Bob Costas - The West Coast

B Network remembers with Bob Costas the West Coast major-league baseball came to the West Coast in 1958 and since then the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers have been among the most colorful franchises in the game tonight we'll look back at three California stories that are part of baseball history one involves Dodger hall-of-famer Don Drysdale and his connection to the late Senator Robert Kennedy another is what happened that bizarre August day in 1965 when the Giants Juan Marichal attacked the Dodgers John Rose Burrell with a bat but we begin with a night at the LA Coliseum more than a half century ago at the time it drew the largest crowd to ever see a baseball game why they were there is where the story begins fifty years ago this month an extraordinary event took place at the Coliseum in Los Angeles lighting up with individual light 93,000 people came to a baseball game that didn't count to honor a player who most of the city's fans had never seen play on his last trip to the mound the city of Los Angeles says hello to him listen somehow that fandom in California caught the spirit of Roy Campanella even though they didn't see him play that is a remarkable thing in sports I don't know of anything that's comparable to that last 19 years old what with my dad I was in college the feeling was electric everybody wanted to help if they had charged triple that game would have sold out on May 7th 1959 the Yankees played the Dodgers in an exhibition game all the proceeds went toward the medical expenses of Roy Campanella the beloved Dodger catcher who 18 months earlier had been paralyzed from the waist down in an automobile accident just a few years earlier campy had been among baseball's biggest stars rocky capture Roy Campanella a 300 hitter for the major part of the season Alone's is one of the game's better back staff Roy Campanella was the catcher for one of the most glamorous teams in history the Brooklyn Dodgers he was an all-star eight straight seasons from 1949 through 1956 he played on five pennant winning teams including the World Series champions of 1955 who defeated the Yankees can't be won three MVPs in a five-year stretch in a 1953 he hit 40 home runs as a catcher a record that lasted for 43 years and with two out Campanella flats a home run and Brooklyn lead through nothing like most players of his generation Campanella had to work in the offseason he owned a business in Harlan and it was there laid on a cold slippery January night in 1958 it can't be locked up and started driving home to Long Island I can never forget that day I was driving in my car and I heard that Roy Campanella had gotten an accident I happen to be the first teammate to see Roy after the accident and walked into the room and here's can't be face down in this wasn't a bed actually was an apparatus - he could be held in because his neck was broken and somehow he looked sideways at me and I got down and looked closely we made eye contact when we did that we could speak but I felt so bad for him I cried to see this powerful guy strong played the game every day never hurt and then to save in a wheelchair like that he couldn't dress himself he can hardly feed himself Roy told me the hardest thing for me is when I wake up in the morning because I cannot move until someone comes puts me in my chair then he began to talk to me about his recovery you know tomorrow he said I'd go to therapy they're gonna help me pick up five pounds with my right hand I'm looking at Roy and I'm saying this guy sure got so many runners this this hand along with the audience only only and he's excited about this step to recovery he's gonna lift five pounds that was campus mmmm he said this to me if God was to say to me you're gonna have to lose some part of your body which one would it be Roy and he said I would tell God my legs he said I wouldn't say my eyes I wouldn't say my mouth I wouldn't say my arms but he said I might shave my legs well you're looking pretty good how do you feel well I feel as good as I look I think I've come a long ways sure it's true I can't walk but I think I can make him fit fab doing that even campanella's attitude was one thing but as the months went on his medical bills became enormous the Dodgers were in Los Angeles by that and the organization came up with a fundraising idea an idea that today sounds unthinkable the Yankees and the Dodgers would play an exhibition game during the season and on May 7th 1959 that game took place the crowd was 90 3103 the largest crowd in baseball history at that time and the anticipation of seeing Roy had us all buzzing waiting for that event before the game Roy Campanella addressed the fans this is something that I'll never forget as long as I live when the fifth inning ended there was one more tribute here's how Vin Scully described what happened next well right now the Coliseum all of the lights will be turned out as peewee Reese wheels the chair that old Roy Campanella