Marichal on Tiant

A handful of Hall of Famers were in attendance at the Dallas Hilton Anatole when it was announced that Ron Santo would be joining their exclusive club. Among them was Juan Marichal, who took a few minutes to talk about one of his stylish contemporaries, fellow right-hander Luis Tiant. Among the Golden Era Committee candidates who fell short of election, Tiant won 229 games over a career that spanned 19 seasons. Marichal, who entered the Hall in 1983, won 243 from 1960-1975.

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Marichal on Tiant: “I played with Luis in 1974. He was the type of player who gave 150 percent every time he went to the mound. It’s sad that I haven’t seen him going in [the Hall of Fame]. He deserves it. It’s too bad that only Ron Santo got in.”

On Tiant‘s style compared to his own: “I used to kick my leg, he used to turn his back. I used to love to watch him pitch. I was very aggressive in the way I attacked hitters and he was that type of pitcher. He had great command, good control, good knowledge of the strike zone. He turned the hitters off by doing that — by turning his back to them. Hitters don’t like to see that.

“[Pitching backwards] was also his style. That’s why he was so great. A hitter couldn’t sit down and wait for one pitch, because they didn’t know what was going to come. I was similar. If we knew that a guy was a high ball hitter, or a breaking ball hitter or a fastball hitter, we had an edge.”

On the secret to his success: “When I was on the mound, what was in my mind was to try to a good job. To do that — to give 100 percent on the field — you have to be in great shape. That was my thought. If I was in good shape, I would be able to do a good job. That’s why [I was able to throw so many pitches]. Maybe it was the way I grew up. I walked a lot and I threw rocks.”