| Dr. Mike Marshall's Pitching Coach Services | ||
July 10, 1984 Ocala Star-BannerOcala Star-Banner by Bud Crussell July 18, 1984 Mike Marshall is an articulate man. He doesn't sound or act the way some would like to paint the typical sport jock as being. He doesn't have to rely on four-letter words to explain himself. Tobacco juice doesn't run down his chin nor does he look like he could use a good night's sleep and a shave. To the contrary. He is well-groomed and his 5-foot-9 frame carries his 175 pounds well-proportioned. He is very fluent in the use of the king's language, and expresses himself quite clearly. He is a most unusual athlete. He possesses three degrees from Michigan State University--B.S., M.S. and a Ph.D. He earned his doctorate in the field of exercise physiology, specializing in kinesiology (the study of muscles and muscular movement). Marshall spent 14 years pitching in the Major Leagues. He began his career in the big leagues with the Detroit Tigers in 1967, followed by stints with the Seattle Pilots, Houston Astros, Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins and finally ending his Major League stay with the New York Mets. The Mets released him at the end of the 1981 season. Marshall then joined the faculty of Saint Cloud State University in Saint Cloud, MN, until he took a position with the University of Tampa in January of this year. At Tampa, he was the pitching coach for the school's baseball team. When the head baseball coach's job opened up at St. Leo College, north of Tampa, he applied for the position and got it. He went to work for St. Leo in June. That was also about the time he started pitching for the Tampa Smokers, a team in the Florida Sun Belt Semi-Pro Baseball League. Tuesday night, Marshall was in town to pitch the second game of a doubleheader against the Ocala Wreckers. He still has his stuff, he says. "I still have everything I ever had. I could still pitch in the big leagues. But, nobody will give me a look," Marshall said. He feels his activities as the players' representative while in the Major Leagues is haunting him today. "They don't want me back in baseball. But, I don't have any bitterness. I had a great time, and I would like to still be doing it," Marshall explained. How does he assess the Major Leagues today? "There is still a lot of room for improvement, especially, the opportunties for the individual players. The team owners run the Major Leagues like a closed shop. You hear a lot about the big salaries being paid today, but the salaries are only a small percentage of the revenue the teams receive," Marshall stated. Have you been invited to play in an Old-Timers Game? "Yes, I've been invited a couple of times. But, I don't care to play in them," he answered. What has kinesiology got to do with pitching? "It teaches you to get the most out of what you have, and do it more often. I don't rely on throwing overpowering pitches. "I still have the Major League record for the number of games pitched in one season. In 1974, when I was with the Dodgers, I pitched in 208 innings in 106 games--both figures are still the record today," Marshall said. For this sports writer, I would like to see him have another crack at throwing his good stuff at those Major League batters. |
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