Card Tribute: Juan Marichal

The Hall of Famer had a long and successful career with the Giants. The Dominican Dandy was overshadowed by Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson, but he was one of the greats. This card tribute covers Juan's entire career (except for a traded card in 1974). Marichal was traded from the Giants after the 1973 season. His 1974 Topps card was a Giants' card and he got a traded card at the end of the year. Topps didn't print a card of Marichal in 1975 (he finished up with the hated Dodgers).

1961 Topps #417

1962 Topps #505

1963 Topps #440

1964 Topps #280

1965 Topps #50

1966 Topps #420

1967 Topps #500

1968 Topps #205

1969 Topps #370

1970 Topps #210

1971 Topps #325

1972 Topps #567

1973 Topps #480

1974 Topps #330

Make sure you vote for your favorite Juan Marichal card on the poll on the right.

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Juan Marichal really had a high leg kick!

1968 Topps Giants - part 4 (pitchers)

#85 Gaylord Perry

• Gaylord Perry was 16-15 with a 2.45 ERA in 38 starts
• Perry was second on the club with 19 complete games

#205 Juan Marichal

• Juan Marichal had perhaps his best season in 1968 but was overshadowed by Bob Gibson
• Marichal was 26-9 with a 2.43 ERA in 38 starts
• Juan completed 30 of his 38 starts in 1968

#494 Ray Sadecki

• Ray Sadecki went 12-18 with a 2.91 ERA in 36 starts

#169 Bob Bolin

• Bob Bolin was 10-5 with a 1.99 ERA in 34 games
• Bolin started 19 games and relieved in 15 others
• Bob pitched for the Giants from 1961-1969 before being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for two players. The 1968 season was Bolin's best year.

#400 Mike McCormick

• Mike McCormick fell off quite a bit from his 1967 Cy Young Award season.
• McCormick was 12-14 with a 3.58 ERA in 38 games (28 starts).
• Mike's ERA+ was only 83 (league average would be 100).

#9 1967 NL Pitching Leaders

• Mike McCormick is on this card because he led the NL with 22 wins in 1967.

#11 1967 NL Strikeout Leaders

• Gaylord Perry finished third in the NL with 230 strikeouts in 1967.
• Jim Bunning led the league with 253 strikeouts and Ferguson Jenkins finished second with 236.

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1971 Topps Giants - Part 4 (pitchers)

#140 Gaylord Perry

• Gaylord Perry was 16-12 with a 2.76 ERA in 37 starts in 1971.
• Perry started and lost game 1 of the NLCS. He allowed five runs in  nine innings (the Giants lost 5-4).
• Perry and Frank Duffy were traded to the Cleveland Indians for Sam McDowell after the 1971 season.

#325 Juan Marichal

• Juan Marichal was 18-11 with a 2.94 ERA in 37 starts in 1971.
• Marichal started and won the final game of the 1971 season on September 30. The win clinched the NL West title for the Giants.
• Juan was the winning pitcher in game 3 of the NLCS. He started the game and allowed one run in a complete-game 2-1 victory. It was the only game the Giants won in the series.

#108 John Cumberland

• John Cumberland started the 1971 season as a relief pitcher. After pitching in 22 games as a reliever John was placed in the staring rotation in late June. 
• Cumberland was 9-6 with two saves and a 2.92 ERA in 45 games (21 starts) in 1971.
• John started and lost game 2 of the NLCS. He allowed three runs in three innings pitched.
• The 1971 season was the peak of John's career. He was traded from the Giants after starting the 1972 season 0-4 with an 8.64 ERA. Cumberland pitched for several major and minor league teams from 1972-1974.

#621 Ron Bryant

• Ron Bryant was 7-10 with a 3.79 ERA in 22 starts for the Giants in 1971. 
• He allowed one run in two innings pitched in game 2 of the NLCS.

#251 Frank Reberger

• Frank Reberger was 3-0 with a 3.92 ERA in 13 games (7 starts). He wasn't used in the NLCS. 
• Frank was with the Giants as a swingman for the 1970 season and pitched a little for the Giants in 1972. He spent most of his time from 1971-1974 pitching for the Giants' AAA Phoenix club.

