| Dr. Mike Marshall's Pitching Coach Services | ||
1972 Sporting News 2by Ian MacDonald The Sporting News October 21, 1972 It was not a well-kept-secret. It couldn't be--because there was not any other choice. Nevertheless, the 18,136 who took in the finish of the fourth Expo season roared their approval when Mike Marshall was officially announced as the Expos' player of the year at Jarry Park October 4. It was fitting that Mike should have put down the Mets in order in the ninth inning of this final game, even if this game was a loss. The Mets had touched Balor Moore for three runs in the sixth and Jon Matlack and Tug McGraw made those stand for a 3-1 victory. Marshall was around at the finish of many more victories than defeats through the season, however, when the expected starting pitching supremacy failed to materialize. Marshall won 14 games and saved 18. While working in 65 games, he carved an incredibly fine earned-run average of 1.78. The player of the year winner was selected by the five members of the Montreal chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America who covered the Expos' games, home and away. This year the award became particularly meaningful because O'Keefe's Brewery of Canada presented him with a $10,000 El Dorado Cadillac. But before the keys to the car were presented to Marshall, Manager Gene Mauch wanted to say a few words. "I haven't been around as long as Casey Stengel," Mauch said deliberately during the post-game ceremonies, "but I've been around long enough to see maybe 15 or 20 of the best relief pitchers in baseball history. "I truly believe that Marshall is--(Mauch paused as he reached for the proper words)--I know he is the best I have seen. I have never seen a pitcher excel in so many departments of the game. "He is a truly deserving winner of this award." It is difficult to pick a pitcher as the most valuable player on a team and even more so in the case of a relief pitcher. But Marshall was indeed the difference in the Expos being able to challenge for fourth place as recently as three weeks from the end of the season. Marshall was in East Lansing, Mich., the next day conducting a class in physical education as he moved immediately into the studies and practical work which will lead to his doctorate in education at Michigan State. Mike was on the way in his new prize before many of the fans had left. |
||