Cy Young Profile: Mike Marshall, 1974

Pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers

Age:  31

1^st season with Dodgers

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’10” Weight: 180 

Prior to 1974:

A native of Adrian, Michigan, Marshall suffered a back injury at age 11 when a car he was riding in was hit by a train. He pitched in high school and while playing sandlot baseball but following his high school graduation in 1960 he was signed for a $20,000 bonus by the Philadelphia Phillies as a shortstop. The bonus went to finance his education at Michigan State University. As an 18-year-old with Dothan of the Class D Alabama-Florida League in 1961, he batted a respectable .264 with 15 doubles, 7 home runs, and 51 RBIs in 118 games. But he had difficulty with fielding due to his chronic back problem and committed 53 errors. Moving up to the Bakersfield Bears of the Class C California League in 1962, he again hit well at .282 but totaled 68 errors and a mediocre .896 fielding percentage. The next two seasons were more of the same as he could hit and steal the occasional base while committing lots of errors in the field. Believing that pitching would put less stress on his back, he sought to make a position change that the Phillies questioned. With Chattanooga of the Class AA Southern League in 1965, he saw his first professional action as a pitcher and went 2-4 in eight appearances with a 3.12 ERA. Moving to Eugene of the Class A Northwest League later in the season, he pitched in 36 games and produced a 6-5 record with a 3.51 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 59 innings. Sold to the Detroit Tigers in 1966, Marshall was assigned to the Montgomery Rebels of the Southern League and made a deal with manager Wayne Blackburn to play at shortstop for the first month and then pitch out of the bullpen the second month to determine Marshall’s most promising path forward. Despite the fact that he was hitting well toward the end of his month at short, Blackburn gave Marshall his turn at relief pitching and over the course of 51 appearances he turned in an 11-7 tally with a 2.33 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 108 innings. Advancing to the Toledo Mud Hens of the Class AAA International League in 1967, Marshall was called up to the Tigers in May and pitched well out of the bullpen as Detroit contended with three other teams in a hot AL pennant race. He appeared in 37 games and posted a 1-3 record with 10 saves, a 1.98 ERA, and 41 strikeouts in 59 innings with only three blown saves. Two of the blown saves came in key late-season games against the White Sox, which soured manager Mayo Smith on him. Marshall was sent back to Toledo in 1968 where he began to develop a screwball to go along with his fastball and slider. He started in 28 of his 31 appearances and compiled a 15-9 record with a 2.94 ERA and 190 strikeouts. By this point he had also earned his master’s degree in exercise physiology from Michigan State (his master’s thesis title was “An Investigation of the Association between Sexual Maturation and Physical Growth and Motor Proficiency in Males”) and was continuing with his doctoral studies which caused him to develop his own training methods and pitching philosophy apart from what his coaches and managers advised. Moving on to the expansion Seattle Pilots in 1969, Marshall was used primarily as a starting pitcher and went 3-10 with a 5.13 ERA and was criticized for his unconventional pick-off move, in which he threw following a clockwise turn (considered to be a “wrong” turn). It may have been the “wrong” move to his manager, but it proved to be effective. Sold to the Houston Astros in the offseason, he ran afoul of manager Harry Walker for continuing to throw the screwball and was back in the minors for a time before being traded to the Montreal Expos midway through the 1970 season. Marshall pitched in 24 major league games for Montreal and was 3-7 with three saves and a 3.48 ERA. Handed the closer role in the bullpen in 1971, he started well, endured a slump, and finished up as one of the better short relievers in the NL with a 5-8 tally, 23 saves, 4.28 ERA, and 85 strikeouts in 66 appearances. 1972 was better, as he led the league with 65 appearances, that produced a 14-8 record, 18 saves, 1.78 ERA, and 95 strikeouts. In 1973 Marshall led the NL once again in games pitched (a then-record 92) as well as saves (31) while producing a 14-11 tally with a 2.66 ERA and 124 strikeouts. He placed second in NL Cy Young voting. Having gained a reputation as an eccentric player who disdained hero worship and refused to sign autographs as well as being perceived as intellectually arrogant, his conditioning methods had made him into a tireless reliever who was also highly effective. In the offseason, the Expos traded him to the Dodgers for veteran outfielder Willie Davis. Marshall assured Dodger manager Walt Alston that he could pitch as often as Alston wanted to use him unless he indicated he wasn’t able to go.

