that baseball pennant races are entering the home stretch. My team finds itself four games out of a playoff spot and has heated up at the right time. Although the calendar says that it is time for two types of football, I do not switch over to these sports until after the last pitch of the season is thrown and the champagne corks are popped. There are still two months to go, and I will savor the boys of summer for as long as I can. Recently baseball proposed a rule that would require starters to pitch at least six innings a start if not seven. The rationale is that throwing longer would turn starting pitchers into finesse throwers as opposed to relying on the fast ball, which in turn would preserve their arms for longer careers. If one looks back at baseball history, pitchers enjoyed longer careers than they do now, and they were expected to finish games that they started. Nowhere is that more evident than on July 2, 1963 when the Milwaukee Braves traveled to Candlestick Park to take on the San Francisco Giants. Both teams featured future hall of famers in their lineups, but the marquee matchup was the two starting pitchers, Warren Spahn and Juan Marichal, considered the premiere pitchers of their generations. At game time, no one expected the game to be one for the ages.
Whenever I discuss baseball history with my dad, the talk somehow gets to the fact that many of the best players of his childhood gave away three to five years of their careers away to the armed forces. The argument we settle on is that Willie Mays would have hit at least 700 home runs and Warren Spahn would have had a shot at 500 wins. Both of these players are immortal, but those numbers would put them at number one in the record books. People not close to these icons tend to agree, until one asked Spahn the same question. His response is that when called to the service, his career had not yet taken off. In the army, he learned about heart, endurance, and stamina, and he doubted that he would have pitched until the age of forty five and racked up all those wins had he not served. Having survived the Battle of the Bulge and avoiding frostbite, Spahn was happy to be alive; pitching a ball was just a walk in the park. It so happens that after coming out of the service in 1946, Warren Spahn emerged as the winningest pitcher of the 1950s. Many only know him for the “Spahn and Sain and pray for rain poem” because he pitched the majority of his career in small market Milwaukee. A top competitor pitcher he was, and a lefty to boot. Even Koufax cedes to Spahn when asked who of them was the top left handed hurler. Spahn did it for longer and had better numbers, but, by pitching away from the east coast media, he was overlooked by its members. Players though knew who was best.
Juan Marichal emerged as the Giants staff ace in the early 1960s. He would win the most games in the decade, but writers preferred Gibson and Koufax who played on more pennant winners. Batters did not want to face either of the three pitchers so the question is a wash. Coming from the Dominican Republic, Marichal paved the way for generations of his countrymen who would go on to have hall of fame caliber careers. The Giants lead baseball in acquiring Latino talent, and those teams featured a lineup that at times fielded four Latinos and two African Americans plus Marichal on the mound. Managers at the time believed that minority players did not hustle as much as caucasians, and this caused a rift in the Giants’ clubhouse. Marichal had survived a childhood coma and lived each day to the fullest. He pitched with guts and flair, with a high leg kick that featured five pitches from five different arm slots. Batters never knew what pitch was coming, and many a future hall of famer looked foolish up at bat against the Dominican ace. Marichal was also overlooked by sports writers by playing for a San Francisco team that was good but not great enough to win pennants. The Cy Young Award not handed out until 1967, writers preferred Gibson, Koufax, and a myriad of other pitchers, but not Marichal. Not appreciated by his own managers until later in his career, Marichal flat out pitched and preferred to finish his games so as to not give sportswriters a reason to call him weak. Durability came to a head on July 2, 1963.
In today’s age of pitch counts and analytics, a game like the one in 1963 would never happen again. The Giants beat the Braves 1-0 in 16 innings, and both Spahn and Marichal pitched the entire game. A forty two year old at the end of his career and a twenty five year old just getting started. Future hall of farmers Aaron, Matthews, Mays, and McCovey could not get hits off these aces, and the game kept going on scoreless. At one point, McCovey hit a ball that landed in Candlestick’s parking lot, but the first base umpire called it foul. This was long before instant replays, so the foul call stood, and the game kept going. In each of the first four extra frames, Giants manager Alvin Dark came to the mound to ask Marichal how he felt. His response was that the other pitcher is forty two and still going strong, so he wanted to stay in the game. League rules required games to end by 12:50, and rhe 16th inning began at 12:20 am. Willie Mays told Marichal not to worry, he was set to lead off the 16th, and he was going to homer and end the game right then and there. Even though he was in a mini slump at the time, that was exactly what Willie did, accounting for the final score of 1-0. In both clubhouses, the pitchers appeared spent but not exhausted. Teammates shook their hands. Neither appeared affected by hurling a 200 pitch game and did well in their next starts. New rules might require pitchers to last into the sixth inning, but I doubt baseball will ever see a game like this again. How I wish I could have been there to witness the history unfolding.
Author Jim Kaplan did not have enough material to write an entire book about one game. He could have had he stretched things out and reminisced about more current events of the 1963 season. He chose instead to craft this book as a duel biography of the two pitchers, including snippets of other history making top pitching performances. Many of those matchups occurred in the early days of baseball and did not feature two hall of fame bound pitchers. Rather, the earlier games were matchups between your everyday starter who in the early days of baseball had been expected to pitch a complete game, even if the game went into extra innings. In today’s day and age of analyzing every matchup, we are lucky if pitchers last into the sixth inning. Few true aces exist, and, knowing what we do about arm usage, even the best rarely pitch complete games anymore. Hopefully, the new proposed rule places more of a premium on starting pitchers and restores them to past glory. Today’s pennant chases feature teams with top hitters. Few top pitchers exist and those that do are in the twilight of their careers. All have cited that they are happy with the new proposed rule because they themselves expect to finish their starts, a throw back to the days of the ace pitcher feared in rhe eyes of even the top batters. On July 2, 1963 Warren Spahn and Juan Marichal treated fans to a game for the ages that will probably never be duplicated.
