On this date (May 15) in 1978, Mike Marshall made his first appearance on the mound for my hometown Minnesota Twins. He came on in the ninth inning (in relief of Greg Thayer) with a runner on first, one out and the Twins and Orioles tied at 6-6. Marshall closed out the ninth, tossed a scoreless tenth and got the win on a Willie Norwood walk-off, three-run homer in the bottom of the tenth inning.
Mike Marshall pitched a record 208 1/3 innings in relief in 1974.
That Marshall would be successful in relief was no surprise, nor was the fact that the “closer” would pitch more than an inning. However, his appearance on the mound was in itself a bit unexpected. Marshall had endured a disappointing 1977 (which included a mid-season team change) and had also undergone back surgery late in the year (as well as knee surgery before the 1977 season). He let it be known that he was retiring as a player. Marshall was, however, coaxed out of retirement (in May of 1978) by Twins’ Manager Gene Much. Was it a good decision? Well, Marshall saved 21 games (and won ten) for the Twins over the remainder of the season – and the following year (as a Twin) led the American League in saves and set the still-standing AL record for appearances in a season by a reliever (89).
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Before, we get a look at Mike Marshall’s overall career on the bump, let me note that 1978 wasn’t the only time Mike Marshall contemplated “early retirement.” And, if he had followed through on either occasion, the MLB record books would look a bit different,
Mike Marshall – A Career that was “One for the Books.”
Marshall was a multi-sport (baseball, football and basketball) athlete in high school. He was offered a baseball scholarship by Michigan State University, but signed (in 1960) as a free agent with the Phillies. (Reportedly there was some contention over the size of the scholarship.)
Marshall started his professional career as a shortstop, where he showed promise at the plate. Between 1961 (at age 18) and 1964, he was promoted every season, moving form Class D to AA. His best season was 1963, for the Class A Magic Valley Cowboys, where he hit .304, with 14 home runs, 76 RBI and ten stolen bases in 107 games.
The grind of everyday play, however, put significant stress on a childhood back injury and, in 1965, Marshall took his shortstop’s arm to the mound – which proved to be a fortuitous move. On May 31, 1967, Marshall made his major-league debut – for the Detroit Tigers. That season, he pitched in 37 games, going 1-3, with 10 saves and a nifty 1.98 earned run average.
Thus began Mike Marshall’s major-league odyssey. One that would last 14 seasons, put him on the mound for nine teams, survive one contemplated retirement and one announced retirement, and etch his name into the record books. Oh, and along the way, he would pursue his education part-time. (He would eventually earn a trio of degrees including a Ph.D. in Kinesiology. Ironically, from the same university whose scholarship he declined.)
By the end of 1973, Marshall had six MLB seasons on his resume (Tigers, Pilots Astros, Expos) – as well as a reputation for being both opinionated and outspoken. At this point in his MLB career, he had a 40-48 record with 85 saves and a 3.21 earned run average. In the 1973 season (Expos), he had led the NL in games pitched (a then modern-era record 92), games finished (73) and saves (31). Still, after the season, Marshall indicated he was contemplating retirement in order to work full-time on his doctorate. That, and perhaps his attitude (more than his aptitude), were among the likely factors that contributed to his trade to the Dodgers. The rest, as they is history – and historic.
A Diverse Repertoire, Particularly for a Reliever
Mike Marshall had a live fastball, slider, sinker and the pitch that built his career – a killer screwball.
In 1974, as a Dodger, he put up the grand-daddy of all relief seasons – becoming the first reliever to win the Cy Young Award and setting the still-standing record for appearances with 106 and innings pitched in a season in relief at 208 1/3. He finished the season 15-12, with a league-topping 21 saves and a 2.42 ERA. Marshall was called on to go more than one inning in 74 games (68.5 percent of the time); and toiled three or more innings 22 times. A few other facts about Marshall’s remarkable season:
- In 1974, Mike Marshall pitched 208 1/3 innings in relief. In 2019, only six MLB starting pitchers toiled for more innings (led by Justin Verlander with 223). And, in 2019, no MLB relief pitcher reached 100 innings.
- Marshall’s longest stint came on August 19, when he came on in the seventh inning of a 7-7 game against the Cubs – and went six innings, earning the win as the Dodgers topped the Cubs 8-7 in twelve innings.
- From June 18 to July 3, Marshall relieved in 13 consecutive regular-season games –an MLB record later tied (1986) by the Rangers’ Dale M0horcic.
How the Game Has Changed
In 1876 (according the Baseball-Reference.com), Jim Devlin pitched (started) all but the final game of the National League’s Louisville Grays’ season (a record 68 consecutive games pitched in) and finished 66 of them. One season later, he started and finished all 61 of the Grays’ games – the only pitcher ever to pitch all of a team’s innings in a season. In those two seasons, Devin logged a total of 1,181 innings. Side Note: Sadly, Devlin’s career was cut short when he was banned after the 1877 season, as the result of a game-fixing scandal.
- From May 17-24, 1974, Marshall pitched eight straight days (no off days in that period).
- On July 7, Marshall picked up a pair of saves, as the Dodgers swept a doubleheader from the Expos. Marshall pitched 1 2/3 innings in Game One and came back to go three innings in Game Two.
By the end of the 1977 season, it appeared Marshall’s MLB career was over. His saves were down (just 28 saves over the 1975-77 seasons); his ERA was up (from 2.42 in 1974 to 3.29 in 1975, 3.99 in 1976 and 4.75 in 1977); he had endured a rib cage injury, as well as knee and back surgery; and there was speculation that his vaunted screwball had taken a n irreversible toll on his arm, After the 1977 season he decided to retire as a player. That is until a call from Gene Mauch – who Marshall respected as a manager (and who had proven, while managing Marshall in Montreal, that he could deal with Marshall’s at times contentious personality and unorthodox approach to the game). As Marshall said later, Mauch was the one baseball man he couldn’t say no to.
Earlier, I touched on Marshall’s first (1978) season in Minnesota. In his second Twins’ campaign (1979), Marshall – at age 36 – made the record books again, setting the AL record for appearances by a reliever (89 -tied by Mark Eichhorn in 1987) and total appearances in a season (90). Yes, he started one game. He led the AL in saves (32) and put up a 2.65 ERA. He pitched 142 2/3 innings and pitched more than one inning in 50 of his 89 relief appearances; three or more innings ten times. After that AL record-setting campaign, Marshall pitched just two more MLB seasons (Twins/Mets) appearing in a total of 38 games (4-5, with one save and a 4.41 ERA).
Thus is the saga of Mike Mike Marshall, whose final MLB line as 97-112, 3.14, with 188 saves, 724 appearances (24 starts), 1,386 2/3 innings pitched, 52 walks, 880 strikeouts, two All Star selections and one Cy Young Award. He led his league in mound appearances four times, games finished five times and saves three times. He finished in the top five for the Cy Young Award four times and in the top-ten for league MVP three times. He pitched at a time when relievers arrived early and stayed late – and he set the standard for closers willing to work overtime.
For a past post on other MLB fireman who came to work early and stayed late, as well as some statistics that illustrate the changing role of relievers, click here.
Primary Resources: Baseball-Reference.com; “Mike Marshall, the Best and the Brightest,” Ron Fimrite, Sports Illustrated, July 2, 1979; “43 Years Ago: Mike Marshall Wins Cy Young,” David Schoenfield, ESPN, November 6, 2014.
Baseball Roundtable Disclaimer: The MLB records referenced in this (and previous) posts have the potential to change as Major League Baseball recognizes and incorporates Negro League records from 1920-46 into the MLB record book.
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