1974 Season Summary

Appeared in 106 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 106 [1] (Set MLB record)

Games Started – 0

Complete Games – 0

Wins – 15 [12, tied with four others]

Losses – 12 [19, tied with six others]

PCT - .556

Saves – 21 [1]

Shutouts – 0

Innings Pitched – 208.1

Hits – 191

Runs – 66

Earned Runs – 56

Home Runs – 9

Bases on Balls – 56

Strikeouts – 143 [16]

ERA – 2.42 [4]

Hit Batters – 1

Balks – 3 [5, tied with thirteen others]

Wild Pitches – 5

League-leading games pitched were +30 ahead of runner-up Larry Hardy

League-leading saves were +6 ahead of runner-up Randy Moffitt

Midseason Snapshot: 11-4, ERA - 2.31, G – 66, SV – 13, SO – 86 in 121 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 5 (in 3 IP) vs. NY Mets 7/14, (in 6 IP) at Chi. Cubs 8/19

 

10+ strikeout games – 0

Batting

PA – 36, AB – 34, R – 2, H – 8, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 2, BB – 0, SO – 3, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .235, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 2, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 44

Put Outs – 9

Assists – 33

Errors – 2

DP – 4

Pct. - .955

Postseason Pitching: G – 7 (NLCS vs. Pittsburgh – 2 G; World Series vs. Oakland – 5 G

GS – 0, CG – 0, Record – 0-1, PCT – .000, SV – 1, ShO – 0, IP – 12, H – 6, R – 1, ER – 1, HR – 1, BB – 1, SO – 11, ERA – 0.75, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 0

Awards & Honors:

NL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

NL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News

All-Star

3^rd in NL MVP voting (146 points, 1 first place vote, 43% share)

NL Cy Young voting (Top 5):

Mike Marshall, LAD: 96 points – 17 of 24 first place votes, 80% share

Andy Messersmith, LAD: 66 points – 5 first place votes, 55% share

Phil Niekro, Atl.: 15 points – 1 first place vote, 13% share

Don Sutton, LAD: 12 points – 1 first place vote, 10% share

Al Hrabosky, StL: 9 points – 8% share

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Dodgers went 102-60 to finish first in the NL Western Division by 4 games over the Cincinnati Reds. The pitching staff led the league in ERA (2.97) and strikeouts (943). Marshall started off by pitching on five straight days to begin the season and compiled a record 13-game streak on his way to setting a record for pitching appearances, although he blew 12 save opportunities. The Dodgers were up by 10.5 games on July 10 and held off the Reds the rest of the way to secure the NL West title. Won NLCS over the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3 games to 1, helped by 1B Steve Garvey’s four-hit, two-home run performance in Game 4. Lost World Series to the Oakland Athletics, 4 games to 1, with Marshall giving up a game-winning home run in relief in the decisive Game 5.

Aftermath of ‘74:

Having received a $100,000 contract a rib injury disabled Marshall for 10 weeks in 1975, and while once again an All-Star, he slipped to 58 appearances and a 9-14 record with 13 saves and a 3.29 ERA. Unpopular with many sportswriters and others connected with baseball for his seeming arrogance as when he declared “I know more about pitching than anyone in the game or anyone who’s played the game”, he had few sympathizers as his fortunes took a downturn. In the offseason he became involved in a legal battle at Michigan State over his unwillingness to follow university guidelines on reserving space in the intramural center for his training program. The Dodgers dealt him to Atlanta during the 1976 season after he had lost his closer role in the bullpen to knuckleballing RHP Charlie Hough. Knee surgery brought an early end to his season, and he finished with a combined record of 6-4 in 54 appearances with 14 saves and a 3.99 ERA. Following a run-in with manager Dave Bristol in 1977, Marshall was sold to the Texas Rangers who had him start four games, but knee trouble ended his season in June. Heading into 1978 as a free agent at age 35 and on the verge of receiving his Ph.D., Marshall indicated that he was ready to retire, although he maintained his workout routine. Gene Mauch, his former Montreal manager, was now with Minnesota and invited him to work out for the Twins. He joined them in mid-May and went on to pitch out of the bullpen in 54 games, producing a 10-12 record with 21 saves and a 2.45 ERA. “Iron Mike” followed up with an excellent season in 1979, setting an American League record with 90 appearances and leading the league with 32 saves. He also had a 2.65 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 142.2 innings pitched and placed fifth in league Cy Young voting. Marshall ran afoul of Twins management in 1980 due to his work as the team’s player rep and Mauch consigned him to mop-up duty. With his performance tailing off, he was let go and was unable to catch on with another team until he was signed by the New York Mets in 1981 following the players’ strike. Appearing in 20 games he went 3-2 with a 2.61 ERA. Released after the season, Marshall was finished as a major league reliever. He appeared in one game with Edmonton of the Pacific Coast League in 1983 and went on to pitch in sandlot leagues until he was 56. For his major league career, he pitched in 724 games with a 97-112 record, 188 saves, a 3.14 ERA, and 880 strikeouts in 1386.2 innings pitched. Appearing in 7 postseason games, all in 1974, he was 0-1 with a save and 11 strikeouts in 12 innings. He led the NL or AL in saves a total of three times and was a two-time All-Star. With the Dodgers he was 28-29 with 42 saves, a 3.01 ERA, and 246 strikeouts in 380.1 innings. An outcast from organized baseball, Marshall died in 2021 at age 78.

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Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.  

Rookie of the Year: Bake McBride, 1974

Outfielder, St. Louis Cardinals

Age:  25

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 6’2”    Weight: 190

 

Prior to 1974:

Arnold Ray McBride, a native of Fulton, Missouri, was the son of a Negro League pitcher nicknamed “Bake” and so he came to be called “Little Bake”, which eventually was shortened to “Bake”. In a high school with no baseball team, he was a three-sport star competing in football, basketball, and track, and severely injured his ankle at one point. Moving on to Westminster College, he excelled in track and joined the baseball team as well. Although inexperienced, he showed an aptitude for baseball where his hitting and speed were impressive. McBride dropped out of college after two years (although he later returned and received a degree), but following a tryout with the Cardinals, they chose him in the 1970 amateur draft. Initially assigned to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, he batted .423 in 17 games and finished the year at Modesto of the Class A California League where he hit .294 in 26 games. Still with Modesto in 1971, McBride batted .303 with 19 doubles, 5 triples, 8 home runs, 54 RBIs, and 40 stolen bases. Promoted to the Arkansas Travelers of the Class AA Texas League in 1972, he earned a further promotion to Tulsa of the Class AAA American Association. For the year he hit a combined .322 with 17 home runs, 58 RBIs, and 42 stolen bases. Back with Tulsa to start 1973, he was called up to the Cardinals in July and over the course of 40 games batted .302. He came into 1974 as the likely starting center fielder.