4 stars
Whenever I discuss baseball history with my dad, the talk somehow gets to the fact that many of the best players of his childhood gave away three to five years of their careers away to the armed forces. The argument we settle on is that Willie Mays would have hit at least 700 home runs and Warren Spahn would have had a shot at 500 wins. Both of these players are immortal, but those numbers would put them at number one in the record books. People not close to these icons tend to agree, until one asked Spahn the same question. His response is that when called to the service, his career had not yet taken off. In the army, he learned about heart, endurance, and stamina, and he doubted that he would have pitched until the age of forty five and racked up all those wins had he not served. Having survived the Battle of the Bulge and avoiding frostbite, Spahn was happy to be alive; pitching a ball was just a walk in the park. It so happens that after coming out of the service in 1946, Warren Spahn emerged as the winningest pitcher of the 1950s. Many only know him for the “Spahn and Sain and pray for rain poem” because he pitched the majority of his career in small market Milwaukee. A top competitor pitcher he was, and a lefty to boot. Even Koufax cedes to Spahn when asked who of them was the top left handed hurler. Spahn did it for longer and had better numbers, but, by pitching away from the east coast media, he was overlooked by its members. Players though knew who was best.
Juan Marichal emerged as the Giants staff ace in the early 1960s. He would win the most games in the decade, but writers preferred Gibson and Koufax who played on more pennant winners. Batters did not want to face either of the three pitchers so the question is a wash. Coming from the Dominican Republic, Marichal paved the way for generations of his countrymen who would go on to have hall of fame caliber careers. The Giants lead baseball in acquiring Latino talent, and those teams featured a lineup that at times fielded four Latinos and two African Americans plus Marichal on the mound. Managers at the time believed that minority players did not hustle as much as caucasians, and this caused a rift in the Giants’ clubhouse. Marichal had survived a childhood coma and lived each day to the fullest. He pitched with guts and flair, with a high leg kick that featured five pitches from five different arm slots. Batters never knew what pitch was coming, and many a future hall of famer looked foolish up at bat against the Dominican ace. Marichal was also overlooked by sports writers by playing for a San Francisco team that was good but not great enough to win pennants. The Cy Young Award not handed out until 1967, writers preferred Gibson, Koufax, and a myriad of other pitchers, but not Marichal. Not appreciated by his own managers until later in his career, Marichal flat out pitched and preferred to finish his games so as to not give sportswriters a reason to call him weak. Durability came to a head on July 2, 1963.
In today’s age of pitch counts and analytics, a game like the one in 1963 would never happen again. The Giants beat the Braves 1-0 in 16 innings, and both Spahn and Marichal pitched the entire game. A forty two year old at the end of his career and a twenty five year old just getting started. Future hall of farmers Aaron, Matthews, Mays, and McCovey could not get hits off these aces, and the game kept going on scoreless. At one point, McCovey hit a ball that landed in Candlestick’s parking lot, but the first base umpire called it foul. This was long before instant replays, so the foul call stood, and the game kept going. In each of the first four extra frames, Giants manager Alvin Dark came to the mound to ask Marichal how he felt. His response was that the other pitcher is forty two and still going strong, so he wanted to stay in the game. League rules required games to end by 12:50, and rhe 16th inning began at 12:20 am. Willie Mays told Marichal not to worry, he was set to lead off the 16th, and he was going to homer and end the game right then and there. Even though he was in a mini slump at the time, that was exactly what Willie did, accounting for the final score of 1-0. In both clubhouses, the pitchers appeared spent but not exhausted. Teammates shook their hands. Neither appeared affected by hurling a 200 pitch game and did well in their next starts. New rules might require pitchers to last into the sixth inning, but I doubt baseball will ever see a game like this again. How I wish I could have been there to witness the history unfolding.
Author Jim Kaplan did not have enough material to write an entire book about one game. He could have had he stretched things out and reminisced about more current events of the 1963 season. He chose instead to craft this book as a duel biography of the two pitchers, including snippets of other history making top pitching performances. Many of those matchups occurred in the early days of baseball and did not feature two hall of fame bound pitchers. Rather, the earlier games were matchups between your everyday starter who in the early days of baseball had been expected to pitch a complete game, even if the game went into extra innings. In today’s day and age of analyzing every matchup, we are lucky if pitchers last into the sixth inning. Few true aces exist, and, knowing what we do about arm usage, even the best rarely pitch complete games anymore. Hopefully, the new proposed rule places more of a premium on starting pitchers and restores them to past glory. Today’s pennant chases feature teams with top hitters. Few top pitchers exist and those that do are in the twilight of their careers. All have cited that they are happy with the new proposed rule because they themselves expect to finish their starts, a throw back to the days of the ace pitcher feared in rhe eyes of even the top batters. On July 2, 1963 Warren Spahn and Juan Marichal treated fans to a game for the ages that will probably never be duplicated.
4 stars
June 30, 2018
Just barely a three star effort. You may be asking yourself how can anyone write an entire book about one sixteen inning game and make it interesting. The answer is maybe someone can, but Jim Kaplan did not.. To fill up his 252 pages, he resorts to trivia or meticulous irrelevant facts like on which street Spahn grew up, Dominican minor league coaches, how many medals baseball players achieved in the second world war, a 32 inning game in Pawtucket, an eight hour major league game, and the price of all seats at Braves Field It's strictly filler.
There are pages devoted to games unconnected to the 1963 game; namely Koufax's perfect game in 65(Bob Hendley's near no hitter in the same game) and the classic 1991 game 7 World Series when Jack Morris went ten innings to out duel John Smoltz.). The only common thread is that they were pitchers' duels.Late in the book there are a few pages devoted to other thirteen inning games, but with no connection to the 1963 classic sixteen inning match between Spahn and Marichal. In fact I would skip the first 40% of the book.
On the plus side, there is an Interesting discussion on the pros and cons of the pitch count controversy. Is it the pure number of pitches per se or fatigue showing from delivery and arm angle?Spahn threw 201 pitches and Marichal threw 227 at home.in that game. Then there is another discussion about the notorious attack by Marichal against Johnny Roseboro with a bat in 1965. I enjoyed that description because it gave me a fuller understanding of what led up to it, and Roseboro's provocation by throwing behind Marichal with the throw back to Sandy Koufax.(Willie Mays, the greatest player of my time played hero in that incident). There was a lot devoted to life after baseball on both Hall of Famers which was interesting but a bit reverential in its treatment. So, some fun nostalgia mixed with tedium; hence the three stars.
There are pages devoted to games unconnected to the 1963 game; namely Koufax's perfect game in 65(Bob Hendley's near no hitter in the same game) and the classic 1991 game 7 World Series when Jack Morris went ten innings to out duel John Smoltz.). The only common thread is that they were pitchers' duels.Late in the book there are a few pages devoted to other thirteen inning games, but with no connection to the 1963 classic sixteen inning match between Spahn and Marichal. In fact I would skip the first 40% of the book.