we were overwhelmed we all had our hearts in our throats and and I remember tears coming down my face ninety-three thousand people to light a match to Roy Campanella when they turn the lights off and everybody lit candles it was so absolutely one of the most emotional unforgettable moments of my life the lighting around Roy and the outpouring of affection to a player who they never got to see play on their own diamond I was amazing it was like every individual had a way of communicating their feelings to Roy that night let there be a prayer for every right and wherever you are maybe you in silent tribute to Campanella can also say a prayer for his well-being I had no idea in the world that that many sparkles could be in the dark and it was beautiful that night most definitely impacted his life in terms of his recovery when he was in the hospital I'm going through the rehab there were many times where he lost the will to live and to come out and to see ninety-three thousand people you have a tribute like that it renewed his zest for life at that time and it showed him that he still had a place in baseball ten years later campanella's place in baseball was Cooperstown in the early 80s Tommy Lasorda made can't be a coach for the Dodgers and he go to spring training every year he attended virtually every Dodger home game until his death in 1993 Roy Campanella was 36 when he had the accident that paralyzed him he was 71 when he died which means he spent almost exactly half his life in a wheelchair you never saw the chair when you saw Roy you just didn't you saw champion all the years I saw him in that chair I never ever once heard him complain that I'm here living to be able to see thanks and me that night for my dad was so special any time he talked about it you could see it in his eyes his eyes just lit up for so many reasons that evening meant the world to him and he carried it in his heart for the rest of his life a World Series win and Hall of Fame election that was all big stuff to Roy big stuff but when the fans in LA circled him in this night of honoring recognition an outpouring of affection that had to be the biggest night in Roy's life if I could speak to us right now I think he would say that was the peak of his whole baseball life tis a special presentation of MLB Network remembers with Bob Costas the west coast 1968 was baseball's year of the pitcher the examples most frequently cited are Bob Gibson's er a of 1.12 and Denny mcclain 31 victories the only pitcher to win 30 in the last 75 years but there was another remarkable pitching performance that season that sometimes overlooked 1968 was also a presidential election year and that's where our stories intersect on June 4th 1968 Robert Kennedy won the critical California primary a victory that put him in position to win the Democratic nomination for president here is the first thing Kennedy said in his victory speech that night regard to Don Drysdale bitch this their sixth straight shutout tonight and I hope that we have his good fortune in our campaign a few miles from where Kennedy was speaking the Senators friend Don Drysdale had just made baseball history breaking a 64 year old record by pitching his sixth consecutive shutout Don retired about a year later so this was basically his swan song this was his last shot at certain kind of immortality the Dodgers weren't very good in 1968 so their fans put even more of their focus on Drysdale Street and it wasn't just about the record it was also about the guy who was pursuing the crowd definitely got involved because Don was a hero and la Don was very very big in this city the Dodgers came to Los Angeles from Brooklyn in 1958 and Don Drysdale was one of their first big stars and if Hollywood was looking for a baseball leading man Don Drysdale seemed to come from central casting Don was southern California he was raised here it was part of Hollywood he was part you know his mom and dad were raised here in Southern California's dad grew up here Don went to Van Nuys high school with Robert Redford Natalie Wood he was superstar status he's 66 Hollywood good looks he acted he's saying do I look like a guy who would throw a spit ball you look like two guys who would throw it Rossdale was on TV a lot in those days Beverly Hillbillies Donna Reed the rifleman and this classic bit of business from Leave It to Beaver ooh beaver oh yeah yes beaver yes I would do you want to grab my glove for me or something what kind of gloves you have a Warren Spahn well I'll autograph it anyway talking to you boys yeah we yeah we talked to Don Drysdale the connection with Los Angeles was based on more than just glamour and charisma from the late 1950s to the mid 60s Don Drysdale was among baseball's very best pitchers the 23 year old Drysdale won Game three of the 1959 World Series against the White Sox helping the Dodgers win the Fall Classic in just their second year in LA three years later big d1 the sy Young Award with 25 victories to go with 232 