Juan Marichal by Juan Marichal

Author:Juan Marichal
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Voyageur Press
Published: 2011-04-14T16:00:00+00:00

WILLIE MAYS WAS THE GREATEST PLAYER EVER. THE WAY HE PLAYED THE GAME, WITH BOTH HIS HEART AND HIS HEAD, IS one thing that made him great. He had that special instinct in the outfield where, at the sound of the ball on the bat, he knew right away where to go. He used to run and even turn his back and get to the ball so it landed right in his glove in front of him, belt high. He had that basket catch. To do that you have to have instinct, and Willie was almost perfect with that.

He could hit. He could run. He could throw. And he didn’t need any coaching when he was running the bases. He knew how far he could go when somebody hit the ball to left field. He knew if he could go to second or go to third when someone hit it to right field. He played the game so well, and he knew how to play every opponent. That was his greatest strength. Willie made my career easy. When I was pitching, Willie and the catcher and I held a three-man meeting. He told us how to pitch each individual. He knew where he was going to play them.

Off the field and in the locker room Willie was shy, very shy. But he was very generous, especially to the guys who weren’t making much money. Because he was Willie Mays, lots of people gave him stuff for free. They invited him places. They gave him free clothing. Willie got everything for free. In the clubhouse if someone needed gloves or shoes, they would go to Willie. In those days, a regular player might only get two gloves or two pairs of shoes for the season. Willie got whatever he wanted. A lot of people wanted to use his bats. Whoever wanted a bat got one. He was the type of guy who would take the whole team to a men’s clothing store, and everyone would leave with at least one suit. The stores gave Willie anything he wanted.

He could have had a free meal anywhere he wanted to go, but Willie very seldom went to a restaurant. When we were on the road, he would rather have hotel room service instead of eating out, because everyone would want to see him and talk to him. When we went out with Willie, people got wild. They wanted a picture with Willie. They wanted to get close to Willie. And Willie was shy about that.

Willie was more fun in the locker room, though. He had fun with everybody. He made some jokes, but he really liked to listen to jokes. He laughed so hard at other guys’ jokes. Pitchers Ray Sadecki and Mike McCormick were always joking, and they made him roar. They told jokes and played tricks. They made everyone in the clubhouse laugh.

They did crazy things, Ray and Mike. They had a routine where they would come in and pretend to be a dead chicken.

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