1972 Topps Giants - Part 6 (in action)

#712 Bobby Bonds

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#36 Jerry Johnson

#50 Willie Mays

#166 Chris Speier

#186 Ron Bryant

• When was this picture taken?
• Bryant pitched at home twice against the Cardinals (April 19 and July1)
• On April 19 Ron came in as a reliever in the top of the first inning. Bryant led off the bottom of the 3rd and struck out. He led off the bottom of the 5th with a single. It is doubtful that it was a bunt single. In the bottom of the 6th Bryant came up with two out and nobody on base and grounded out to second base. The Giants won the game 4-2 and didn't bat in the bottom of the 9th. It is doubtful that this picture was taken on April 19.
• On July 1 Bryant started the game and lasted 4 2/3 innings. In the bottom of the third inning Bryant came up with a runner on first base and nobody out and hit into a force play. This may have been a foul bunt attempt by Bryant during this at bat. Ron was removed from the game before his spot came up in the batting order again, so the bottom of the third in this game may be when this picture was taken.

Dick Dietz

#444 Ken Henderson

#568 Juan Marichal

#694 Alan Gallagher

Do y'all have any speculation on when these other plays occurred?

Vote in the poll on which of these cards is your favorite. There are several great action shots here!

1972 Topps Giants - Part 4 (pitchers)

#567 Juan Marichal

• Juan Marichal had a huge crash in 1972. He went 6-16 with a 3.71 ERA in 24 starts. Marichal had surgery to repair a lumbar disc after the 1972 season. Juan would pitch one more season with the Giants before being sold to the Boston Red Sox after the 1973 season.

#185 Ron Bryant

• Ron Bryant was the ace of the Giants' staff in 1972. He went 14-7 with a 2.90 ERA in 35 games (28 starts).

#682 Mike McCormick

• Mike McCormick didn't pitch for the Giants in 1972. He had been signed as a free agent before the 1972 season and pitched for a while for AAA Phoenix. McCormick announced his retirement from the Giants on June 16 but later pitched for several minor league clubs in an attempt to come back. He never made it back to the major leagues and retired for good after the 1973 season.

#327 Steve Stone

• Steve Stone was 6-8 with a 2.98 ERA in 27 games (16 starts) in 1972. 

#720 Sam McDowell

• "Sudden" Sam McDowell was acquired by the Giants for Gaylord Perry after the 1971 season. McDowell went 10-8 with a 4.33 ERA in 28 games (25 starts) in 1972. He missed about six weeks from mid-July to late-August with a sore arm. McDowell started the 1973 season with the Giants but was sold to the New York Yankees because the Giants couldn't afford to pay him (Ex-Giant Lauds Giants - June 16, 1973 St. Petersburg Times).

#232 Jim Barr

• Jim Barr was a reliever for the first part of the 1972 season and was placed in the starting rotation in late June. Barr was 8-10 with two saves and a 2.87 ERA in 44 games (18 starts) in his first full season.

1962 Topps Giants - Part 4 (pitchers)

# 429 Billy O'Dell

• Billy O'Dell was 19-14 with a 3.53 ERA in 43 games (39 starts). He started and lost game 1 of the World Series and earned the save in game 4. O'Dell also pitched the 8th and 9th innings of game 7.

#538 Jack Sanford

• Jack Sanford led the Giants with 24 wins. He was 24-7 with a 3.43 ERA in 38 starts. Sanford started three games in the World Series -- he won game 2 and took the loss in games 5 and 7.

#505 Juan Marichal

• Juan Marichal was 18-11 with a 3.36 ERA in 36 starts and earned the save in his only relief appearance. Juan started game 4 and had a 2-0 lead after four innings. He struck out attempting to bunt and injured his hand in the top of the 5th. He was replaced by Bobby Bolin in the bottom of the inning.

#260 Billy Pierce

• Billy Pierce was 16-6 with a 3.49 ERA in 30 games (23 starts). He started two games in the World Series. Billy took the loss in game 3 and was the winning pitcher in game 6.

#107 Mike McCormick

• Mike McCormick was 5-5 with a 5.38 ERA in 28 games (15 starts). He wasn't used in the World Series.

1969 Topps Giants - Part 4 (pitchers)

Juan Marichal (#370) was the staff ace and had a great year. He had a 2.10 ERA and was 21-11 in 36 starts.

Ron Herbel (#251) was 4-1 with 1 save and a 4.02 ERA in 39 games (4 starts).

Joe Gibbon (#158) was 1-3 with 2 saves and a 3.60 ERA in 16 games. Gibbon was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 10 for Ron Kline.

Frank Linzy (#345) was the main man out of the bullpen. He was 14-9 with 11 saves and a 3.64 ERA in 58 appearances. He averaged almost two innings per appearance.

Ray Sadecki (#125) was 5-8 with a 4.23 ERA in 29 games (17 starts)