On the plus side, there is an Interesting discussion on the pros and cons of the pitch count controversy. Is it the pure number of pitches per se or fatigue showing from delivery and arm angle?Spahn threw 201 pitches and Marichal threw 227 at home.in that game. Then there is another discussion about the notorious attack by Marichal against Johnny Roseboro with a bat in 1965. I enjoyed that description because it gave me a fuller understanding of what led up to it, and Roseboro's provocation by throwing behind Marichal with the throw back to Sandy Koufax.(Willie Mays, the greatest player of my time played hero in that incident). There was a lot devoted to life after baseball on both Hall of Famers which was interesting but a bit reverential in its treatment. So, some fun nostalgia mixed with tedium; hence the three stars.
March 22, 2015
A good baseball book, although not a great one, this book recounts a 1963 game in which Hall of Fame pitchers Warren Spahn and Juan Marichal dueled each other for 16 innings before one of them (Spahn) finally allowed a run and lost the game. Most of the book isn't actually about the game itself, though; this is more like a dual biography. There are also sidebar discussions of several other games in baseball history which rank among the greatest pitching duels ever; I enjoyed those.
One problem I have with this book is that, for some reason, Kaplan occasionally decides to veer away from his subjects in order to deliver diatribes about things he doesn't like about modern baseball: pitch counts, corporate sponsorships, aloof players, ticket prices. Stereotype-ridden passages like this one simply made me wince:
"Today's athletes genuflect to the three P's: PR, patriotism, and piety. They make a show of throwing the ball into the stands after the last out of an inning. They stand for 'God Bless America', which has replaces 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' at many parks during the seventh-inning stretch. And they're constantly pointing to the heavens, as if God just hit that 450' dinger. But just try to approach a ballplayer as he leaves the clubhouse. You are no competition for his cell phone."
To be sure, some of Kaplan's complaints have merit. But it's a commonplace of baseball history that ex-players, as well as the old writers who covered and hero-worshipped them, always have bad things to say about the players and times which followed their own. Every new development in the game, ever, has been subjected to such negativity. Bill James, in a couple of his books, collected a series of such quotes that he presented in chronological order, down through the baseball generations; and it's fun to see how players denigrated by old-timers do the same thing to the new generation once they become old-timers themselves. Kaplan quotes Bill James several times in this book, so one might have expected him to have enough awareness to avoid that trap. Not so.
Kaplan redeems himself, though, by his treatment of two sensitive subjects, both of which are unavoidable in a book about Juan Marichal. First: he shows a good understanding of the tribulations faced by Latino players, especially in Marichal's day, not long after the breaking of the color barrier. For all the attention paid to black baseball pioneers like Jackie Robinson, people often don't appreciate the extra obstacles faced by Hispanic pioneers, who not only had to learn a new language, but also had to learn a whole new social structure (segregation, with its myriad rules and restrictions; which black players understood thoroughly, but players like Marichal- from the Dominican Republic- didn't).
Second: an infamous incident in which Marichal hit another player (Johnny Roseboro) over the head with a baseball bat.
Kaplan- wisely, I think- saves this for late in the book, after he's done recounting Marichal's career. He provides a detailed examination of the undercurrents which led up to the incident, and there's a bit of excuse-making. However, in time Roseboro forgave Marichal for the incident, and the two became friends. Should the rest of us be less forgiving?
This is a biography of two players which barely lasts 200 pages; one will often see much longer biographies about a single player. As a result, this book generally seems a bit shallow and superficial. Or, depending on your point of view, perhaps other baseball biographies are unnecessarily detailed. I'd have liked this book to have more depth, myself. But I'd still call it a worthwhile read.
One problem I have with this book is that, for some reason, Kaplan occasionally decides to veer away from his subjects in order to deliver diatribes about things he doesn't like about modern baseball: pitch counts, corporate sponsorships, aloof players, ticket prices. Stereotype-ridden passages like this one simply made me wince:
"Today's athletes genuflect to the three P's: PR, patriotism, and piety. They make a show of throwing the ball into the stands after the last out of an inning. They stand for 'God Bless America', which has replaces 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' at many parks during the seventh-inning stretch. And they're constantly pointing to the heavens, as if God just hit that 450' dinger. But just try to approach a ballplayer as he leaves the clubhouse. You are no competition for his cell phone."
To be sure, some of Kaplan's complaints have merit. But it's a commonplace of baseball history that ex-players, as well as the old writers who covered and hero-worshipped them, always have bad things to say about the players and times which followed their own. Every new development in the game, ever, has been subjected to such negativity. Bill James, in a couple of his books, collected a series of such quotes that he presented in chronological order, down through the baseball generations; and it's fun to see how players denigrated by old-timers do the same thing to the new generation once they become old-timers themselves. Kaplan quotes Bill James several times in this book, so one might have expected him to have enough awareness to avoid that trap. Not so.
Kaplan redeems himself, though, by his treatment of two sensitive subjects, both of which are unavoidable in a book about Juan Marichal. First: he shows a good understanding of the tribulations faced by Latino players, especially in Marichal's day, not long after the breaking of the color barrier. For all the attention paid to black baseball pioneers like Jackie Robinson, people often don't appreciate the extra obstacles faced by Hispanic pioneers, who not only had to learn a new language, but also had to learn a whole new social structure (segregation, with its myriad rules and restrictions; which black players understood thoroughly, but players like Marichal- from the Dominican Republic- didn't).
Second: an infamous incident in which Marichal hit another player (Johnny Roseboro) over the head with a baseball bat.
Kaplan- wisely, I think- saves this for late in the book, after he's done recounting Marichal's career. He provides a detailed examination of the undercurrents which led up to the incident, and there's a bit of excuse-making. However, in time Roseboro forgave Marichal for the incident, and the two became friends. Should the rest of us be less forgiving?
This is a biography of two players which barely lasts 200 pages; one will often see much longer biographies about a single player. As a result, this book generally seems a bit shallow and superficial. Or, depending on your point of view, perhaps other baseball biographies are unnecessarily detailed. I'd have liked this book to have more depth, myself. But I'd still call it a worthwhile read.
June 24, 2022
Amazing era. Two warriors battle to the 16th inning. What a great read. Wish I was there but after this masterpiece I feel like I was in attendance.
