The night of Juan and Spahn
Juan Marichal, left, after the game with the homer-hitting Willie Mays (San Francisco Chronicle photo)
San Francisco’s Juan Marichal and Milwaukee’s Warren Spahn each throw 15 scoreless innings 61 years ago today before Marichal’s teammate – the incomparable Willie Mays – ends the game with a homer off Spahn with one out in the bottom of the 16th inning.
Mays’ game-winning homer is the only run in the game and formally ends a Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning game before a crowd of 15,921 at Candlestick Park.
The homer – coming at 12:31 a.m. on July 3 – is Mays’ only hit during a game in which he previously is hitless in five plate appearances with an intentional walk from Spahn.
Juan Marichal after the game with Warren Spahn
The 25-year-old Marichal throws a total of 227 pitches while Spahn, a spry 42, has 200 pitches before Mays launches his 201st pitch over the fence in deep left field.
No one knows for sure how many of the original crowd of 15,921 stay for the entire game, which lasts four hours and 10 minutes before Mays turns Spahn’s first-pitch screwball to him into a souvenir.
The marathon of a game features seven future Hall of Famers – Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews and Spahn for the Braves, and the quartet of Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, Mays and Marichal for the Giants.
Another future Hall of Famer, umpire Jocko Conlon, works at third base, while colleague Ken Burkhart is behind the plate for all 428 pitches.
The Giants believe they first win the game in the bottom of the ninth when McCovey drives a one-out pitch from Spahn high and deep down the line in right field.
First base umpire Chris Pelekoudas, though, calls McCovey’s ball foul, most certainly leaving the Giants to question Pelekoudas’ vision before McCovey returns to the plate and promptly grounds out to Braves first baseman Norm Larker.
“I followed the ball all the way out, but evidently the umpire didn’t,” McCovey says after the game. “As hard as I hit the ball it didn’t have a chance to curve before leaving the ballpark,”
Bonus baseball in the form of extra innings follows for the fans still watching at Candlestick.
Lots of bonus baseball.
Giants manager Alvin Dark soon asks Marichal if he wants someone to replace him on the mound.
Dark asks this of his All-Star pitcher in every inning from the ninth through the 15th inning.
Marichal’s answer always is the same, saying, “Alvin, do you see that man pitching on the other side? He’s 42 and I’m 25, and you can’t take me out until that man is not pitching.”
Marichal later confesses to the Oakland Tribune that he is spent well before Mays ends the game with his homer.
“After I pitched the 16th inning, I walked off slow, waiting for some of the players coming in from the outfield,” Marichal says. “I was waiting for Willie Mays. I said, ‘Willie, this is going to be the last inning for me.’ He said, “Don’t worry, Chico. I’m going to win this game for you.’ ”