strikeouts about that same time Sandy Koufax began his run of pitching dominance and together Koufax and Drysdale became the game's most formidable pitching duo Koufax intimidated batters with the brilliance of his stuff their fear of Drysdale had another aspect to it he was tough when he got on that mound or do you look at it somebody's gonna hit the deck because that's the way he wanted it to be being a base stealer players like to pick on him being a little guy they would beat me up pretty badly yeah and every time somebody fouled me Don would come up to me immediately when I came back to the dollar do you think he meant to do that I said yeah he said when I get it he was kind of how you were glad that he was on your team 1966 proved to be the last of a great four-year run for Drysdale Koufax and the Dodgers they won three pennants and two World Series but Sandy Koufax retired after the 66th season and the Dodgers proceeded to fall apart so when Drysdale began his shutout streak in the spring of 68 the fans and even as teammates attach themselves to Big D we were going nowhere so this is really all we had to play for it the streak began on May 14 with a one-nothing shutout of the Cubs four days later Drysdale again won one to nothing shutouts 3 & 4 followed then came the Giants at Dodger Stadium on May 31st through 8 Drysdale had another shutout going but on the top of the 9th San Francisco loaded the bases with nobody out and the count goes to 2 and 2 on dick Dietz who was a very good hitter very good hitter on the three on the 2 2 pitch Don hits him he starts to go to first harry wendellstat home plate up higher says haha you don't go you made no attempt to get out of the way of the pitch all the Giants are out on the field or coaching staff manager everybody this is going on and on the fans are into it 20 minutes later the pitch was ruled a ball and Dietz eventually flied out then with two outs Drysdale faced pinch-hitter Jack Hyatt who hit a pop-up directly over West Parker's head and I could hear Vin Scully and surround sound because there were so many transistor radios in the stadium saying he's 60 feet from the record and I'm under the ball here in this thinking West don't close your glove too soon and I almost did shut out number five was in the books tries Dale's next start would be on June 4th against the Pirates at Dodger Stadium he'd be looking to break the consecutive game shutout record set by doc white in 1904 June 4th was also the date of the California presidential primary an election so important that the favorite Robert Kennedy had said that if he did not win he drop out of the race many of Kennedy staff including 24-year old speech writer Jeff Greenfield were big baseball fans there was this awareness in the back of some of our minds that apart from the California primary that Drysdale was gold for this record of most most consecutive shutouts that June 4th night against the Pirates Drysdale was dominant again and he went to the 9th with a five nothing lead with two out X Dodger great Maury wills single putting one of the most prolific base stealers of all time at first I can remember the moment right now III over there about for consent of x all of a sudden I realized how important it was to him and I lost that competitiveness that you want to spoil it even if it's your brother and I told the first baseman I say coat time I'm neck of the steel with wills holding the hitter was willie stargell the strike one pitch is a ground ball to Popovich he has it cut Parker Don Drysdale had his record-breaking six straight shut up at roughly the same time the networks declared the winner of the California Democratic primary representative precincts indicate that Senator Kennedy is going to come out with a wide lead local news which was on even in the midst of this election story reported that Drysdale had set this record I said to Frank mankiewicz Robert Kennedy's press secretary Drysdale just said there could might be a nice shout out for the senator when he gives his remarks to begin by by congratulating Don Drysdale my high regard to Don Drysdale minutes after he finished his victory address Robert Kennedy was shot later came this announcement died at 1:44 a.m. today June 6th 1968 Robert Kennedy's funeral was June 8th that same night Don Drysdale took the mound to Dodger Stadium wearing a black armband in honor of his friend Robert Kennedy he needed to in third innings of shutout ball to break the great Walter Johnson's mark of 56 consecutive scoreless innings and from the pits of despair we concentrate on a child's game and particularly Don Drysdales big night in baseball after two scoreless innings Drysdale faced the Phillies Roberto Pena one out away from breaking Johnson's record the 1 2 pitch to Pena swung on a ground ball wide a third it's Boyer who has the chance he's done it drysdale extended that streak to 58 and 2/3 scoreless innings before a Phillies sacrifice fly finally ended it it would be the last great pitching