March 22, 2020
This book takes you to a time when pitchers stayed in games for eight innings or longer. In this game, it goes 16 innings and both starting pitchers are still pitching to the end. The big difference was Warren Spahn was 16 years older than Juan Marichal the starting pitcher for the Giants. You are taken through each inning and given background on the pitchers and players. You are also given little tidbits of the game for Marichal was not coming out if Spahn was still pitching.
Marichal would make 227 pitches allowed eight hits, four walks, struck out ten.
Spahn would make 201 pitches one being to mays which decided the game. He allowed nine hits, walked intentionally and struck out two.
Both pitchers would make their next start and Spahn in 1963 would lead the National League with 22 complete games that year. Definitely a different time than what we now see in baseball. This was a fantastic book and worth the read at any time.
Marichal would make 227 pitches allowed eight hits, four walks, struck out ten.
Spahn would make 201 pitches one being to mays which decided the game. He allowed nine hits, walked intentionally and struck out two.
Both pitchers would make their next start and Spahn in 1963 would lead the National League with 22 complete games that year. Definitely a different time than what we now see in baseball. This was a fantastic book and worth the read at any time.
December 31, 2023
I had recently finished Bob Gibson's "Pitch by Pitch", his recounting of the details of a single game in the 60s that he believe memorable. It was. And I found his book to be quite well done, showing Gibson's thinking about the situations of almost every pitch, as well as his take on his opponent's pitching decisions. You learned a lot and were entertained. I expected the same with this book. Instead, this was more of a two pitcher biography, with lots of back (and post-) story on these player's careers. The game itself was not covered in the depth that Gibson wrote, and I suppose that's no surprise given the author is a reporter and not one of the pitchers. I did find i learned a lot about these players, but not so much about a single game, but about their careers.
August 8, 2019
A really fun book that explores Marichal, Spahn, their times and the history of baseball during their careers.
March 28, 2011
A good, workman-like account of what has to rank as the greatest regular season pitching duel in baseball history, plus even more valuable backstories of Spahn and Marichal, two of the greatest pitchers in a pitching rich era. I believe Kaplan understates two factors which have caused complete game artists such as Spahn and Marichal to have become virtually extinct: the strike zone, which was anything from the knees to the armpits, is now reduced to the bottom of the knees to the belt, and the ballparks; in 1963 Wrigley field was held to be the most hitter friendly park in the National League, whereas today it's widely considered a pitcher's park. Obviously, Spahn and Marichal would have been great pitchers in any era in which they pitched, but they might not have racked up the complete games which they did under the conditions in which they pitched.
Another factor can be found in his description of shortstop Roy McMullen: "Despite his anemic hitting, he made two All-Star teams", mainly because defensively "he left the dugout with the range of a condor and the arm strength of a leviathan." Anemic hitting shortstops don't make too many starting line-ups these days. And I suppose it would be a little captious to mention here that leviathans don't have arms ("flipper strength" would probably not be an improvement).
Another factor can be found in his description of shortstop Roy McMullen: "Despite his anemic hitting, he made two All-Star teams", mainly because defensively "he left the dugout with the range of a condor and the arm strength of a leviathan." Anemic hitting shortstops don't make too many starting line-ups these days. And I suppose it would be a little captious to mention here that leviathans don't have arms ("flipper strength" would probably not be an improvement).
April 14, 2023
RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: “2-MINI-BIOGRAPHIES ON 2-HALL OF FAMERS-WHO PITCHED *COMPLETE-GAMES* BUILT AROUND A 16 INNING 1-0 MATCHUP!”
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Though the title “THE GREATEST GAME EVER PITCHED” refers to the 16 inning 1-0 game between Warren Spahn’s Milwaukee Braves and Juan Marichal’s victorious San Francisco Giants that took place on July 2nd and the wee hours of July 3rd, 1963… in which both pitchers pitched the ENTIRE GAME… the real impact of this book to hard core old-school baseball fans (and younger fans who want to know the way baseball was during its heyday… when it was truly the national pastime… and not a watered down version weakened by designated hitters… setup men… middle relievers… closers… guaranteed salaries… and perhaps what is probably the WEAKEST STATISTIC IN HISTORY… *A QUALITY START*… my Lord… allowing three earned runs in six innings… that’s an ERA of 4.50… that would barely keep you on the team during the golden age of baseball… et al.) are the flashbacks to the life stories of Spahn and Marichal which rightfully covers more literary ground than the historical 16 inning game itself. Spahn was not only the winningest left handed pitcher in the history of baseball with 363 wins, which also ranks fifth all time… but it also reminds the world that Warren was a certified hero in World War II. “HE WAS A VETERAN OF THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE AND FIGHT OVER THE BRIDGE AT REMAGEN, SPAHN WAS ONE OF THE MOST DECORATED BALLPLAYERS IN WORLD WAR II.” “BY KEEPING THE BRIDGE OPERATIONAL UNDER ENEMY FIRE, SPAHN WAS GIVEN A BATTLEFIELD COMMISSION AND PROMOTED FROM STAFF SERGEANT TO SECOND LIEUTENANT ON JUNE 1, 1945 (NOTE: WAR HISTORIANS KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THIS BATTLE WAS!) IN ALL, HE EARNED A BRONZE STAR, A PURPLE HEART, ALONG WITH A BATTLEFIELD COMMISSION.” And paling in comparison to the value to his country… think how much greater his career pitching statistics would have been if he didn’t lose over three years of youth on the baseball field. Unlike some ballplayers who served, Warren would never accept any discussion regarding losing lifetime baseball statistics during the war… instead he always said that his experience in the war made him more mature and calmer under pressure… how could a ballgame compare with bullets and bombs aimed at him?
Juan’s story goes back to his growing up in the Dominican Republic and his dream of playing baseball. Marichal wound up with 243 lifetime wins. Spahn wound up with the most wins in the 50’s and Marichal wound up with the most wins in the 60’s. One thing they had in common (despite Spahn being a lefty, and Marichal a righty) was there inimitable sky high leg-kick in their pitching delivery. Coincidentally, they both have large statues commemorating there almost balletic form at their former stadiums. They also… more times than not… finished what they started! Complete games by a pitcher in today’s games are becoming as rare as hens teeth. In fact Spahn had 382 complete games out of 665 career starts and Marichal had 244 complete games out of 457 career starts. How does that compare to today’s game? Wait till you hear this statistic!
