Jason Marquis
Encyclopedia
Jason Scott Marquis is an American
professional baseball
pitcher
who is a free agent. He previously pitched for the Atlanta Braves
, St. Louis Cardinals
, Chicago Cubs
, Colorado Rockies
, Washington Nationals
and Arizona Diamondbacks
.
As a 12-year-old, Marquis pitched his team to third place in the Little League World Series
with a no-hitter
. He is one of only a few ballplayers to have played in both a Little League World Series and a Major League World Series
. He also pitched his high school team to consecutive New York City championships. Marquis was drafted in the first round out of high school by the world champion Atlanta Braves, and reached the majors as a 21-year-old in 2000.
As a major leaguer, Marquis won 11 or more games for six straight years through 2009, and also started 28 or more games in each of the years 2004–09. His 65 wins from 2004 to 2008 ranked 7th among N.L. pitchers. Through 2011, in his career in games that were late and close Marquis held batters to a .228 batting average
. He also excelled with the bat, winning the Silver Slugger Award in 2005.
, and grew up in Staten Island, New York's Arden Heights
neighborhood, where he attended Paulo Intermediate School 75. His mother works for the New York City Board of Education
, and has a teaching degree, while his father owns a check
cashing business in Brooklyn
. He was a New York Yankees
fan growing up, and Don Mattingly
was his favorite player.
Marquis, who is Jewish, grew up in a Conservative Jewish
home, attended Hebrew school
, and observes the major Jewish holiday
s. “My mother was stricter with our Jewish upbringing," said Marquis, given that her parents were Holocaust survivors." Marquis was featured in the 2008 Hank Greenberg 75th Anniversary edition of Jewish Major Leaguers Baseball Cards, published in affiliation with Fleer
Trading Cards and the American Jewish Historical Society
, commemorating the Jewish Major Leaguers from 1871 through 2008. He joined, among other Jewish major leaguers, Brad Ausmus
, Kevin Youkilis
, Ian Kinsler
, Ryan Braun
, Gabe Kapler
, Scott Feldman
, John Grabow
, Craig Breslow
, Jason Hirsh
, and Scott Schoeneweis
. Through July 2011, he was fourth all-time in career wins and strikeouts (directly behind Steve Stone in both categories) among Jewish major league baseball players.
on the South Shore Little League team that finished second in the US, and third in the world, in the Little League World Series
in 1991. He led his team to a victory in the first round over Chad Pennington and his Ohio team, as Marquis celebrated his 13th birthday by throwing a three-hitter, striking out 11, not allowing a walk, and adding three hits and three RBIs.
His team lost to California in the US final on ESPN
, as Marquis was relegated to shortstop because Little Leaguers weren't allowed to pitch two days in a row. Marquis then led his team to victory over Canada in the third-place game, throwing a no-hitter
. "Playing in front of that many people at that time in my life made me realize this is what I wanted to do with my life," said Marquis, "and I was going to work my hardest to get it." As of October 2008, he was one of 31 Little League World Series players to have reached the major leagues.
His bar mitzvah had a baseball theme, as his parents surprised him with a replica scoreboard
, 15 or 20 feet wide by 15 feet tall, of the game line from his Little League World Series no-hitter against Canada.
that was nearly unhittable at the high school level, and a changeup
. He pitched the Tottenville High School
Pirates to two consecutive New York City
Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) titles. The first was a Pirates (22–1) championship in 1995 over the George Washington Trojans (32–3), 3–2 at Shea Stadium
, capping a season in which he posted an 11–0 record while striking out 86 batters in 61 innings.
The second championship was in 1996 when the Pirates were 33–1; again over the George Washington Trojans (41–2). He pitched his team to a 5–1, 7-inning complete game victory in which he struck out 15 batters and did not allow any earned runs, while he himself hit a two-run triple, at Yankee Stadium. That capped a season in which he was 14–1 with a 0.40 ERA
, and struck out 150 in 79 innings, while as a batter he tied a school season record with 11 home runs, drove in 45 runs, and batted .468.
He received the Iron Horse Award as the top baseball player in the PSAL, The New York Daily News Player of the Year Award, and was named 1st team High School All-American. Anthony McCarron of the The New York Daily News touted him as "perhaps the city's best high school player since ... Manny Ramirez
", and Baseball America
ranked him the 39th-highest prospect in the nation. He also played basketball at Tottenville, and on the academic side was a member of the National Honor Society
. One of his classmates at Tottenville was Chicago Bears
defensive end
Adewale Ogunleye
.
to play for the University of Miami
, which offered him a scholarship. The day of the 1996 draft
, he was pitching in a high school playoff game, so his mother stayed home to wait for the phone call, and then showed up at his game in the second inning. She relayed the message that he had been drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the first round, the 35th selection overall. Marquis was excited, and his team won the game and went on to win the city championship. He then opted out of his letter of intent, and signed with the Braves on July 18, 1996, for a reported $600,000 ($ today) signing bonus
.
