July 2nd of this year will mark the 50th anniversary of one of the most amazing feats in baseball history.
July 2, 1963 - the day in which the greatest game was ever pitched by opposing pitchers. Warren Spahn was the pitcher for the Milwaukee Braves and Juan Marichal was on the hill for the San Francisco Giants. Here are some facts regarding that game:
- The game went 16 innings and both pitchers pitched the entire game!!
- The game was 0-0 until the bottom of the 16th when Willie Mays hit a home run against Spahn to end it.
- Despite the 16 innings, the game only lasted 4:10.
- Marichal's pitching line: 16 innings, 8 hits, 0 runs, 4 walks and 10 strikeouts
- Spahn’s line was 15 1/3 innings, 9 hits, 1 run, 1 walk and 2 strikeouts
- In the 1960s complete games were common but this game was far and above those standards making this game extraordinary.
- This April a book was published about this game, appropriately named - "The Greatest Game Ever Pitched"
- Here is the boxscore - http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN196307020.shtml
I wish I could get my hands on a video of this game. It would be enjoyable to watch.
Thanks for reading
-Tom