In 2009 every pitcher combined in the Major Leagues… that’s right… the entire National League AND American League combined… pitched 152 complete games. Warren Spahn pitched *THREE-HUNDRED-PERCENT-MORE-COMPLETE-GAMES-IN-HIS-CAREER-THAN-EVERY-MAJOR-LEAGUE-PITCHER-COMBINED-PITCHED-IN-AN-ENTIRE-YEAR! MARICHAL PITCHED ALMOST ONE-HUNDRED-SIXTY-PER-CENT-MORE! That’s one of the factors the author impresses upon the reader along with the marvel of the 16 inning complete “mano-y-mano” 1-0 game pitched by these two Hall Of Famers.
Perhaps the ugliest, most infamous, fight on a Major League field was the game on August 22, 1965 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants in which Juan Marichal hit Dodger catcher John Roseboro over the head with a bat. This is covered in detail all the way from the fight… to the aftermath… which included a subsequent (years later) heartfelt apology and acceptance between the two men. A lifetime friendship ensued… culminating in Marichal speaking at Roseboro’s funeral years later.
During the trip down memory lane of these two greats you’ll be reminded of the great teammates and opponents that made their accomplishments even more breathtaking. Players like Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Joe Adcock, (who not only hit 4 homeruns in a game, but was the first player to hit a homerun over the 485 foot center field fence at the Polo Grounds, and the first player to hit a homerun over the left field stands at Ebbets Field… and got the hit that broke up the no hitter that had been part of the longest perfect game inning streak in baseball history in the 13th inning against Pittsburgh’s Harvey Haddix!) and of course there was Duke Snider who was one of Marichal’s childhood idols… and Sandy Koufax of whom Marichal said: **”THE GREATEST FASTBALL I EVER SAW, THE GREATEST CURVE I EVER SAW, AND THE GREATEST GENTLEMAN I EVER PITCHED AGAINST WAS SANDY KOUFAX.”**
This book commemorates two of baseball’s greatest pitchers… one of its greatest individual games… and an era of the greatest ballplayers. (By the way Spahn was FORTY-TWO-YEARS-OLD when he pitched in this 16 inning game and Marichal was twenty-five.)
NOTE: The author made an important historical statistical mistake on page 101 when he wrote: “In 1957, the 36-year-old Spahn bounced back to capture baseball’s first Cy Young Award.” *THIS IS INCORRECT* THE FIRST CY YOUNG AWARD WAS WON BY “BIG” DON NEWCOMBE OF THE BROOKLYN DODGERS IN *1956* WITH A 27 WIN 7 LOSS SEASON.
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Though the title “THE GREATEST GAME EVER PITCHED” refers to the 16 inning 1-0 game between Warren Spahn’s Milwaukee Braves and Juan Marichal’s victorious San Francisco Giants that took place on July 2nd and the wee hours of July 3rd, 1963… in which both pitchers pitched the ENTIRE GAME… the real impact of this book to hard core old-school baseball fans (and younger fans who want to know the way baseball was during its heyday… when it was truly the national pastime… and not a watered down version weakened by designated hitters… setup men… middle relievers… closers… guaranteed salaries… and perhaps what is probably the WEAKEST STATISTIC IN HISTORY… *A QUALITY START*… my Lord… allowing three earned runs in six innings… that’s an ERA of 4.50… that would barely keep you on the team during the golden age of baseball… et al.) are the flashbacks to the life stories of Spahn and Marichal which rightfully covers more literary ground than the historical 16 inning game itself. Spahn was not only the winningest left handed pitcher in the history of baseball with 363 wins, which also ranks fifth all time… but it also reminds the world that Warren was a certified hero in World War II. “HE WAS A VETERAN OF THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE AND FIGHT OVER THE BRIDGE AT REMAGEN, SPAHN WAS ONE OF THE MOST DECORATED BALLPLAYERS IN WORLD WAR II.” “BY KEEPING THE BRIDGE OPERATIONAL UNDER ENEMY FIRE, SPAHN WAS GIVEN A BATTLEFIELD COMMISSION AND PROMOTED FROM STAFF SERGEANT TO SECOND LIEUTENANT ON JUNE 1, 1945 (NOTE: WAR HISTORIANS KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THIS BATTLE WAS!) IN ALL, HE EARNED A BRONZE STAR, A PURPLE HEART, ALONG WITH A BATTLEFIELD COMMISSION.” And paling in comparison to the value to his country… think how much greater his career pitching statistics would have been if he didn’t lose over three years of youth on the baseball field. Unlike some ballplayers who served, Warren would never accept any discussion regarding losing lifetime baseball statistics during the war… instead he always said that his experience in the war made him more mature and calmer under pressure… how could a ballgame compare with bullets and bombs aimed at him?
Juan’s story goes back to his growing up in the Dominican Republic and his dream of playing baseball. Marichal wound up with 243 lifetime wins. Spahn wound up with the most wins in the 50’s and Marichal wound up with the most wins in the 60’s. One thing they had in common (despite Spahn being a lefty, and Marichal a righty) was there inimitable sky high leg-kick in their pitching delivery. Coincidentally, they both have large statues commemorating there almost balletic form at their former stadiums. They also… more times than not… finished what they started! Complete games by a pitcher in today’s games are becoming as rare as hens teeth. In fact Spahn had 382 complete games out of 665 career starts and Marichal had 244 complete games out of 457 career starts. How does that compare to today’s game? Wait till you hear this statistic!
In 2009 every pitcher combined in the Major Leagues… that’s right… the entire National League AND American League combined… pitched 152 complete games. Warren Spahn pitched *THREE-HUNDRED-PERCENT-MORE-COMPLETE-GAMES-IN-HIS-CAREER-THAN-EVERY-MAJOR-LEAGUE-PITCHER-COMBINED-PITCHED-IN-AN-ENTIRE-YEAR! MARICHAL PITCHED ALMOST ONE-HUNDRED-SIXTY-PER-CENT-MORE! That’s one of the factors the author impresses upon the reader along with the marvel of the 16 inning complete “mano-y-mano” 1-0 game pitched by these two Hall Of Famers.