 

1974 Season Summary

Appeared in 150 games

CF – 144, PH – 8, PR – 1

 

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

 

Batting

Plate Appearances – 625

At Bats – 559

Runs – 81

Hits – 173 [13]

Doubles – 19

Triples – 5

Home Runs – 6

RBI – 56

Bases on Balls – 43

Int. BB – 9

Strikeouts – 57

Stolen Bases – 30 [11]

Caught Stealing – 11 [11,tied with Bobby Bonds & Larry Bowa]

Average - .309 [8, tied with Reggie Smith]

OBP - .369 [19]

Slugging Pct. - .394

Total Bases – 220

GDP – 7

Hit By Pitches – 13 [2]

Sac Hits – 5

Sac Flies – 5 [19, tied with nineteen others]

 

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 12, HR - 5, RBI – 29, AVG – .292, OBP - .350

 

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) vs. Chi. Cubs 5/18, (in 10 AB) at NY Mets 9/11 – 25 innings, (in 7 AB) at Philadelphia 9/13 – 17 innings, (in 5 AB) at Philadelphia 9/14

Longest hitting streak – 12 games

Most HR, game – 1 on six occasions

HR at home – 4

HR on road – 2

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 3 vs. Chi. Cubs 5/19

Pinch-hitting/running – 3 for 7 (.429) with 2 R, 2 SB, 1 BB & 1 RBI

 

Fielding

Chances – 408

Put Outs – 395

Assists – 9

Errors – 4

DP - 1

Pct. - .990

 

Awards & Honors:

NL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

21^st in NL MVP voting, tied with Richie Hebner, Pitt. & Lynn McGlothen, StL. (2 points, 1% share)

 

NL ROY Voting:

Bake McBride, StL.: 16 of 24 votes, 67% share

Greg Gross, Hou.: 7 votes, 29% share

Bill Madlock, ChiC.: 1 vote, 4% share

 

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Cardinals went 86-75 to finish second in the NL Eastern Division, 1.5 games behind the division-winning Pittsburgh Pirates while leading the league in stolen bases (172). The Cardinals got off to a 6-1 start, survived a 1-13 July stretch to remain in contention, and finished at 18-10 to just come up short of the NL East title.

 

Aftermath of ‘74:

Despite spending three weeks on the disabled list with a shoulder injury in 1975, McBride batted .300 with 9 triples and 26 stolen bases. The Cardinals had a mediocre season in 1976 and McBride, who was an All-Star for the only time in his career, was finished in August due to a knee injury that required surgery. Playing in 72 games he hit .335 with 10 stolen bases. Still dealing with lingering shoulder problems in 1977, and unhappy under new manager Vern Rapp, McBride was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in June. Inserted in right field, he provided a big boost to the defending NL East champions, batting .339 in 85 games, with 11 home runs, 41 RBIs, and 27 stolen bases as the Phillies again finished atop the division. Dealing with nagging injuries in 1978, his average dropped to .269, although with a .315 OBP, and he still accounted for 10 home runs and 28 stolen bases along with 49 RBIs. “Shake n’ Bake” appeared in a career-high 151 games in 1979 and hit .280 with 12 triples, 12 home runs, 60 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases. The Phillies returned to the top of the NL East in 1980 and McBride hit .309 with 33 doubles, 10 triples, 9 home runs, and 13 stolen bases, finishing tenth in league MVP voting. In the World Series triumph over the Kansas City Royals, he contributed a .304 average and a home run. Dealing with injuries during the strike-shortened 1981 season, McBride hit .271 in 58 games. With the Phillies revamping their roster, he was dealt to the Cleveland Indians for 1982. An eye infection sidelined McBride after just 27 games, at which point he was hitting .365. A tear to his right rotator cuff during 1983 limited him to 70 games in 1983, after which the Indians let him go. McBride joined the Oklahoma City 89ers of the Class AAA American Association in 1984 but retired after 32 games. For his major league career, he batted .299 with 1153 hits that included 167 doubles, 55 triples, and 63 home runs. He scored 548 runs and compiled 430 RBIs and 183 stolen bases. With the Cardinals he batted .307 with 439 hits, 220 runs scored, 50 doubles, 19 triples, 18 home runs, 141 RBIs, and 75 stolen bases. Appearing in 22 postseason games, McBride hit .244 with 3 home runs, 8 RBIs, and two stolen bases. He became a minor league coach with the Mets and Cardinals following his playing career. 

