Jaybird's Jottings

Giants to Honor Marichal, Perry and Nen

Giants’ principal owner Peter Magowan has done a great job with the park formerly known as Pac Bell. All the little touches to the franchise’s past are there and Mays and McCovey have been immortalized with statues. It’s my belief that Juan Marichal deserves to be next.

This past July, I wrote those words. And now comes the word that the Giants will do just that.

The dedication date is Saturday, May 21. The nine-foot bronze statue will be located at Lefty O'Doul Plaza. Perry’s number 36 will be retired on Saturday, July 23 during a pre-game ceremony. Nen will be honored sometime during the season.

Congratulations gentleman. Well deserved.

Select highlights from Juan Marichal’s career

September 14, 1959

In the third game of the Eastern League championship, Marichal strikes out nine and scatters eight hits in a complete game win. Springfield defeats Williamsport 5-2 to gain a two games to one lead. The Giants win the championship, their first, the next day.

July 19, 1960

In his big league debut, Marichal carries a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Clay Dalrymple breaks it up with a pinch-hit single with two out. Marichal strikes out a dozen Phillies and tosses a one-hitter. He is the first National League hurler since 1900 to debut with a one-hitter.

June 15, 1963

18,869 Candestickers watch Marichal become the first Giant to pitch a no-hitter since Carl Hubbell in 1929. He’ s also the first Latin American to toss a no-no in the ML. San Francisco scores the only run of the game in the eighth inning when Chuck Hiller doubles home Jim Davenport.

July 3, 1963

In an epic duel, 16 inning contest between Marichal and Warren Spahn at Candlestick, Marichal goes the distance. He allows eight hits in 16 innings while striking out ten. In the bottom of the 16th, Willie Mays hits a solo shot off Spahn for the win.

August 22, 1965

On a sunny afternoon at Candlestick, the Giants and Dodgers rivalry heats to a boil. In the bottom of the third inning, Marichal, believing John Roseboro’s return throw to Sandy Koufax nicked him in the ear, clubs the Dodger catcher in the head with his bat. The Giants win 14 in a row after Marichal’s return from an eight-game suspension, but come up two games short of their rivals.

May 26, 1966

The Dominican Dandy went the distance in a 14 inning, 1–0 win over the Phillies at Candlestick. Jim Davenport was the hero on the offensive side when he tripled and scored the winning run on Bob Barton’s sac fly. Marichal runs his record for the season to 9-0 and drops his ERA to 0.59.

Sep 20, 1968

Marichal tosses a five-hitter and gives up just one run in a 9-1 win over the Braves. The victory is his 26th of the season, a personal best and the most for a Giant since Hubbell’s 26 in 1936.

Sep 12, 1969

With his team just one-half game behind the Reds and Braves, Marichal pitches a one-hitter for his 18th win of the season. Hal Lanier drove in Jim Davenport in the games only scoring. Marichal calls the contest his “best game ever." He goes on to lead the league in ERA with a 2.10 mark.

May 15, 1971

Marichal scatters six hits and defeats the Dodgers 1 to 0. The win gives him a 21 and 1 record against Los Angeles at Candlestick.

Sep 30, 1971

Needing a win to clinch the division title, the Giants defeat the Padres 5-1 at San Diego. Marichal goes the distance and gives up one unearned run.

April 5, 1973

Wonderful Juan retires the final 13 Reds batters to pick up his sixth Opening Day win. The six victories is one of several Opening Day records Marichal still holds for the Giants (Most Starts 10, Most Complete Games 6, Most Strikeouts 10, Nine-Inning Shutouts 2).

September 22, 1973

In his final home appearance, Marichal defeats the Padres. He scatters nine hits and picks up his final win in a Giants uniform.

April 17, 1975

Marichal hangs up his cleats after a failed comeback attempt with the Dodgers. His final numbers are 243 wins and 142 losses.

Jan 12, 1983

Marichal is inducted into the Hall of Fame.

July 10, 1983

Wonderful Juan trots out to the mound at Candlestick and receives a standing ovation on his Hall of Fame day.

Sep 30, 1999

Marichal tosses out the first pitch at the Candlestick finale.

Japanese Baseball

However, we should also recall that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the inception of the baseball exchange between Japan and the United States. A team composed of Waseda University students visited the United States in 1905 as the first Japanese baseball team to play in America.

Excellent article by Junya Ishii, entitled Outside View: Baseball across the Pacific.

Not mentioned is the role Lefty O’Doul played. On his advice, the Yomiuri owner named his team Giants and adopted the orange and black colors. The Giants have played several exhibition tours in the land of the rising sun and as the article mentioned, they were the first team to sign a Japanese player (Masanori Murakami).

Kind of interesting how the Giants have not parlayed their Nippon connection into something significant. Other than Shinjo, no signings that I can remember. My guess is Magowan doesn’t want to pay the high bucks.

Spring Training 2005

Lit up with anticipation
We arrive at the launching site
The sky is still dark, nearing dawn
On the Florida coastline… – Countdown, Lyrics by Neil Peart

About a quarter century ago, Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist for the rock group RUSH, penned those words as part of Countdown, a song he wrote about the space shuttle Columbia in the spring of 1981. Peart and band-mates Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, at the invitation of some friends at NASA, had flown to Cape Canaveral to witness the launch of America’s first space shuttle.

