LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mike Marshall, who became the first reliever to win the Cy Young Award when he set a major league record by pitching 106 games in a season for the Los Angeles Dodgers, has died. He was 78.
Marshall died Monday night at home in Zephyrhills, Florida, where he had been receiving hospice care, according to the Dodgers, who spoke Tuesday to his daughter, Rebekah. She did not give a cause of death.
The team planned a moment of silence for Marshall before a game against St. Louis.
Marshall pitched in the majors from 1967 to 1981 for nine teams, compiling a record of 97-112 and 3.14 ERA. He recorded 880 strikeouts and 188 saves.
Marshall won the NL Cy Young Award in 1974, going 15-12 with a 2.42 ERA and 21 saves. The right-hander nicknamed “Iron Mike” set major league records that season for most appearances, relief innings (208 1/3), games finished (83) and consecutive games pitched (13).
He was an All-Star with the Dodgers in 1974 and ’75. He jogged to the mound from the bullpen, common for relievers today, rather than be driven in a cart as was customary then.
In the 1974 postseason, Marshall pitched in two NL Championship Series games and all five World Series games, in which the Dodgers lost 4-1 to Oakland. He saved the Dodgers’ lone win, preserving a 3-2 victory in Game 2 by picking off speedy pinch-runner Herb Washington at first base in the ninth inning.
Marshall still holds the American League record for games pitched in a season with 90 for the Minnesota Twins in 1979. He led his league in games pitched four times, saves three times and games finished five times.
He was known for throwing the screwball, an elusive pitch that breaks in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball. Depending on the pitcher’s arm angle, the ball could also have a…
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