(Rookie Advanced) in the Appalachian League
, going 1–1 with a 4.63 ERA in 7 games. He had 24 strikeouts and gave up 7 walks in 23 innings.
The next year he tied for the South Atlantic League
lead with a team-record 14 victories for the Macon Braves, as he went 14–10 with a 4.38 ERA, tied for second in the league with 28 starts, and was named the Braves' No. 5 prospect by Baseball America. "He's like a man on a mission to get to the big leagues," said Mark Ross
, the Macon pitching coach. "He's doing great."
In 1998 he began the season as youngest pitcher in the Carolina League
, but won only 2 of 22 starts for Class A Danville 97s
, as he went 2–12 and struck out 135 in 114.2 innings, while walking only 41.
In 1999 Marquis began the season at Class A Myrtle Beach Pelicans
of the Carolina League
, where he opened the season by firing 20.0 consecutive scoreless innings. Marquis was named Baseball America Carolina League Player of the Week for the period April 15–21, as he pitched 10.0 innings, striking out 11. He allowed only one earned run in 6 starts (3–0, 0.28 ERA) before being promoted on May 10 to the AA Greenville Braves
, and was named the Braves' No. 6 prospect by Baseball America. With Greenville he went 3–4, 4.58 in 12 starts. He spent much of the summer on the DL
with a sore elbow, a tender right shoulder, and a pulled oblique
stomach muscle.
In 2000 Baseball America named him the Braves' No. 5 prospect, and he split time between AA Greenville (going 4–2 with a 3.57 ERA), the AAA Richmond Braves
, and Atlanta (15 games in relief; a 5.01 ERA. Marquis spent much of 2003 back in the minors, where his overall record at Richmond was 8–4, with a 3.35 ERA in 15 games (all starts).
for threatening a reporter. He made his debut on June 6, 2000, in relief of Tom Glavine
against the Toronto Blue Jays
. "Getting that first call and running out to the mound," said Marquis, "I promise you I didn't feel my legs at all." He was later sent back down to AAA Richmond, but was recalled again in September. During the 2000 season he appeared strictly in relief, finishing 7 games in his 15 appearances, and winning 1.
He became a starting pitcher in 2001, joining a celebrated staff with Greg Maddux
, Tom Glavine, and Kevin Millwood
. The 9/11 attack that interrupted the season also led to the death of one of his Little League World Series teammates, Michael Cammarata, a firefighter. "It's tough knowing that people died who were part of your life at one point," Marquis said. Marquis was the starting pitcher for the Braves in the first game played in New York City after 9/11.
In his first year as a starter, Marquis held batters to a .145 batting average with runners in scoring position
, and 2 out. The club's front office made it clear that he was off-limits in trade talks, saying: "He's going to be a big-time No. 1 pitcher. You don't give up an arm like that." He maintained a spot on the rotation again in 2002 as the fifth starter, behind Maddux, Glavine, Millwood, and Damian Moss
.
In 2003, the Braves revamped their starting rotation with the acquisitions of Mike Hampton
, Russ Ortiz
, Shane Reynolds
, and the promotion of Horacio Ramírez
from AA. Marquis was sent to the bullpen. He was upset about being sent to the bullpen, and requested to be sent to the minors where he could be a starting pitcher, and observed by scouts from other organizations. Ultimately, he split his season, making only 2 starts in 21 appearances for Atlanta, while starting 15 games for Richmond in AAA.
On December 13, 2003, Marquis was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals along with relief pitcher
Ray King
and rookie prospect Adam Wainwright
for outfielder
J. D. Drew
and catcher
Eli Marrero
. Looking back years later, Marquis said: "I was pretty young ... and I think it really shook me, to realize that nothing was forever."
who observed that Marquis "always had a devastating skinner (sinker), and ... needs to get back to it more." "It's just the pitch I had growing up, and I got away from it," Marquis said. He stole a base against former Atlanta Braves teammate and mentor Greg Maddux on May 3, who also stole a base in the same game. It marked the first time since June 11, 1950, when Warren Spahn
of the Braves and Bob Rush
of the Cubs pulled it off, that opposing pitchers stole a base in the same game. Marquis strung together a Cardinals' season-high 11-game winning streak from May 31 – September 4, the longest by a Cards pitcher since 1985 when John Tudor also won 11 straight games. He had a shutout streak of 18⅓ innings from August 24 – September 10. On the business side, the Cardinals players elected him their # 2 representative to the Major League Baseball Players Association
.
