In 1973 the Dodgers had an 8 1/2 game lead in the Cincinnati Reds before the Big Red Machine hunted them down and won the division. So in the offseason, the Dodgers acquired Jimmy Wynn... and relief pitcher Mike Marshall... and they both made quite the difference... The Toy Cannon provided a big bat in the middle of the lineup and Marshall was sensational out of the pen.
Pitching in a MLB record 106 games including 13 in a row at one point, the relief pitcher was on the cover of the 8/12/74 issue of Sports Illustrated because of a season that would see him notch 208 1/3 innings pitched while winning 15 and saving another 21 en route to the Cy Young Award, and helping the Dodgers capture the NL West crown over Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and the Reds.
And while the Reds had a surplus of stars, so did the Dodgers... with a pitching staff of Don Sutton, Tommy John, Andy Messersmith and Marshall and an infield of Ron Cey, Bill Russell, Davey Lopes and Steve Garvey that would play together for a record 8 1/2 seasons. Cey would make his first of 6 All-Star teams in 1974 and manned the hot corner for the Dodgers until leaving for Chicago after the 1982 season but not before amassing the 2nd most HR's in L.A. Dodgers history with 228.
The Penguin talks about being a part of the most successful infield in baseball history, why the Reds are in the Hall of Fame and he and his Dodger teammates are not, what it was like to go up against his boyhood idol, Willie Mays and much more when he joins us for a candid conversation on the Past Our Prime podcast. If you enjoyed baseball in the 70's, you'll enjoy this chat with a player that embodies everything there was about the National League and baseball back in 1974.

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