performance of Drysdales Hall of Fame career the following year an aching shoulder forced him to call it quits I'm happy that you join us tonight will there be game number five well we'll have to wait and see to no one's surprise Drysdale became a broadcaster and he was in the Dodger booth in 1988 when Orel Hershiser broke his scoreless innings record they call him the Bulldog here and I think all of you have been able to witness and see why and at least we kept it in the family that's the big thing Drysdale continued calling Dodger games for the next five years then on July 3rd 1993 min Scully came on the air with this never have I ever had to manage to make an announcement that hurts me as much as this one Don Drysdale was found dead in his hotel room a victim of a heart attack - all the Drysdale family our prayers for strength and our tears as well Don Drysdale was 56 three years ago and Myers Drysdale and her children were invited to a special screening of Bobby a movie about the night Robert Kennedy was killed the film refers often to what Don Drysdale accomplished earlier that night that's not just a game okay Don Drysdale has pitched five consecutive shutouts that's a record that has stood since 1904 by dr. Wiedeman Chicago White Sox he's gonna be great tonight man and no kiss well it did affect me a lot especially sharing it with my children and they were still very young when Donnie passed away the boys DJ and Darrin were five and three and our daughter Drew was three months you think about the history of Donnie's life especially that night we knew it was important for them to understand that their father was a part of this history Drysdales night tell me about it six consecutive he's gonna do it tonight not since 1904 64 years No incredible story that has become don drysdale there is one out to go the strike one pitch is a ground ball to Popovich he has it to Parker is a special presentation of MLB Network remembers with Bob Costas the West Coast fighting has always been a part of baseball at least now and then from Ty Cobb to the gas house gang to the brawls between the Yankees and the Red Sox in the 70s benches emptying players mixing it up but what happened in 1965 was something else it included one of the most violent on-field acts in baseball history it occurred in the heat of a close pennant race and came out of one of the most bitter rivalries in the game a rivalry that had begun on the other side of the country a century ago Giants and Dodgers have the greatest rivalry in baseball you could lose 20 straight but don't lose to the Dodgers don't lose to the giant when we caught this that was that was a war even when I was in the mind-links we knew that we weren't supposed to like those guys once you have that dosha brew there it's a hay it started when the two teams were in New York the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers eight miles apart we played the Giants it was 11 in Brooklyn and 11 over in Manhattan so it was all here in New York made it for a heavy rivalry big stars contending teams dramatic moments and when the two teams moved to the west coast the passionate rivalry continued miss Thornton way back in Brooklyn New York and it just escalated all out here I saw a lady and Todd you stadium when we were playing the Giants hitting a man over the head with heel or his shoes because he was rooting for Willie Mays that's our intention was you got the feeling when the deutsches out of town we start getting taints because we know it's gonna be any minutes it's gonna be there a fight and 44 years ago the longtime rivals did in fact have a fight or more precisely a full-scale brawl it was a you couldn't say I'm fine as the fight that was a street fight and what started that street fight was an ugly and isolated moment in which a great player and a good man momentarily lost his mind it was a horrid act nothing like that ever happened in baseball before somebody was ready to light the match Marshall lit the match here in this this is a special presentation of MLB Network remembers with Bob Costas the West Coast in the early to mid 60s the Dodgers and Giants had rosters dotted with future hall-of-famers marichal McCovey Mays Drysdale Koufax and the teams were usually at or near the top of the national league the summer of 1965 was no different in mid-august they were both within a game of first place in a tightly bunched penetration as they headed for a big four-game weekend series in San Francisco all the games would of course be important but everyone was especially looking forward to Sunday's rare matchup between the team's two aces we were waiting for Sunday because Sunday must go fast wasn't gonna fish it gets mighty chopped the great left-hander Sandy Koufax against the Giants 25 year old Dominican right-hander with that distinctive delivery Juan Marichal it would be one of only three times the future Hall of Famers would pitch against each other and the game would in fact turn out to be memorable