Perhaps the ugliest, most infamous, fight on a Major League field was the game on August 22, 1965 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants in which Juan Marichal hit Dodger catcher John Roseboro over the head with a bat. This is covered in detail all the way from the fight… to the aftermath… which included a subsequent (years later) heartfelt apology and acceptance between the two men. A lifetime friendship ensued… culminating in Marichal speaking at Roseboro’s funeral years later.
During the trip down memory lane of these two greats you’ll be reminded of the great teammates and opponents that made their accomplishments even more breathtaking. Players like Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Joe Adcock, (who not only hit 4 homeruns in a game, but was the first player to hit a homerun over the 485 foot center field fence at the Polo Grounds, and the first player to hit a homerun over the left field stands at Ebbets Field… and got the hit that broke up the no hitter that had been part of the longest perfect game inning streak in baseball history in the 13th inning against Pittsburgh’s Harvey Haddix!) and of course there was Duke Snider who was one of Marichal’s childhood idols… and Sandy Koufax of whom Marichal said: **”THE GREATEST FASTBALL I EVER SAW, THE GREATEST CURVE I EVER SAW, AND THE GREATEST GENTLEMAN I EVER PITCHED AGAINST WAS SANDY KOUFAX.”**
This book commemorates two of baseball’s greatest pitchers… one of its greatest individual games… and an era of the greatest ballplayers. (By the way Spahn was FORTY-TWO-YEARS-OLD when he pitched in this 16 inning game and Marichal was twenty-five.)
NOTE: The author made an important historical statistical mistake on page 101 when he wrote: “In 1957, the 36-year-old Spahn bounced back to capture baseball’s first Cy Young Award.” *THIS IS INCORRECT* THE FIRST CY YOUNG AWARD WAS WON BY “BIG” DON NEWCOMBE OF THE BROOKLYN DODGERS IN *1956* WITH A 27 WIN 7 LOSS SEASON.
March 31, 2015
Liked the story on the game and the bios on the two pitchers, but some of the filler information on other well-pitched games was unnecessary. Full review is posted here:
http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/201...
http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/201...
November 22, 2021
Do you pine for the "good old days"?
Do you miss the days when "men were men"?
Are you determined to "own" the modern baseball fan?
Then you will love this book!
* * *
Honestly, reading this was a major slog.
Suffering from the same tired "tilting at windmills" as many a commentary before this, Jim Kaplan complains about modern approaches towards pitching without having even the vaguest understanding of their underpinnings.
It feels worth noting that those who played the game in the 1950s were of a quite different physical makeup than those who play the current game.
My (perhaps) unpopular opinion - If I managed a baseball team in the 1950s, I too would have had starting pitchers who threw 160 pitches in a game. But if I managed a team in the early 21st century, I would also limit starting pitchers to two times through the order.
In short, I would manage the way the game has largely been managed in each era, because each era has its own thing going on.
In the 1950s and 60s, lineups simply were not as deep. Additionally, most teams typically only had 2 or 3 pitchers who were worth a damn. Does that make it easier to pitch deep into games? Yes. Does it make you more likely to ride your horses as long as you can? Again, yes.
Today's hitters, however, are undeniably stronger and have access to tools that allow them to make in-game adjustments. Furthermore, modern teams have bullpens full of several pitchers who have been trained to be able to throw a ball through a battleship 20 times a night. The modern manager who leaves a starting pitcher in to face batters a 3rd or 4th time would be a fool to leave not use the weapons at their disposal which make it possible to optimize every potential match-up in late-game, high-leverage plate appearances.
* * *
Look. I get it. I am advancing in years and I completely understand the urge to complain about the "new ways".
But this has always come across to me as little more than a Sisyphean effort to deny that our time on this planet is finite and each of us is destined to be replaced by something else.
Books like this are nothing more than a narrative of the early phases of the Elizabeth Kubler-Ross stages of dying - "denial" and "anger".
The book would have been better off simply focusing on the careers of these two great pitchers within the eras in which they played.
There was no need to compare them to players of the modern era.
The game is so different and I say that with zero judgement.
It is neither better nor worse. It's just... different.
Outrage for the sake of outrage doesn't read well.
Comparing Juan Marichal to a 2021 version of Max Scherzer makes as much sense as comparing Bach to Beethoven.
They lived in different times and each produced masterpieces, but in eras with varied artistic sensibilities.
There has always been room enough for each of them to be considered great without glorifying one and crapping on another.
Do you miss the days when "men were men"?
Are you determined to "own" the modern baseball fan?
Then you will love this book!
* * *
Honestly, reading this was a major slog.
Suffering from the same tired "tilting at windmills" as many a commentary before this, Jim Kaplan complains about modern approaches towards pitching without having even the vaguest understanding of their underpinnings.
It feels worth noting that those who played the game in the 1950s were of a quite different physical makeup than those who play the current game.
My (perhaps) unpopular opinion - If I managed a baseball team in the 1950s, I too would have had starting pitchers who threw 160 pitches in a game. But if I managed a team in the early 21st century, I would also limit starting pitchers to two times through the order.
In short, I would manage the way the game has largely been managed in each era, because each era has its own thing going on.
In the 1950s and 60s, lineups simply were not as deep. Additionally, most teams typically only had 2 or 3 pitchers who were worth a damn. Does that make it easier to pitch deep into games? Yes. Does it make you more likely to ride your horses as long as you can? Again, yes.
Today's hitters, however, are undeniably stronger and have access to tools that allow them to make in-game adjustments. Furthermore, modern teams have bullpens full of several pitchers who have been trained to be able to throw a ball through a battleship 20 times a night. The modern manager who leaves a starting pitcher in to face batters a 3rd or 4th time would be a fool to leave not use the weapons at their disposal which make it possible to optimize every potential match-up in late-game, high-leverage plate appearances.
* * *
Look. I get it. I am advancing in years and I completely understand the urge to complain about the "new ways".
But this has always come across to me as little more than a Sisyphean effort to deny that our time on this planet is finite and each of us is destined to be replaced by something else.
Books like this are nothing more than a narrative of the early phases of the Elizabeth Kubler-Ross stages of dying - "denial" and "anger".
The book would have been better off simply focusing on the careers of these two great pitchers within the eras in which they played.
There was no need to compare them to players of the modern era.
The game is so different and I say that with zero judgement.
It is neither better nor worse. It's just... different.
Outrage for the sake of outrage doesn't read well.
