Just picture that sixteen-inning marathon between Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn in July 1963---Spahn was
no slouch with a high-kick, either:
This book's title may be slightly hyperbolic (there was, after all, Harvey Haddix's May 1959
extra-inning lost perfect game; not to mention Sandy Koufax's 1965 perfect game, on the backside
of which Cub pitcher Bob Hendley damn near threw a no-hitter himself, with the entire game
showing one run and one hit---with the hit not even helping account for the run, the Dodgers
scoring at another point on a walk, a sacrifice, a steal, and a throwing error), but it's as good
as it gets for reviewing the Marichal-Spahn jewel:
Juan Marichal didn't just lead his league in high kicks, he had about ten to twelve different
windups to go with his assorted leg kicks. He was also the no-questions-asked best
righthanded pitcher of the 1960s (yes, he
was just that much better than Bob
Gibson), he was as fun to watch for a fan as he was difficult to hit for a batter, and---
in an era when the Cy Young Award was given to one pitcher across the board---
might have won at least two of the awards that went to Sandy Koufax if Koufax hadn't
been in the league.