but not for the reason people thought the opener of the series went to the Dodgers they won eight five in 15 innings thanks in part to a run-scoring single in the 15th by John Rose Burroughs Roseboro had been the Dodger catcher since the team moved to LA and Roseboro makes the spectacular he taken over after Roy Campanella zhh career-ending car accident in 1958 and all-star with the Dodgers Roseboro was known mostly for his defense and his toughness that toughness was about to be severely tested the next night the Giants won five to one to even the series in the fifth inning of that Friday game with Maury wills at bat the chain of events began Maury wheel went to the plate and he faked a bunt the catcher came forward just as I had hoped he would and I took the pitch when I took the pitch I went back and I hit him in the mask that's in fence obstruction I was awarded first place the next inning Myra Lou faked a bunt he did exactly the same he touched Jenna Rose Bowl I'm the umpire did not giving the first base we were mad because the umpires favor the Dodger so now everything breaks us and Roseboro and Juan Marichal were mouthing off to one another that nightmare Italian bite of the Latin guys to eat at his house in that conversation that night at the dinner table I remember that they say the para is instigator say Pharaoh say one because what is talking about you and one say why but oh he was kid is a he said you talking too much in the base that he gonna said you masamori much I got mad he said why is it that about me Marichal would have to wait a day to get the answer on Saturday the Dodgers won 6-4 and that set up Sunday's dramatic series finale August 22nd 1965 Koufax vs Marichal in front of a sold-out Candlestick Park with anticipation in the air Maury wills stepped in against marichal to lead off the game I said to myself lag on the pitch him inside well he saw the ball coming he had Oh way only to to go down and and he's back I was a leadoff here the first pitch right here now they start calling me names from the bench so Romford Lee came up to the plate I threw a pitch homeless and strike zone there was a ball but you know close to the strike zone he went down so he said okay once you play that way we do the same thing in the bottom of the third the leadoff hitter was Marichal Roseboro ask sandy to brush back Marichal and retaliation and that was in Sandy's nature so when one came up John mojo had this plan he said yeah I tell you what give me a curveball down low and inside and when I throw it back to you I get it so that's what we did with Mary Shaw I was all planned we sat on the bench we're going to buzzing he threw a ball from behind so close tipped my ear he said something like you better not hit me with that ball I started after it dusty last thing they talked rosewater waiting after mighty Charlie stuck her over here with the bat anybody else I believe would have stayed on the ground but John Rose where was it was a tough individual so he came back a second time he got hit the second time and I think that's when the blood came out and that's when the brawl began Tito Fuentes who was in the on-deck-circle rushed the mound with a bat in his hand I went with the bat because that's what I got in my hands I went there to finish what one star but I stopped for some reason because I look at this bottle and I saw blood coming out his eyes they got me way down in the bottom and that both team was on top of me somehow I managed to get out of there and but was rather that lunch join and that and that's like and I said to myself you kind of stop this so now how do you stop a ride so I go right to Rosa which is a good friend of mine and I matched his head and all the blood start running down and I stood roles and your eyes out he said we talk about said your eyes out so I put my hand over his eye and blood was running all down his face so we go to the dugout and they brought a cup of towels out now who's gonna hear rosewater nobody can hear it because Willie mace is there if I don't when I been started fighting and Rose was still left with a still have been fighting right now as Willie Mays was tending to Roseboro Marichal was still hot as he tried to convince umpire shag Crawford that Roseboro had buzzed him with the ball Crawford was in no mood to listen the pushing and shoving continued and in the middle of it was the Dodgers left fielder number 41 Lou Johnson John was my first friend I live two blocks for John and when I saw the blood out of John's face my mind just went off I was swinging it everything I don't know white uniform and had it not been for one of their players I would still have been in there and it was feel been in it it was that type of fight the bra lasted a full 14 minutes even without the internet or cable television news of the fight and what marichal had done spread quickly and here's Mike Wallace on the CBS News that night there are all sorts of conflicting versions on why it happened Orlando Cepeda says