Juan Marichal Perfect Game Bid 1964
Juan Marichal: Giants Hall of Famer with a legendary perfect game bid in 1964.
Juan Marichal (born October 20, 1937), nicknamed "The Dominican Dandy", is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants (1960–73) and is a Hall of Famer known for his high leg kick, pinpoint control, and 1964 perfect game bid against the Houston Colt .45s.
Quick Facts
- Location
- Candlestick Park, San Francisco
- Pitcher
- Juan Marichal (Giants)
- Opponent
- Houston Colt.45s
- Outcome
- No-Hitter (2-0 Win)
- Key moment
- 8th Inning: Perfect Game Bid; 9th Inning: Broken by Error
Lore & Background
Bumgarner played high school baseball at South Caldwell High School in Hudson, North Carolina, where he helped his team win the 2007 North Carolina 4A State Championship. He was selected with the tenth overall pick in the 2007 MLB draft by the Giants. He and Buster Posey both made their major league debuts in 2009 and established a reputation as one of the best batteries in recent MLB history. Bumgarner pitched eight scoreless innings in Game 4 of the 2010 World Series, helping win the franchise's first World Series in San Francisco and the first since 1954.
Two years later, Bumgarner pitched seven more scoreless innings in Game 2 of the 2012 World Series. In 2014, Bumgarner started the Wild Card Game, throwing a shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He set the World Series record for the lowest earned run average (ERA) in 2014, with an ERA of 0.25, and took home the Most Valuable Player award as the Giants won their third World Series during his time in San Francisco.
Reader's Guide
Bumgarner won 18 games (his career-high) in 2014 and 2015, and he had a career-high 251 strikeouts in 2016. That fall, he threw his second Wild Card Game shutout, blanking the New York Mets. Injuries interrupted the first half of his next two seasons, a dirt bike accident in 2017 and a broken finger in 2018. Bumgarner led the NL in games started in 2019, with a 9–9 record. A free agent after that season, he signed a five-year, $85 million contract with the Diamondbacks. In 2021, he pitched the third complete game shutout with no hits in franchise history in a seven-inning win over the Atlanta Braves. Arizona released Bumgarner in April 2023. He had a career 134–124 record, 3.47 ERA, and 2,070 strikeouts.
Did You Know?
- Marichal threw a no-hitter against the Houston Colt .45s on June 15, 1963, but his most famous near-perfect game came on June 21, 1964, when he lost a perfect game bid on an error in the 9th inning.
- He was a 10-time All-Star and won 243 games in his career, the most by any Dominican-born pitcher at the time of his retirement.
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