Mike Marshall: 1968-69 Mayagüez Indios to Record-Setting AL and NL Reliever (Part I)

It is rare for a Cy Young Award winner to earn a Ph.D. in exercise physiology while still an active big leaguer. Mike Marshall did just that, becoming the first reliever in big league history to win the Cy Young—with the 1974 Los Angeles Dodgers—four years before obtaining his 1978 Ph.D. from Michigan State University, where he secured his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Per his SABR bio by Warren Corbett, Marshall worked out with weights and ran long distances instead of sprints; believed in pitching more, not less; threw a screwball; refused to sign autographs for the majority of his career since he didn’t think ballplayers should be heroes; and, his pickoff move turned the wrong way. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/mike-marshall/ Marshall was the shortest Cy Young recipient at 5-8 and one-half inches, the same height as the shortest 20^th century U.S. President, Harry S Truman. Part I will focus on Marshall’s career through the 1969 Seattle Pilots. Part II covers his 1970-1976 timeframe with Houston, Montreal, and the Dodgers. Part III concludes with Atlanta, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins, and New York Mets, 1976-1981.

Detroit Tigers and their Connection to Mayagüez Indios, 1958-59 to 1978-79

Marshall was born in Adrian, Michigan, on January 15, 1943. In his senior year at Michigan State (1964-65), Mayagüez formalized a working agreement with the Detroit Tigers that continued into the 1970s. The 1964-65 Indios, managed by Bob Swift, featured a pitching staff with Dennis McLain, Joe Sparma, and Bob Dustal, among others. Willie Horton, Jim Northrup, and Mickey Stanley were a trio of young Tigers who plied their trade with Mayagüez. The Indios reached the Puerto Rico Winter League (PRWL) finals before losing to Santurce. The 1965-66 Indios did win the PRWL crown, topping Ponce in the finals. Wayne Blackburn managed them; Northrup won the batting title; Detroit prospect Billy Graham won 12 games; and lefty John Hiller pitched well. Northrup and Stanley returned; Ray Oyler played shortstop, and Fritz Fisher contributed to the mound. Between 1958-59 and 1963-64, a handful of Tigers reinforced Mayagüez, ranging from pitchers Bob Bruce, Pete Burnside, and Jerry Davie in 1958-59 to Phil Regan (1960-61), to Gates Brown and Fred Gladding in 1963-64. Jorge Colón Delgado’s superb 2019 book, documenting the history of the Mayagüez Indios, and Héctor Matías Marrero’s 2023 book with Mayagüez team rosters and stats are must-reads on this franchise, 1938-39 to present. The Detroit-Mayagüez connection ended after the 1978-79 season when Jack Morris and Sheldon Burnside pitched to Lance Parrish with the Indios.

Parrish recalled: «To be able to play with Jack down there just kind of furthered our growth as pitcher and catcher in the Detroit organization. I caught him a couple of seasons in the minors, then had the opportunity to catch Jack in the PRWL, and then worked with him in the majors. It was another step in our progression as major leaguers.»

Marshall, a Cy Young Winner 50 Years Ago

Table I includes all Cy Young winners who pitched in the PRWL, beginning with Bob Turley (1958 Yankees) and concluding with David Cone (1994 Royals). Ten AL recipients and eight NL recipients had PRWL experience. Dwight Gooden pitched for San Juan a decade after winning his 1985 Cy Young. Mike Cuéllar continued pitching in the PRWL after sharing the 1969 Cy Young Award with Detroit’s McLain. Just three big league relievers who pitched in the PRWL—Mike Marshall (1974 Dodgers), Willie Hernández (1984 Tigers), and Mark Davis (1989 Padres)—won the Cy Young. Marshall was a starter for 1968-69 Mayagüez; Hernández started and mostly relieved for PRWL teams; Davis only relieved for 1992-93 San Juan, trying to resurrect his career after his 1989 Cy Young NL season. Turley recalled that the New York Yankees scouted him in the PRWL before a 17-player trade between Baltimore and the Yankees a year later, sending Turley to the Bronx Bombers. «Puerto Rico was crucial for my career,» stated Turley. «I took the bus from my San Juan apartment to Sixto Escobar Stadium and later [1962-63] pitched one game for San Juan at the new stadium [Hiram Bithorn] before returning home.»

