| Dr. Mike Marshall's Pitching Coach Services | ||
June 10, 1986 Montreal GazetteMontreal Gazette June 10, 1986 Former Expo and Cy Young Award winner Mike Marshall has picked a strange route to return to the major leagues, as baseball coach at St. Leo College in the cow pastures of western Florida. That comes as no surprise. As Marshall freely admits, he always has been considered a little strange. “People used to make fun of the things I did as a player. It’s nice to know that so many of my weird ideas about baseball are working. We’re doing pretty well down here. “Someone in the major leagues will want a guy who can train pitchers to never have a sore arm, who can train them to throw as hard as they possibly can by using proper mechanics, who can teach them how to pitch a ball game. That’s me. I’ll get my shot.” Marshall, 43, spent 12 seasons and parts of two others in the big leagues and holds several records, including most appearances (106), most consecutive appearances (13) and most innings in relief (208) in one season, 1974, when he won the Cy Young Award as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He said he would have several other records, were it not for a messy divorce, his leadership role in the players association and his reputation as a wacko. The problems at home limited his effectiveness, Marshall said. “I lost 31 pounds during the offseason after I won the Cy Young Award. I couldn’t eat or sleep. I was a wreck and it kept getting worse. “I’m just now at the point where I can start building again.” Marshall said he is convinced that the union activity got him blackballed from the game after the 1981 season. “I’m still pitching (for the Tampa Smokers in a local amateur league) and still getting them out pretty easily. I could still be pitching in the big leagues. But, that stuff is over me.” Marshall has coached at Saint Leo, a business school of 1,200 students, 30 miles northeast of Tampa, the past two seasons, producing records of 22-26 and 25-25 against what he called “the best Division II competition in the country.” He promised improvement next season, now that he has an assistant coach, a recruiting budget and a junior varsity program for the first time. “What I did during my career, I can teach to anyone with talent,” Marshall said. “People always thought of me as a freak. They said no one can do the things I did. But look at me. I’m 5-8 1/2. I’m no tremendous physical specimen. “I was successful because baseball was a science to me. My secret was plain, hard work properly applied, and I can teach that. People said no one will ever pitch in 13 consecutive games again, but one of my kids pitched in 10 consecutive games. It can be done.” Marshall will not divulge his training secrets because he said they’re too complicated and potentially dangerous for a novice. But, he teaches pitchers to perfect the throwing motion to eliminate unnecessary stress, and to get the most out of their arm muscles through exercise. “My kids throw every day,” said Marshall. “I’ve been told I’m absolutely insane, but I have each of my pitchers throw to a minimum of one batter during batting practice before each game. “Not one of my pitchers has ever had a sore arm. “There’s no reason for a guy to have a sore arm.” |
||