John Roseboro - Marichal Incident

Marichal Incident

Roseboro was involved in an altercation with Dominican pitcher Juan Marichal during a game between the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park on August 22, 1965. Earlier in the game, Marichal had knocked down Dodgers Maury Wills and Ron Fairly with brushback pitches. When Marichal came up to bat against Sandy Koufax in the third inning, Koufax wouldn't retaliate, but his catcher, Roseboro, apparently wanted to. Roseboro returned Koufax's pitches dangerously close to Marichal's face (which is extremely difficult for a right-hand throwing catcher to do to a right-handed batter). Then, the future Hall-of-Famer hit Roseboro over the head with his bat three times, opening a two-inch gash that sent blood flowing down the catcher's face that would require 14 stitches. The Giants and the Dodgers, who nurture a heated rivalry with each other dating back to their days together in the New York market, and who were both strong contenders for the 1965 National League pennant, cleared their respective benches and began a 14-minute brawl on the field before Koufax, Giants captain Willie Mays and other peacemakers restored order.

After the incident, NL president Warren Giles suspended Marichal for nine games, fined him $1,750, and also forbade him from traveling to Dodger Stadium for the final, crucial two-game series of the season. The Giants won both of them in the middle of a 14-game streak, but the Dodgers got even hotter later to win the pennant, and eventually defeated the Minnesota Twins in seven games in the World Series.

Marichal contended Roseboro returned a pitch close to his nose. Roseboro said he did nothing to provoke Marichal's reaction and later sued him for $110,000 in damages. Marichal didn't face the Dodgers again until May 3, 1966. He got the victory and Roseboro hit 1 for 4.

Dodger fans were angry at Marichal for several years afterward, and reacted violently when he was signed by the Dodgers in 1975. However, by this time Roseboro had forgiven Marichal, and personally appealed to the fans to calm down.

After years of bitterness, Roseboro and Marichal became close friends in the 1980s, getting together occasionally at Old-Timers games, golf tournaments and charity events. Roseboro also personally appealed to the Baseball Writers Association of America not to hold the incident against Marichal after it passed him over for election to the Hall of Fame four years in a row. Marichal did get elected in 1983, and thanked Roseboro in his induction speech.