Table I: Cy Young Winners who pitched in the PRWL

Pitcher	AL Teams	PRWL Teams	Pitcher	NL Teams	PRWL Teams
Bob Turley#	1958 NYY	1953-54 San Juan Senators	Sandy Koufax#	1963 LAD	1956-57 Caguas-Rio Piedras
Jim Lonborg	1967 BOS	1970-71 San Juan	Koufax#	1965 LAD
Dennis McLain	1968 DET	1964-65	Koufax#	1966 LAD
McLain	1969 DET	Mayagüez Indios	Bob Gibson	1968 SLC	1961-62 Santurce
Mike Cuéllar	1969 BAL	Various (1963-83)	Gibson	1970 SLC	Crabbers
Vida Blue	1971 OAK	1984-85 Arecibo	Fergie Jenkins	1971 CHC	1964-66 Caguas
		and Ponce Lions
Jim Palmer	1973 BAL	1968-69 Santurce	Steve  Carlton	1972 PHI	1965-67 Ponce
Palmer	1975 BAL		Carlton	1977 PHI
Palmer	1976 BAL		Carlton	1980 PHI
Pete Vuckovich	1982 MLW	1975-76 Ponce	Carlton	1982 PHI
LaMarr Hoyt	1983 CWS	1980-81 Ponce	Mike Marshall	1974 LAD	1968-69 Mayagüez
Willie Hernández	1984 DET	Various (1973-83)	John Denny	1983 PHI	1974-75 Arecibo
David Cone	1994 KCR	1985-86 Arecibo	Dwight Gooden	1985 NYM	1995-96 San Juan
		1986-87 Ponce	Mark Davis	1989 SDP	1992-93 San Juan

#Koufax and Turley won it for both leagues. Sources: PRWL books and publications, and Baseball-Reference.

Marshall in the Minors, 1967 Detroit, and 1968-69 Mayagüez

Philadelphia signed Marshall as an amateur free agent on September 13, 1960, but he did not pitch in their minor league system until 1965. The Phillies sold him to Detroit on April 11, 1966. Marshall went 11-7 in 51 relief appearances for the 1966 Montgomery (Alabama) Rebels, managed by Wayne Blackburn, long-time Indios manager, along with Cal Ermer. Marshall’s 2.33 ERA and 1.27 WHIP were in 108 innings. Daryl Patterson and Tom Timmermann mostly started for Montgomery and were part of a deep minor-league pitching pool in Detroit’s system. «I was taking off-season college courses at Southern Illinois-University/Carbondale,» recalled Timmermann, who was 26. Timmerman finally made it to the majors in 1969, at age 29, following several fine winter seasons for the Caguas Criollos. Patterson surfaced on Detroit’s 1968 World Series championship ballclub and could start or relieve. «The competition for a spot with Detroit was intense, then,» recalled Patterson. «I later [1971-72] pitched for a PRWL championship team—Ponce Lions.» Twenty-eight-year-old third baseman Eddie Olivares, Brooklyn-born of Puerto Rican parents, played for Montgomery.

Marshall was promoted to Detroit in 1967 and was retroactively credited with ten saves in 37 games. He was 1-3 with a 1.98 ERA and 1.20 WHIP, recording 41 strikeouts to 20 outs. Yet Detroit demoted him to the 1968 Toledo Mud Hens (83-64), winners of the regular season title by a half-game over the Columbus Jets (82-64). Marshall, primarily a starter, made the 1968 International League (Triple-A) All-Star Team, going 15-9, with a 2.94 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. He started 28 of 31 games. In 211 innings, he fanned 190 and walked 52. Dick, «The Monster Radatz,» began and relieved for Toledo, who also featured Dick Drago (15-8) and Jim Rooker (14-8) in the rotation. Twenty-year-old prospect Les Cain went 7-5 in 13 starts, while Timmerman’s 35 games included seven starts.