 

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league. 

 

MVP Profile: Steve Garvey, 1974

First Baseman, Los Angeles Dodgers

Age:  25

5^th season with Dodgers

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’10” Weight: 192

Prior to 1974:

A native of Tampa, Florida, Garvey excelled at football and baseball at Chamberlain High School. Rejecting an offer from the Minnesota Twins, who selected him in the 1966 amateur draft, he went on to Michigan State University, where he hit impressively but had a poor throwing arm at third base, where he was also hindered by a football injury. Chosen by the Dodgers in the 1968 amateur draft, Garvey signed and was assigned to Ogden of the Rookie-level Pioneer League where he batted .338 with a league-leading 20 home runs and 59 RBIs in 62 games. He was named to the league’s All-Star team. In 1969 Garvey advanced to Albuquerque of the Class AA Texas League where he hit .373 in 83 games with 14 home runs and 85 RBIs. He received a late-season call-up to the Dodgers and got one-hit in three plate appearances. Garvey started the 1970 season with the Dodgers, but after getting off to a poor start was sent to Spokane of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League where he batted .319 with 15 home runs and 87 RBIs which led to his return to LA where he finished up with a .269 average in 34 major league games. With the Dodgers in 1971, Garvey had a poor year at third base, committing 14 errors in 79 games at the position while batting .227 with 7 home runs and 26 RBIs in a season in which he suffered a broken wrist. His batting production improved to .269 with 9 home runs and 30 RBIs in 1972 while he led all NL third basemen in errors with 28. With his career at a crossroads with the Dodgers, Garvey started off the 1973 season as a pinch-hitter and occasional left fielder until injuries forced the move of first baseman Bill Buckner to left field. Garvey, who had played some first base in the minors, took over at the position and over the course of 114 games hit .304 with 8 home runs and 50 RBIs. He remained set at first base for 1974 and became part of a long-lasting infield with second baseman Dave Lopes, shortstop Bill Russell, and third baseman Ron Cey.

1974 Season Summary

Appeared in 156 games

1B – 156

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 685 [10]

At Bats – 642 [5]

Runs – 95 [12, tied with Cesar Cedeno & Dave Lopes]

Hits – 200 [3]

Doubles – 32 [9]

Triples – 3

Home Runs – 21 [12, tied with Bobby Bonds]

RBI – 111 [3]

Bases on Balls – 31

Int. BB – 4

Strikeouts – 66

Stolen Bases – 5

Caught Stealing – 4

Average - .312 [7]

OBP - .342

Slugging Pct. - .469 [10]

Total Bases – 301 [4]

GDP – 8

Hit by Pitches – 3

Sac Hits – 1

Sac Flies – 8 [7, tied with Cesar Cedeno, Tony Perez & Reggie Smith]

Midseason snapshot: HR – 15, RBI – 65, AVG - .313, OBP - .342

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Most hits, game – 5 (in 5 AB) vs. Chi. Cubs 8/28

Longest hitting streak – 9 games

HR at home – 8

HR on road – 13

Most home runs, game – 2 (in 5 AB) at Cincinnati 4/17, (in 3 AB) at San Francisco 5/23

Multi-HR games – 2

Most RBIs, game – 4 at Cincinnati 4/17, vs. Cincinnati 5/22, at Chi. Cubs 8/20

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding

Chances – 1606

Put Outs – 1536

Assists – 62

Errors – 8

DP – 108

Pct. - .995

Postseason: 9 G (NLCS vs. Pittsburgh – 4 G, World Series vs. Oakland – 5 G)

PA – 40, AB – 39, R – 6, H – 15, 2B – 1,3B – 0, HR – 2, RBI – 6, BB – 1, IBB – 1, SO – 4, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .385, OBP - .400, SLG - .564, TB – 22, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: BBWAA

Gold Glove

All-Star (Started for NL at 1B)

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Steve Garvey, LAD: 270 pts. - 13 of 22 first place votes, 80% share

