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Yeah, I saw the Jimmy (Has No E-) Qualls' game on TV. Seaver still was one of the best I've ever seen. He and Carlton and Gibson--and Koufax, of course, although for a shorter time. Your man Marichal was right up there, too (just behind that bunch, IMO).

Let's see, I was at several no-hitters in person--Kenny (best-Jewish-lefty-since-Koufax) Holtzman, Milt (The Mammas and the) Pappas, Burt Hooton (and Hollerin'). Have seen several more no-nos on TV--recently for the Cards, (My Name) Jose Jimenez and Bud (Light) Smith.

Actually, Marichal should rate slightly ahead of Gibson; he doesn't mostly because a) he didn't play in as many World Series as Gibson did (one to Gibson's three), but it certainly wasn't his fault the Giants (outside 1962) played bridesmaid to the Dodgers most of the 1960s; and, b) just his dumb luck that when he put up the best of many stellar seasons, Sandy Koufax just so happened to be a little bit better. If Juan Marichal wasn't quite the best righthander of the second half of the 20th Century (he's probably a dead heat with Tom Seaver), he was no questions asked the best pitcher in the history of the Giants' franchise.

He was also probably the most entertaining to watch, if you remember that classic pitching motion of his, from the shivery windup pump to the Rockette-high leg kick. I often enough lament that so many pitchers today have either no windup or plain ones, which is one reason I think that Hideo Nomo made such a splash when he first arrived - he had about the most unusual windup and delivery since Fernando Valenzuela, and it was fun to watch, from his extending his arms straight over his head like he was being hung over an alligator pit from bound wrists, to that hard backward twist and straight-out arm extension behind his twist before whipping the throw. Most of the Asian pitchers have unique delivery styles and I suspect they'll influence the American-born pitchers to get back to that kind of thinking, especially since it may be a little easier to fool the hitters with them. I mean, look at a guy like Byung-Hyun Kim: he has a couple of variations on his windup and pump, either that little glove hold that looks like he's pitching from a stretch or that fun little cross-kick of his driving leg (his right) when it comes forth in his follow-through, he uses it maybe once an at-bat, and it makes him look like he's having the time of his life out there. Kind of like Mark (The Bird) Fidrych looked when he pitched. Baseball should be fun, fellows. Juan Marichal, call your office.