Detroit sent Marshall to Mayagüez as a starter for skipper Wayne Blackburn. Marshall went 6-6, with a 3.06 ERA for the fifth-place Indios, with a 2.4 strikeout-to-walk ratio (63-26), in 103.1 innings. Blackburn opined that Marshall had a «solid work ethic,» albeit «his routine was completely different than other PRWL hurlers.» Ike Brown, Les Cain, and Ozzie Virgil Sr. were three of Marshall’s teammates. Brown was the last Negro Leaguer to play in the PRWL when he suited up for Mayagüez in 1968-69 and 1969-70. Santurce, led by 33-year-old rookie skipper Frank Robinson, won a franchise-best 49 games, per Table II. Sparky Anderson managed San Juan to a fourth-place finish, followed by an upset win over arch-rival Santurce in the best-of-seven semi-finals. «Santurce was loaded,» said Anderson. «They had the best club, with George Scott, Julio Gotay, Leo Cárdenas, Joe Foy, Elrod Hendricks, Paul Blair, Jim Palmer, Juan Pizarro, and Rubén Gómez…» Palmer (5-0, 2.79 ERA) was Santurce’s fourth starter, having missed half of the season due to shoulder issues, behind Pizarro (8-5, 1.93), Gómez (9-1, 2.05), and Wally Bunker (8-4. 2.06). Other league managers were: Rocky Bridges (Ponce), Luis «Tite» Arroyo (Caguas), and Vic Power (Arecibo).

Table II: PRWL 1968-69 Regular Season Standings and Most League Wins

Team	W-L	PCT	GB	Pitcher	Team	Wins
Santurce Crabbers	49-20	.710	–	Bill Kelso	Ponce	10
Ponce Lions*	43-25	.632	5.5	Rubén Gómez	Santurce	9
Caguas Criollos	37-33	.529	12.5	Dennis Ribant	Ponce	9
San Juan Senators	36-34	.514	13.5	Wally Bunker	Santurce	8
Mayagüez Indios	23-45	.338	25.5	Juan Pizarro	Santurce	8
Arecibo Wolves	19-50	.275	30	Darrell Brandon	San Juan	7

*Won playoffs. Source: José Crescioni Benítez, El Béisbol Profesional Boricua, 1997.

1969 Toledo Mud Hens and Seattle Pilots

On October 15, 1968, Marshall was selected by the Seattle Pilots (53^rd overall pick) from Detroit in the expansion draft. He started 11 games for the 1969 Toledo Mud Hens before Seattle promoted him. Coincidentally, Tom Timmermann also started 11 times for Toledo before his call-up by Detroit in mid-June 1969. Table III compares Marshall’s Mud Hens pitching stats to those of Timmermann. Marshall went 3-10 with a 5.13 ERA with Seattle, starting 14 games and relieving six times. He pitched three CG and one SHO in 87.2 innings. Sal Maglie, Seattle’s pitching coach, discouraged Marshall from throwing the screwball, his (Marshall’s) favorite pitch. (Mayo Smith, Detroit’s skipper, also told Marshall to discontinue throwing the screwball in 1967.) Jim Bouton—a 1969 Pilots teammate of Marshall—became well known after writing Ball Four, a baseball classic.

Table III: Mike Marshall and Tom Timmermann’s 1969 Statistics: Toledo Mud Hens

Pitcher	G	GS	CG	SHO	W-L	IP	H	K	BB	ERA	WHIP
Mike Marshall	11	11	9	1	6-4	87	79	60	27	3.10	1.22
Tom Timmermann	11	11	9	1	9-2	86	64	74	20	2.41	0.98

Source: Baseball-Reference.

Mike Marshall and other PRWL Pitchers: Career and Single-Season Big League Saves

Tables IV (Major League Career Saves) and V (AL/NL Single-Season Saves) place Marshall with 188 career saves, 60^th all-time, and a three-time single-season saves leader with the 1973 Expos, 1974 Dodgers, and 1979 Twins. His Expos and Dodgers campaigns will be in Part II. The Minnesota years are addressed in Part III.

