On August 22, 1965, Giants pitcherJuan Marichal was involved in a notorious incident that occurred in a game played against theLos Angeles Dodgers. Batting againstSandy Koufax, Marichal felt that Dodger catcherJohnny Roseboro's return throws had flown too close to his head.[6] Words were exchanged, and Roseboro, throwing off his catcher's helmet and mask, rose to continue the argument. Marichal responded by hitting Roseboro's unprotected head with his bat. The benches cleared into a 14-minute brawl, while Giant captainWillie Mays escorted the bleeding Roseboro (who would require 14 stitches) back to the clubhouse. Marichal was ejected, suspended for nine days and fined US$1,750. Roseboro filed a lawsuit, but eventually settled out of court, supposedly for $7,000. Marichal and Roseboro would eventually go on to become close friends, reconciling any personal animosity and even autographing photographs of the brawl.
The image of Marichal raising his bat over his head to deliver a blow to Roseboro was carried in practically every newspaper in the nation and re-printed inLife magazine.[6] Many people protested the apparently light punishment meted out, but as it was it hurt the Giants considerably. They were in a neck-and-neck pennant race with the Dodgers and the race was decided with only two games to play. Marichal's nine-day suspension cost him two pitching turns, and the Giants lost the pennant by two games.
^Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed.,The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