Marysol told him that catch a Roseboro hit him in the ear with a ball when he threw it back to pitcher Koufax Dodger manager Walter Alston says that's a lot of hogwash Willie Mays says quote you saw what happened at any rate Roseboro was nursing a headache Marsh all faces an almost certain fine and suspensions from the liveliest third inning baseball is had in quite a while this is a special presentation of MLB Network remembers with Bob Costas the West Coast welcome back to MLB Network remembers as we've seen on August 22nd 1965 believing he had been provoked the Giants great pitcher Juan Marichal hit Dodger catcher John Roseboro over the head with his bat a 14-minute brawl followed before order was restored it was now August 23rd and while marichal waited to hear what his punishment would be Roseboro talked for the first time about what had happened the day before the John first day he got a rather serious blow yesterday how are you feeling now I know I feel fine melon and not quite as serious as they made it out to be it's just a little scalp abrasion that bled a lot that song in my opinion it's all over is if if anything has to come of it from me then they can forget it because there never be another incident between Marisol and I unless he makes a mistake and start something and of course I'll be there when it happens but as far as being vindictive or anything like that it's almost forgotten thank you very much John I hope you've had a chance to talk with your family since this happened I imagine they were concerned my wife didn't like my head being bashed open too well but they get over it the next day the league ruled on what marish House punishment would be he was suspended for 8 games which was two starts in those days and he was fine seventeen hundred and fifty dollars which might not seem like much today but was at that time a national league record I'm sure I'm sure of that because when you consider the seventeen hundred and fifty dollars has to be paid out of your own pocket and they have lost the services of a of a great pitcher for two turns I didn't think the fines and suspensions who were adequate because we were all in shock of what happened and we thought it was a terrible incident you know and there was a national outcry that the Giants got off easy I was want to get in trouble over there because I thought the league president was kind of chicken and I had voiced that president was more in Giles while the punishment may not have been severe enough for some people the incident clearly affected marichuy's performance the rest of the 65 season he was 19 and 9 before August 22nd 3 & 4 after his e ra was almost two runs higher the Giants lost the pennant of the Dodgers that season by one game it did affect one down the stretch you can make the claim that if he had won those games the Giants would have been the champion although Marichal remained a great pitcher throughout the 1960's his reputation had taken a major hit it didn't matter that those who saw him everyday knew that marichal act of violence was completely out of character after what happened after what happened III told the whole world how sad I was I regret what I did it was out of character it's a very gentle guy suave spoken that's what made it more shocking I think that it it wasn't the one we knew but to a lot of people it became the one they knew and not surprisingly Marichal was public enemy number one - Dodger fans oh you got roundly booed I mean people were mad and they were reminded about it in the paper every day you know so imagine the reaction when 10 years after wielding that bat in Candlestick Park Juan Marichal signed with the Dodgers the only reason I signed for the dodge right I went back to the Dodger was because I want people to know that I wasn't the type of person that when I heard somebody over the head with a bat the reaction was predictably negative until an old Dodger stepped forward the first one that came out in public and told the Dodger fans to welcome me to Los Angeles Jan Roseboro I really I really never gonna forget that it was the beginning of an unlikely friendship between the two Marichal retired after only two games with the Dodgers and a couple of years later he met up with the long retired Roseboro at an old-timers game there they discussed the incident at length for the first time and shook hands as they left but while Roseboro had forgiven Marichal many baseball writers apparently had not his numbers should have made him a first-ballot hall-of-famer but Marichal did not get in in his first two years of eligibility I believe that anything they prevent want to go into the Hall of Fame in the first try the second try he didn't make it after that can be the only reason because if you look like you say you look at the numbers not too many picture have that Canon you know numbers in in 15 years of service john was angered and he was enraged if you will at the fact that john ik that ron again had been denied that honor bet he saw