Table IV: Most Major League Career Saves (SV), Former PRWL Pitchers (100+ SV)

Pitcher	SV	Team^	Seasons	Pitcher	SV	Team^	Seasons
Lee Smith#	478	Santurce	1980-81	Ron Perranoski	178	Caguas	1960-61
Billy Wagner*	422	Santurce	1996-97	Bryan Harvey	177	San Juan	1987-88
Jeff Reardon	387	Arecibo	1979-81	Jeff Brantley	172	Mayagüez	1987-89
Troy Percival	358	Santurce	1994-95	Stu Miller	153	San Juan	1955-56
John Wetteland	330	Santurce	1988-89	Don McMahon	152	San Juan	1957-58
Roberto Hernández	326	Mayagüez	1987-93 1994-97	Willie Hernández	147	Caguas Mayagüez Caguas Santurce	1973-77 1977-78 1978-79 1979-80 1981-83
Tom Henke	311	Santurce	1984-85	LaTroy Hawkins	127	Santurce	1997-98
Goose Gossage#	310	Ponce	1972-73 1974-75	John Hiller	125	Mayagüez	1965-66 1969-70 1972-73
Doug Jones	303	Ponce	1986-88	Mark Wohlers	119	Ponce	1992-93
Gene Garber	218	Santurce	1980-81	Al Worthington	111	Santurce	1955-56
Dave Smith	216	Bayamón	1979-81	Ron Kline	108	Ponce	1969-70
Mitch Williams	192	Santurce	1985-86	Bill Caudill	106	Santurce	1979-80
Roy Face	191	Caguas	1952-53	Tom Burgmeier	102	Caguas	1967-68
Mike Marshall	188	Mayagüez	1968-69	Craig Lefferts	101	Ponce	1982-84

^PRWL teams pitched for. #Cooperstown inductee.*Cooperstown chance (2025).

Sources: www.beisbol101.com and Baseball-Reference.

Table V: AL/NL Single-Season SV Leaders, Former PRWL Pitchers

AL Pitcher	Team	Season	SV	NL Pitcher	Team	Season	SV
Tite Arroyo	NYY	1961	29	Roy Face	PIT	1958	20
Stu Miller	BAL	1963	27	Don McMahon	MLW	1959	15!
Ron Kline	WSH	1965	29	Roy Face	PIT	1961	17
Jack Aker+	KCA	1966	32	Stu Miller	SFG	1961	17
Al Worthington	MIN	1968	18	Roy Face	PIT	1962	28
Ron Perranoski	MIN	1969	31	Phil Regan	LAD	1966	21
Ron Perranoski	MIN	1970	34	Phil Regan LAD	CHC>	1968	25
John Hiller	DET	1973	38	Fred Gladding	HOU	1969	29
Goose Gossage	CWS	1975	26	Mike Marshall	MTL	1973	31
Goose Gossage	NYY	1978	27	Mike Marshall	LAD	1974	21
Mike Marshall	MIN	1979	32	Lee Smith	CHC	1983	29
Goose Gossage	NYY	1980	33#	Jeff Reardon	MTL	1985	41
Tom Henke	TOR	1987	34	Mark Davis	SDP	1989	44
Bryan Harvey	CAL	1991	46	Lee Smith	SLC	1991	47
Lee Smith	BAL	1994	33	Lee Smith	SLC	1992	43
John Wetteland	NYY	1996	43	Jeff Brantley	CIN	1996	44^

+Jack Aker managed Santurce, 1981-83. !Tie with Lindy McDaniel. #Tie with Dan

Quisenberry. ^Tie with Todd Worrell. >Traded to Cubs. Source: Baseball-Reference.

Post Script

When Caguas radio broadcaster Héctor Rafael Vázquez told listeners, in 1967-68: «Warming up in the bullpen, Tom Timmermann,» it sent chills up the spines of opponents’ fans, such as the author, who avidly followed Santurce.

Thanks to Sparky Anderson, Wayne Blackburn, Lance Parrish, Darryl Patterson, Tom Timmermann, and Bob Turley. Jorge Colón Delgado, who furnished Marshall’s PRWL 1968-69 pitching stats, did the editing and photo placements.