Juan Marichal’s signature move

Each Saturday, El Profe digs into moments in baseball history captured by a camera lens. These Iconic Images stir the soul, capturing more than a moment in a game.Today, El Profe examines the signature windup of a Hall of Famer, from top to bottom.

Everyone at the ballpark knew who was on the mound pitching for the Giants when they saw the high leg kick. The right-handed pitcher’s left leg arched toward the sky. His cleats for a moment reached higher than the bill of his cap. Then, the leg powerfully landed as the ball came zipping its way toward home plate.

Juan Marichal always struck me with his style. Marichal earned “The Dominican Dandy” nickname as much as for style delivering the ball from the pitcher’s mound as the fashionable clothes he wore off the field.

It was his pitching artistry that held fans spellbound and often left batters muttering to themselves in trying to solve Marichal.

Marichal was a masterful pitcher who dominated hitters with his array of pitches and the different angles he released the ball. The high leg kick was the key to it all.

I love seeing photos of Marichal’s pitching delivery, especially since I wasn’t old enough to the see the Dominican right-hander pitch in person. Photos capture his incredible pitching delivery at particular instances. They give us a greater appreciation for what he did.

Marichal’s high leg kick was his signature move. His pitching motion possessed the artistic movement of a ballerina. It was artful, powerful, and deceptive.

Fans enjoyed it. Batters dreaded it.

It’s worth taking a look at Marichal’s pitching delivery from two angles to truly appreciate what he did on the mound.

This is what those in the third base dugout saw when the Dominican righthander was on the mound for the Giants.

The high leg kick had a dual purpose: power and deception.

Arching his left leg high generated the power for Marichal as he stepped toward home plate to deliver the ball.

The deception comes in from where Marichal held the ball during his pitching motion. The ball is hidden behind his right knee. Marichal has the ball as low as his leg is high.

Marichal made it as difficult as possible for the hitter to find the ball the Dominican was about to release. Hiding the ball for as long as possible also made it more challenging for the batter to figure what type of pitch Marichal was throwing.

Sometimes when they figured it out, it was already too late.

Picking up the ball was challenging from the batter box. What the batter saw first was the pitcher’s front leg arched high as it was moving towards him. Marichal smartly placed his glove near his left knee which enabled him to distract the hitter just a bit longer. Then quickly Marichal lifted the glove and delivered the ball toward home.

Marichal’s artistic delivery was beautiful and powerful –baseball artistry in motion on the mound. His pitching motion was one of a kind that entertained fans and befuddled hitters. And it was key to what took Marichal from a small town in the Dominican Republic all the way to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Featured Image: Focus on Sport

Second Image: Focus on Sport