well deserved barbara Roseboro knew why her husband was so upset he had told her what few others knew at the time that Roseboro thought a good portion of the fault had been his he would tell the story that it was actually he who initiated that particular situation and he took blame for it so he came into my office and said we must do something about this the plan was to have roseboro's family make a public gesture of reconciliation with marichal I invited him to my country to play in a 1 Mary Shaw Golf Classic he was so nice of him to accept my invitation he came to the mannequin with his wife and daughter the media turned out in droves that there was a turning point in these kinds of observations and misunderstandings on the part of the public went down to the Dominican Republic with him for his first golf tournament met his family my family and his family we lived together two separate condos same facility turned out to be a hell of a nice guy not a fighter you know Roseboro a beautiful person because he know what they were doing to wine so he publicly say that he forgot the incident the thing is over and one is a great person so with those wars that was distill for him to marry to the horrified hi kicking right-hander from Dominican Republic one and only one and Mary Zhao thank you the owner which is bent over for me today I accept on behalf of my family my country they put Dominican Republic and all the people who assisted me in making my baseball career a reality overwhelming joy overwhelming joy one would have thought John had perceived such an honor because that's how happy for one he was this is a special presentation of MLB Network remembers with Bob Costas the west coast as the years went by John Roseboro and Juan Marichal stayed in touch even playing in old-timers games together in the late 80s but in 2002 Roseboro who had been in failing health for a while suffered two strokes and was diagnosed with prostate cancer Marichal would call often asking how he was doing and telling Roseboro he was praying for him our family was quite moved at the extent to which he kept in touch and was there to be supportive during those many years during which John was healing by John's reaction it was pretty obvious it was very very moving to the point of Tears on August 16th 2002 John Roseboro died his wife Barbara asked Juan Marichal to speak at her husband's funeral what that question warned was among the first of a home we thought and who responded immediately and so 37 years after standing on the field at Candlestick Park and essentially assaulting John Roseboro with a baseball bat Juan Marichal stood and delivered the eulogy at roseboro's funeral it was amazing and yet it was not at all surprising because these are two gentlemen he and John and my opinion equally we're all the circumstances under which this occurred and were classy enough to put it aside and move on in his eulogy marichal said that he wished he could have had John Roseboro as his catcher he finished by telling the congregation that Roseboro forgiving him was one of the greatest things in his life oh I'm so happy that that happened because I couldn't live with that in my in my heart though we never won the song award Juan Marichal had 243 career victories and 244 lifetime complete games including 30 in one season his lifetime winning percentage was well above 600 and he was a 20 game winner six times when you think about it in all fairness he was right there with exalted nationally contemporaries like Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax these days marichal remains a revered figure in his native dominican republic and a welcome presence in baseball circles including now the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown Johnny Roseboro was 69 at the time of his death soft-spoken and highly respected he was a four-time all-star and an integral part of three Dodger world championship teams and insight into his nature comes from Tim McCarver McCarver was just breaking in with the Cardinals when he was involved in a home plate collision with Roseboro McCarver as the runner Roseboro as the catcher as McCarver recalls it he was out by 10 feet but Roseboro didn't just block the plate he came up the line to meet him the resulting collision was so violent that Leo Durocher then the Dodgers third-base coach and a guy who had been around the game for decades and was renowned for his own take-no-prisoners style said it was the toughest home plate collision he had ever seen Roseboro was shaken McCarver wound up with his face scraped and bloodied the next time he came to the plate Roseboro spoke to McCarver for the first time as Johnny got down into his crouch and McCarver settled into his batting stance Roseboro simply said you are right

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Views: 16,968

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Id: G9wByrH56Zk

Length: 46min 26sec (2786 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 12 2016