Comparing Juan Marichal to a 2021 version of Max Scherzer makes as much sense as comparing Bach to Beethoven.
They lived in different times and each produced masterpieces, but in eras with varied artistic sensibilities.
There has always been room enough for each of them to be considered great without glorifying one and crapping on another.
September 8, 2023
This book recounts the famous extra inning pitching duel in 1963 between two of the greatest all time pitchers, Warren Spahn and Juan Marichal. And there were other players in that game that you may heard of, including Willie Mays and Henry Aaron.
The book captures much baseball history from different perspectives. Spahn was 42 at the time and started with the Boston Braves in the forties , insight into him is insight into old school baseball, and into blue collar baseball with the Braves' move to Milwaukie. Insight into Juan Marichal is insight into how baseball was changed in the fifties and sixties with Latinos and Blacks finally being allowed to play in the majors. There is background not only on them but also on other players in the game.
If I have a problem with the book it is its treatment of the actual game. It reads like a next day summary of the game and does not capture the suspense and tension of other books on individual games. The book on Game Six of the 1975 World Series between the Reds and Red Sox and the book on the 7th World Series game between the Yankees and Pirates in 1960 are examples of a book seeming to take you into the stadium that day to watch a replay of the game
But all in all, still a good book
The book captures much baseball history from different perspectives. Spahn was 42 at the time and started with the Boston Braves in the forties , insight into him is insight into old school baseball, and into blue collar baseball with the Braves' move to Milwaukie. Insight into Juan Marichal is insight into how baseball was changed in the fifties and sixties with Latinos and Blacks finally being allowed to play in the majors. There is background not only on them but also on other players in the game.
If I have a problem with the book it is its treatment of the actual game. It reads like a next day summary of the game and does not capture the suspense and tension of other books on individual games. The book on Game Six of the 1975 World Series between the Reds and Red Sox and the book on the 7th World Series game between the Yankees and Pirates in 1960 are examples of a book seeming to take you into the stadium that day to watch a replay of the game
But all in all, still a good book
June 2, 2021
The story itself is fascinating: Two of the greatest pitchers of all time, locked in an incredible duel for sixteen innings, each facing a lineup that included multiple hall-of-famers. Each pitcher's biography is interwoven with the story of the game.
Unfortunately, the author's writing style is not the least bit compelling, and therefore the book itself is not very good. The fact that somehow the material is diminished by the writing is unfortunate, because every fan of baseball should read about Spahn, read about Marichal, and read about their incredible performances on July 2, 1963—performances the likes of which we will certainly never see again. But the book is just not good enough to earn a strong recommendation. Kaplan would have benefitted from the input of a competent editor.
Three-and-a half stars, rounded down to balance the overly effusive five-star reviews.
Unfortunately, the author's writing style is not the least bit compelling, and therefore the book itself is not very good. The fact that somehow the material is diminished by the writing is unfortunate, because every fan of baseball should read about Spahn, read about Marichal, and read about their incredible performances on July 2, 1963—performances the likes of which we will certainly never see again. But the book is just not good enough to earn a strong recommendation. Kaplan would have benefitted from the input of a competent editor.
Three-and-a half stars, rounded down to balance the overly effusive five-star reviews.
August 5, 2017
I had been waiting to read this book for a very long time. It did not disappoint and probably won't disappoint many who call themselves students and enthusiasts of the game of baseball. Personally, despite knowing a few of the big names and the teams that they belonged to, i know very little about this era of baseball and this was a very revealing look not just at Marichal and Spahn but many other players. It makes sense why my dad named Willie McCovey his favorite Giant and rarely mentioned Mays. As a giants fan as well, this book helped me learn why a team with so many hall of famers never won a championship. A nice light read and highly recommended for the casual baseball enthusiast.
July 2, 2022
Marichal l & Spahn
This a great reading for the baseball fans. The great pitching duel between Warren Spahn and Juan Marichal in July 1963 is one the great moments in baseball history. Nice biographies on these 2 members of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. It was in the early 60s that my father took me to the Estadio Quisqueya in Santo Domingo to see Juan Marichal pitch against Licey (the first professional baseball game that I saw). I enjoyed this book and recommend it to any serious baseball fan
This a great reading for the baseball fans. The great pitching duel between Warren Spahn and Juan Marichal in July 1963 is one the great moments in baseball history. Nice biographies on these 2 members of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. It was in the early 60s that my father took me to the Estadio Quisqueya in Santo Domingo to see Juan Marichal pitch against Licey (the first professional baseball game that I saw). I enjoyed this book and recommend it to any serious baseball fan
January 4, 2018
A good way to start the year with a baseball book. I had heard that this was a great book and had wanted to read it for a while. While it was good I didn't think it was "great." Some parts were really excellent, but the additional side-bar sections were a distraction and didn't really add much to the book and actually disrupted the flow of the read. Marichal was always one of my favorite Giants and this certainly adds to his status in my baseball pantheon.
February 11, 2020
Jim Kaplan has rediscovered a shining moment in pitching greatness between two immortals, Warren Spahn and Juan Marichal. The narrative mixes highlights and play-by-play from their 16-inning 1963 masterpiece with biographical material about both starring actors. This was an era we are unlikely to see again as both men pitched complete games in contrast with today’s pitch counts and 5- or 6-inning starters. Well done and worth the time for any baseball fan.
July 4, 2017
Great subject. Not so good delivery.
The author employees inaccessible language way to much for a baseball book. There is also too much focus on Greg Spahn comments (son of Warren).
I reach a point that only the portions about Juan Marichal were entertaining me.
Disclaimer: I'm Dominican.
The author employees inaccessible language way to much for a baseball book. There is also too much focus on Greg Spahn comments (son of Warren).
I reach a point that only the portions about Juan Marichal were entertaining me.
Disclaimer: I'm Dominican.
October 31, 2017
A informative book on a great pitching duel in 1963 between Warren Spahn and Juan Marichal that went 16 innings, both pitching the whole game which is a no-no in today baseball.
June 23, 2018
Greatest game ever pitched.
Great story. Very n depth information. Great historical and comparative information. Very easy to read. Great book. Well done. Going to read it again.
Great story. Very n depth information. Great historical and comparative information. Very easy to read. Great book. Well done. Going to read it again.
October 16, 2023
Great story, lots of things I’d never heard before. Not particularly well written but I enjoyed the book.
