On July 13, 1965, Juan Marichal's star shone the brightest in a field of the era's greatest pitchers. It was a stacked mound that day in Minneapolis's cavernous Metropolitan Stadium with household names such as Drysdale, Koufax and Gibson all vying for innings. But amidst this avalanche of greatness, Juan Marichal stood strong and showed the National League why he deserved to start on the mound that day.
Throughout the day, he had trouble striking batters out, instead relying on his fielders to get the job done. In the first inning, he managed to place the ball just right for Dick McAuliff, Brooks Robinson and Harmon Killebrew to fly out. The second inning was very similar, but instead of fly balls, he forced Rocky Colavito, Willie Horton and Felix Mantilla to ground out.
Despite the NL being up by five runs, things began to fall apart for the legendary pitcher. Vic Davalillo hit a single to the outfield and just like that, Juan Marichal's bid for a hitless afternoon was snuffed out. Still, his fielders lifted him when he was down, making a double play on Davalillo and Earl Battey in the next at-bat and swiftly putting out Al Kaline to end the inning. When it was all said and done, the National League had won the game 6-5 and Juan Marichal won the All-Star MVP.
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