As I sat down just now to write about me and my buddy Joe’s just completed trip to see the Nationals at Space Coast Stadium in Viera, I thought about this song. It describes, in a way, some feelings I had during our 4th Annual Spring Training Trip. Here are some random thoughts.

When I purchased airfare last month, prices and choices had never been better. Yet worries over the future of many carriers have never been greater. I saw the toll the woes of the industry have taken on some of the airline employees. Give ‘em a break and a smile if you can.

We talked with some of the locals in Viera. It’s a growing place, attracting retirees as well as NASA and Air Force folks. There’s not a lot in the vicinity of the ballpark but a lot is on the drawing boards. There’s a development map at the park, located to your left after you pass through the main ticket gate.

The excitement among Washington fans is remarkable. The Nats may not even finish above 500 but just being able to root, root, root, for the home team is enough for now.

Met and chatted with Bruce and Ellen Van Buren, a friendly couple originally from D.C. Thank you Bruce for your stories about seeing the Senators at Griffith Stadium and Ellen for your kindness and jovial spirit.

Weather-wise, the law of averages caught up to us. We had super conditions in ‘02 and ‘03 in Phoenix and in northern Florida last year. This year, a rain out on Wednesday. The blue skies returned on Thursday and Friday with some wind.

On Friday afternoon we saw an Atlas 5 rocket (Communications Satellite) blazing its way into orbit. I was reminded of the heady days of the space race in the 60s. I was 12 in ‘69 and remember staying up late to watch Neil Armstrong step on the moon. A few years later, me, my Mom and my sister drove to Florida and took a tour of the Kennedy Space Center.

Tip of the hat: Washington Post beat writer Barry Svurlga and his eats reviews at his blog notes. We enjoyed the food at Panera Bread (soups, sandwiches, pastries) and the seafood at Bonefish Willy’s. The two places are polar opposites regards appearance, atmosphere and proximity to the ballpark. The chow at both, however, is excellent. (Panera is about a mile from Space Coast Stadium while BW’s is down towards Melbourne).

Note: As noted by Jeff at District of Baseball, the map at the Panera website is wrong. It indicates a location in a subdivision about three miles SE of the ballpark. Panera is in a new shopping center that's within site of the ballpark.

John Glenn was once asked what he was feeling right before his first take off into space. He said something about being worried that the rocket had been assembled by a governmental agency that awarded contracts to the lowest bidder.

That’s kind of where the Washington Nationals are. Things are shaky right now but the fans are excited. There’s nothing like watching a lift off.

Mays Field

Back in January 2004, Rich Draper wrote an article entitled Giants New Year Rings in SBC Park.

"The majority of Giants aficionados don't care what the park is called. They just want to see baseball there.. "

I remember sitting down at the kitchen table and telling my wife I thought a lot of Giants fans do care. Pacific Bell Park was corporate but it had a nice flow off the tongue. And it didn’t seem right to be changing the name so soon. Fans buy merchandise and appreciate continuity.

The better half suggested I start a petition or something. I posted my two cents worth and that was that. But a year later, enter Ed Batista. He started a blog and a cause - Mays Field. I'm late in the game in recognizing his effort but I really like it. Mays was my childhood hero and the main reason I became a Giants fan. He's Mr. Giant and deserves such an honor and recognition.

So good luck Ed. I plan on buying one of the hats and I wholeheartedly support your effort. I also like Giants Park or Giants Field, but since you created the site and the cause, I’ll sign your dotted line.

Say Hey! Say Mays Field!! The fans do care!!!

The Giants is Old

You’ve seen the jokes – Team for the ages, AARP, Sun City, Social Security Card Night, The Old Men and the City, Turn Back the Clock.

The Giants 2005 projected lineup would be 35.875 years old . (I believe the math was done by Bill Arnold of Sports Features Group, but I wasn’t able to find a website). This would make them the oldest starting eight in major league history.

Andrew Baggarly, Staff Writer for Inside Bay Area, draws a parallel with other older teams. Dave Smith, at SABR-L, adds to the discussion.

I examined all games from 1958-2004 and did the following. For each game, I determined the age of each starting player as of that date (pitchers excluded). That is, I did not use July 1 or some other cutoff, but the actual age. I then tabulated all those ages for the season for each team and calculated the average. I enclose here the 10 oldest and 10 youngest from these results. I presume the team abbreviations will be self-explanatory.

Oldest

BAL 1998 33.9
SFN 2003 33.2
SFN 2002 33.1
BAL 1999 33.0
CAL 1982 33.0
ARI 2001 33.0
CAL 1985 32.9
NYA 2004 32.8
BAL 2000 32.7
PHI 1983 32.7

Youngest

MON 1975 24.8
BOS 1966 25.2
MON 1976 25.2
CLE 1973 25.2
OAK 1968 25.3
SDN 1972 25.4
KC1 1967 25.4
SDN 1973 25.5
BOS 1967 25.6
ATL 1978 25.6

Alan Schwarz is also working on a column on this subject. Don’t be surprised if the adjacent ad features a spot for an Oldies But Goodies station. Yea I know, the jokes are getting old…