This is not an ode to the outfielder who traded blows with teammate Phil Garner and was placed on the DL for “general soreness”. Tommy Lasorda believed he was soft. That Mike Marshall once instigated a brawl at Candlestick Park on April 22, 1987, and sat out the next day. To be fair to that Mike Marshall, those two incidents (brawl and general soreness) were were not correspondent, and no one less than Kirk Gibson once called him an “outstanding teammate”, without whom he couldn’t have accomplished what he did in 1988.
This is the only footage I could find of that Mike Marshall instigating said brawl at Candlestick. If anyone has video footage of the event, please, holla at your boy. As you can probably glean just from this photo, the Giants did not appreciate that Mike Marshall hitting a go-ahead, 3-run home run in the 10th inning, but they really didn’t approve of that Mike Marshall doing that thing. That Mike Marshall also once completely obliterated Duane Kuiper in the field, as the future play-by-play man attempted to field a bouncer to second. You know, now that I think about it, maybe I should create an ode to that Mike Marshall.
The Mike Marshall I am immortalizing in prose today is the Mike Marshall who won the Cy Young Award in 1974. From this moment forward, if I refer to Mike Marshall, I am referring to this Mike Marshall.
Check out this stat line: 15-12, 2.42 ERA, 21 SV, 208 IP, 106(!!) games pitched, ZERO starts.
These are video game numbers. I dream of a pitcher like this existing in 2024. For nerds, his WAR was 3.0, which wasn’t even his best single season WAR posting (that was in 1979, with the Angels, when he pitched in 90 games, saved 32, and went 10-15 at the age of 36).
All this is impressive, but not one of those stats are as impressive as his swarthy mustache and sideboards.
And yet, his mustache and boards are still not his most impressive accomplishment. While Marshall was an active pitcher in the Major Leagues, he completed his PHD at Michigan State. He became a doctor of kinesiology in 1978, while holding down an active roster spot on the Minnesota Twins. Doctor Marshall. Here is his dissertation.
Dr. Marshall would not sign autographs for children because he believed it encouraged them to admire the wrong sorts of people. Children should admire their teachers, not jocks. Dr. Marshall also served as a consultant (whatever that means) to Minnesota Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton.
After winning the Cy Young Award in 1974 (the first reliever to do so), Marshall was involved in one of the oddest sports trifectas that ever chanced to exist.
Marshall entered Game 2 of the 1974 World Series with a 3-0 lead. Modesto/Oakland A’s legend Joe Rudi singled into center field to score both of Dr. Marshall’s inherited runners, bringing the tying run to the plate in the form of reigning October hero Gene Tenace. Marshall struck him out.
Oakland manager Alvin Dark made a move to replace Rudi at first base with Herb Washington. Washington was a world-class college sprinter. Oakland owner Charlie O. Finley signed him to be a “designated runner”. Indeed, Washington played two full seasons in the major leagues and never had an at-bat. Finley had fantasies of Washington leading the world in stolen bases, but the man had never set foot on a baseball field prior to signing with the A’s. He stole 29 bases in 1974, but got caught 16 times. Washington had no instincts, Marshall had a Cy Young Award and a philosophy. Watch and listen, as Vin Scully expounds:
The trifecta of the moment was observed and expressed, to Washington, by Dodgers first baseman Steve Garvey. Marshall, Washington and Garvey were all Michigan State alumni. What Garvey may not have known, though, is that Washington and Marshall were at MSU at the same time, and Marshall was an adjunct professor for a kinesiology course in which Washington was a student.
A Doctor of Kinesiology with a Cy Young Award in his pocket. It’s mind-boggling that Dr. Marshall was never called upon to coach. He wanted to, but he was never the kind of guy to toot his own horn. Dr. Marshall’s reputation as a curmudgeon may have had something to do with his lack of job offers. He would not be cowed, he knew that he had the answers. After all, 106 games pitched should speak for itself. If we choose to look at Marshall’s stats through a modern lens, the question we must all ask is: how did Marshall turn his arm to rubber?
Dr. Marshall was eager to share with us, if we would just listen. No one would, so Dr. Marshall did exactly what the type of guy who gets his doctorate while playing baseball would do: he started his own school.
Get a load of these analytics, narrated by the doctor himself:
Dr. Marshall passed away in 2021. We may not intend to, but we will always honor his genius.
MAD props to Jason Turbow and his book, Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic: Reggie, Rollie, Catfish, and Charlie Finley’s Swingin’ A’s. Also, Bill Plaschke, Jeff Passan, Fangraphs, and Baseball Reference.
A Fool Speaks Loudest 