June 8, 2024
If you love baseball and baseball history, you will love this book.
August 17, 2013
i was very interested in reading this book, but i have to say that it was disappointing overall. while the author claims to have written 19 books, the writing in this one is very amateurish. the story told is fascinating, at least for me, which is what get the books up to 3 stars. In 1963, Juan Marichal of the SF Giants and Warren Spahn of the (then) Milwaukee Braves pitched a game that went 16 scoreless innings, until Spahn gave up a home run to Willie Mays for the loss in the bottom of the 16th. at the time, Warren Spahn was already 42, and the winningest left handed pitcher in the history of baseball. Marichal was a new young 24 year old superstar, who was trying to lead the great Giants teams left from the 50's to the World Series championship that they felt they deserved. Both Spahn and Marichal went on to join the Hall of Fame, Spahn representing the "Best Generation, a hero in the Battle of the Bulge, while Marichal was the first Latin superstar in the HOF and the leader of the spanish invasion that has led to 25% of current baseball players being Latino. the stories comparing Spahn and Marichal's upbringings were worth the book for me, but i can only recommend this book to hard core baseball fans.
June 5, 2011
I enjoyed the book even though the title is horribly misleading. There's actually very little about the game itself; nothing about pitch selection, what the hitters were thinking, pretty much just a written narrative of the box score. What makes the book worthwhile is the biographical information concerning Spahn and Marichal and the franchise histories of the Braves and Giants. We find out why the Giants were always coming up short and how the Braves came close to being one of the dominant teams of their time. Kaplan writes well and spices the narrative with comparatives to the modern day game that are not flattering towards the current state of the sport. Some people will find that distracting and irrelevant, but once I realized that the book was not simply a story of the game, I allowed Kaplan some latitude.
May 10, 2012
I grew up as a Milwaukee Braves fan and of course Warren Spahn is one of my childhood heroes. I remember arguments with a cousin about who was better Whitey Ford or Warren Spahn. Anyway, this was a book to enjoy and savor for a baseball fan and I took my time to enjoy it. The book talks about the 16 inning marathon pitched between Spahn and Juan Marichal. It also talks about their careers and baseball in the 60s and today. It was fun to read the stories of my favorite Braves players and the other baseball stories the author used to illustrate the book. It's a good baseball book and tells the story of two extraordinary pitchers. Since they pitched 16 innings in 1963 no pitcher has pitched longer than 13 innings in a game, and there has been only one game where both pitchers had gone 13 innings. These two guys were real Hall of Fame material. I really enjoyed the book.
November 29, 2012
Marichal is one of my heroes from the west coast Giants of the 1960s, when the team was stocked with superstar hitters and one or two excellent pitchers – Marichal being a preeminent righthander of his time. I met him at a card show in Schenectady, and asked him which game was his best pitching performance; he denied it was his first no-hitter, but that it was the 16-inning duel with Spahn on July 2, 1963. They both went the full 16, Marichal throwing 200 pitches, Mays hitting a home run to win 2-1.
It’s written by a sportswriter, so the language and style of writing sounds more like the sports page than it does analysis. There are some great passages, particularly Kaplan’s analysis of the Marichal-Roseboro brawl in 1965 and the context in which it occurred. Otherwise, the writing sounds like a 1960s backpage of the tabloid sports section.
It’s written by a sportswriter, so the language and style of writing sounds more like the sports page than it does analysis. There are some great passages, particularly Kaplan’s analysis of the Marichal-Roseboro brawl in 1965 and the context in which it occurred. Otherwise, the writing sounds like a 1960s backpage of the tabloid sports section.
April 7, 2012
I enjoy almost any baseball book, and there were many interesting subjects covered in this book, including the Latin baseball movement, the transition from WWII era baseball to "modern" baseball in the 60's, as well as biographical stuff on Marichal and Spahn.
I feel compelled to give Kaplan credit for the mechanism of proceeding through the game inning by inning, with long segues between innings to provide the background and historical information. It was clever and bold. However, I was ultimately disappointed by the quality of the writing here. I expected much, much better from a man of Kaplan's letters, as the seemingly absent editor must have. It's still worth reading for a fan of baseball history, but I fear many will be disappointed by the delivery.
I feel compelled to give Kaplan credit for the mechanism of proceeding through the game inning by inning, with long segues between innings to provide the background and historical information. It was clever and bold. However, I was ultimately disappointed by the quality of the writing here. I expected much, much better from a man of Kaplan's letters, as the seemingly absent editor must have. It's still worth reading for a fan of baseball history, but I fear many will be disappointed by the delivery.
March 28, 2011
Last week the author of "The Greatest Game Ever Pitched," Jim Kaplan, came to Collected Works book store in Santa Fe to promote the book, talk about it, answer questions, and sign books. His enthusiasm and respect for baseball is contagious, both in person and in the book. I found the book disjointed in a few places as it skips between the great Marichal vs. Spahn 16-inning pitching duel in July 1963 and backgrounders on their lives and other great pitching duels. Nonetheless, the book includes an impressive amount of research, quotes, and stats. It also thoughtfully addresses the racial tensions playing out in baseball and the country at the time. I very much enjoyed it.
December 5, 2011
Clearly written and tells a great story; not just that of the game the title references, but that of the lives of the two seemingly antithetical yet legendary protagonist pitchers: Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn. Some reviewers were expecting the game itself to figure in more prominently, which I think is fair given the title, but I also think the game can be viewed as the serendipitous intersection of two great characters of baseball yore; i.e. merely the jumping-off point of the real story.
Took off a star since the prose is pretty plain and at one point, Kaplan starts editorializing on one of baseball's unwritten rules.
Took off a star since the prose is pretty plain and at one point, Kaplan starts editorializing on one of baseball's unwritten rules.
May 9, 2012
I liked this book a lot. First of all, I am a huge sports fan and I love baseball so if you don't, I wouldn't recommend this to you. For me, I enjoyed the book because I was surprised about how many thing I didn't know about baseball. The book focused on no hitters (when a pitcher plays the whole game without letting anyone on base). This is the dream for any and every pitcher. While reading this book, I learned about some of the greatest pitcher in history such as Sandy Kofax, Pud Galvin and many more. Without this book, I would have missed out on some of the greatest pitcher to ever play the game. If your into baseball this is the book for you.
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