Lou Brock, StL.: 233 pts. – 8 first place votes, 69% share

Mike Marshall, LAD: 146 pts. – 1 first place vote, 43% share

Johnny Bench, Cin.: 141 pts. – 42% share

Jim Wynn, LAD: 137 pts. – 41% share

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Dodgers went 102-60 to finish first in the NL Western Division by 4 games over the Cincinnati Reds while leading the league in runs scored (798), home runs (139), RBIs (744), and slugging (.401).The Dodgers were up by 10.5 games on July 10 and held off the Reds the rest of the way to secure the NL West title. Won NLCS over the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3 games to 1, helped by Garvey’s four-hit, two-home run performance in Game 4. Lost World Series to the Oakland Athletics, 4 games to 1.

Aftermath of ‘74:

Garvey followed up in 1975 by batting .319 with 210 hits, 18 home runs and 95 RBIs, and in addition to again being an All-Star, finished eleventh in league MVP balloting. He also received a second Gold Glove in recognition of his defensive play at first base. The media and team promoted his ultra-clean All-American image, which generated some resentment among teammates. His consistent bat produced seasons of .317 with 13 home runs and 80 RBIs in 1976 and .297 with 33 home runs and 115 RBIs in 1977, a year in which the pennant-winning Dodgers became the first major league team with four batters slugging 30 home runs (the others being Reggie Smith with 32 and Ron Cey and Dusty Baker with an even 30 apiece). Festering teammate resentment led to a locker room fight with RHP Don Sutton in 1978, a year in which Garvey hit .316 with a NL-leading 202 hits along with 21 home runs and 113 RBIs. He placed second in league MVP voting. He remained a consistent performer in 1979 by batting .315 with 204 hits, 28 home runs, and 110 RBIs, and 1980 by hitting .304 with 200 hits, 26 home runs, and 106 RBIs. Following another solid campaign in the strike-shortened 1981 season in which Garvey batted .283 with 10 home runs and 64 RBIs, he came through with some timely hits in the postseason including two home runs in the NLDS triumph over Houston and another as the Dodgers defeated Montreal in the NLCS. In the World Series, in which they defeated the Yankees, Garvey hit .417. In 1982, the final year of his six-year, $1.971 million contract, he had a relative off-year, hitting .282 with 176 hits, 16 home runs and 86 RBIs. His string of eight consecutive All-Star selections was snapped. In the offseason he signed a five-year, $6.6 million contract with the San Diego Padres. In 1983, at the end of July the durable Garvey’s streak of 1207 consecutive games, as well as his season, came to an end due to a broken thumb. He ended up hitting .294 in 100 games with 14 home runs and 59 RBIs. He was an All-Star in 1984 despite a statistical decline to .284 with 8 home runs and 86 RBIs. The Padres won the NL West and the league pennant thanks to Garvey’s MVP performance against the Cubs in the NLCS in which he batted .400 with a game-winning home run and seven RBIs. He had one last All-Star season in 1985 in which he hit .281 with 17 home runs and 81 RBIs. After a year of further decline in 1986, Garvey’s career came to an end during the 1987 season due to a shoulder injury. Overall for his major league career, Garvey batted .294 with 2599 hits that included 440 doubles, 43 triples, and 272 home runs. He further scored 1143 runs and compiled 1308 RBIs. With the Dodgers the numbers were .301 with 1968 hits, 333 doubles, 35 triples, 211 home runs, 852 runs scored, and 992 RBIs. He had six 200-hit seasons with LA, leading the NL twice and was a 10-time All-Star (8 with the Dodgers). He also received four Gold Gloves. In 55 postseason games he hit .338 with 11 home runs and 31 RBIs and was a two-time NLCS MVP (1978 with LA and 1984 with San Diego). The Padres retired his #6. Garvey’s ultra-clean image was damaged in retirement by scandals in his personal life, but nothing could dim his steady and consistent playing career.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.