About this item
The incredible performances of Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn on July 2, 1963, would forever link their names together in baseball history, and this dual biography of these athletes weaves that 1963 contest throughout the narrative in a book that is sure to be a home run with baseball fans everywhere. Even before their epic pitching duel, Marichal and Spahn already had a lot in common. Future Hall of Famers with high-kicking deliveries, they were shaped into winners by character-building experiences in the military. Spahn had been baseball's most winning pitcher in the 1950s, and Marichal would be equally dominant in the 1960s. The Braves' Spahn and the Giants' Marichal began their duel in San Francisco's cold and windy Candlestick Park. Four hours later, the two pitching legends were deadlocked in a scoreless tie when Willie Mays hit a walk-off home run to end the greatest game ever pitched. In between, Marichal and Spahn each threw more than 200 pitches and went 16 innings without relief. Considering today's culture of pitch counts and coddled arms, it proved to be a legendary night that won't be repeated ever again.
About the Author
Jim Kaplan earned a B.A. in history from Yale and an M.A. in journalism from Northwestern before spending three years as a sportswriter and book reviewer for the Minneapolis Star. He was a Sports Illustrated baseball writer for 16 years and has written 14 books on the game. George Will called him the "poet laureate" of fielding. A contract adviser for the National Writers Union (United Auto Workers, Local 1981) and a bridge columnist for the Vineyard Gazette, Kaplan and his wife, poet and critic Brooks Robards, divide their time among Northampton and Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
