San Francisco Giants all-time rotation: Which five starting pitchers make the cut?

Juan Marichal:

May 16, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; View from outside O

The Dominican Dandy

Juan Marichal‘s trademark leg kick is immortalized outside of AT&T Park and is embedded into baseball history.

Donning the orange and black for 14 seasons (1960-1973), Marichal posted a 2.84 ERA as a Giant. He was top 5 in innings pitched (3,443.2 IP) and second in shutouts (52) and games started (446) in Giants history. Marichal was top 4 in career WAR as well. He was also the winningest pitcher in the 1960s winning 191 games in that span. His control was great averaging just slightly over 1.8 walks per 9 innings pitched.

In addition to being a fantastic regular season pitcher, Marichal was even more spectacular during the All-Star Game. A 9 time selection, he had a 2-0 record with a 0.50 ERA in eight appearances.

Though he tossed a no-hitter, it’s another outing of Marichal’s that has earned the title “Greatest Game Ever Pitched.” In July of 1963, Marichal faced off with Hall of Famer Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves. Both pitchers threw 15 shutout innings (Spahn eventually gave up a homer to Willie Mays in the 16th). Marichal gave up 8 hits in 16 innings while striking out 10.

I have Marichal second in my rotation because I think every rotation should have an edge. Now, that’s not to say that every other pitcher isn’t a fierce competitor, but Marichal strikes fear into his opponent. As a batter, he once attacked Dodgers catcher Johnny Roseboro…with his bat! Now, I don’t condone senseless violence, but that’s an edge that I’d like for my rotation.