Last Updated: June 17th, 2026 by Michael Schatz
Yankees Red Sox. Phillies Mets. Cardinals Cubs. Major League Baseball isn’t short on rivalries. But there’s one rivalry that stands above them all.
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Dodgers Giants.
It’s a rivalry that has spanned decades, beginning in New York and then continuing on the West Coast – I guess when two teams hate each other they really hate each other.
It’s spawned some of the most memorable moments – both good, bad, and ugly. But there’s one moment that might be the ugliest of them all.
It was August 1965. The dog days of summer. Fans heading to the park to watch the latest installment of Dodgers Giants were probably expecting a pitcher’s duel. And why wouldn’t they? It was Juan Marichal against Sandy Koufax. They weren’t expecting any offensive fireworks. Instead, they got fireworks of a different kind.
For whatever reason, both teams woke up angry that day – maybe it was the smog. After both teams had thrown at the other, home plate umpire Shag Crawford issued warnings to both teams in an attempt to calm down the situation.
It didn’t work.
In the third inning, Marichal came up to bat. Remember, this is 1965. There was no universal DH. Pitchers had to hit in the NL. So if they had thrown at someone that meant they had to risk being thrown at themselves.
After getting brushed back with Koufax’s second pitch, Marichal got angry. He accused Dodger catcher Johnny Roseboro of clipping his ear with his toss back to Koufax.
Words were exchanged. Tensions Mounted. Marichal said he thought he was going to get hit with Roseboro’s catcher’s mask.
So Marichal hit Roseboro over the head with his bat.
And then all hell broke loose. The benches cleared and the teams engaged in a 14-minute brawl. It was one of the ugliest moments in not only this rivalry but in the entirety of MLB.
After the dust had settled, Roseboro needed 14 stitches and would miss the next two games as a result. Marichal received a 10-game suspension and a then-record fine of $1750.
If we are to learn anything from this it’s to never make Juan Marichal mad.