For the season, Marquis posted a career-best 15–9 record, with a 3.71 ERA and a career-high 138 strikeout
s, for the National League
champions
. He was 2nd in the NL in ground ball/fly ball ratio (2.17), tied for 5th in percentage of strikes that were "looking" (31%), 6th in pitches per start (104), 8th in won-lost percentage (.682), 9th in wins (15), and tied for 10th in double play
s induced (21). He held batters to a .198 batting average with runners in scoring position, and a .163 batting average with 2 outs and runners in scoring position.
Marquis tossed a scoreless inning of relief in Game 1 of the 2004 World Series
at Boston, and Manager Tony La Russa
tabbed Marquis to start Game 4. He turned in the best performance of any Cardinals starter in the series, pitching 6 innings and giving up 3 runs. He was bested, however, by Boston pitcher Derek Lowe
, who threw shutout ball for 7 innings to win the series for the Red Sox. "Whether you lose 100 games or win 100 games and go to the World Series, the last day of the season you're still looking around and saying, 'The season is over? What do I do now?' " said Marquis as he stuffed jerseys into a duffel bag. "It's hard to handle."
After the season he was a member of MLB's roster for the Japan All-Star Series from November 5–14, and appeared in two games out of the bullpen, allowing three earned runs in 6.2 innings.
Marquis had an up-and-down season in 2005. Although he started the season strong, he slid into a personal 7-game losing streak. It ended on August 27, 2005, when Marquis pitched a 2-hitter against the Washington Nationals
, for his first career shutout
. Overall Marquis posted a 13–14 record, with a 4.13 ERA in 207 innings pitched
. He appeared in 33 games, starting 32, and completing 3 (6th in the NL). He gave up the second-lowest percentage of line drives in the NL (17.3%), induced 29 double plays (T-4th in the league), and was 4th with 1.26 GIDP/9 IP.
In the postseason he worked out of the bullpen in the NLCS, after not being used in the Division Series, and pitched in three games, finished with a 3.38 ERA.
In January 2006, Marquis and the Cardinals agreed to a 1-year contract for $5.15 million, avoiding salary arbitration
. The season started off well for Marquis, as on July 23 he became the first NL pitcher to win 12 games, raising his record to 12–7. But Marquis followed with a losing second half of the season. Pitching in the starting rotation all year, Marquis finished 14–16, but with a 6.02 ERA, the 2nd-worst in baseball among players who qualified for the ERA title (Joel Piñeiro
, of the Seattle Mariners
, finished last with a 6.36 ERA). He led the majors in runs allowed (136), and led the NL in losses (16) and home runs allowed (35). He also had the two worst game scores in the NL, a game against the White Sox on June 21 in which he gave up 13 earned runs in 5 innings as Tony La Russa
left him in to save a weary bullpen, and one against the Braves 3 weeks later in which Marquis allowed 12 earned runs in 5 innings. "Obviously, those were tough pills to swallow," Marquis said. "I took one for the team." On the other hand, in games that were late and close, he held batters to a .188 batting average.
Marquis was on the Cardinals roster for their first-round playoff matchup against the San Diego Padres
, but did not make an appearance in the series and was not included on the roster for either the NLCS
or for the 2006 World Series
, which the Cardinals won. "Obviously, I'm very disappointed," he said. "[The] year was a little bittersweet," he said. "Because you bust your butt for three years for a manager, you give it your all and don't complain, and you contribute so much in the regular season, then to have it taken away in the postseason ... But managers are going to make their decisions. You really can't question them or change them because they're going to do what they want anyway. You have to go out there and work hard and be thankful for what you have." His teammates still voted him a full playoff/World Series share.
, who coincidentally hit his 600th home run against Marquis. This caused some concern, due to Sosa's accomplishments with the Cubs, including his status as the Cubs' all-time home run leader.
On May 9, Marquis completed a three-hit shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates, defeating them 1–0. He had a perfect game
going into the 6th inning, retiring the first 16 batters he faced, but Pirates shortstop Don Kelly
broke it up with a single. The game took only 2 hours and 6 minutes. Marquis struck out 5, and needed only 109 pitches to complete the game. "His ball was diving and darting. He was awesome," said teammate Jacque Jones
. The win improved Marquis' record to 5–1, and dropped his ERA
to 1.70, 3rd-best in the NL. After the game, Marquis highlighted his consistency as being the key to his turnaround. "My delivery is as consistent as it's ever been. I feel like I'm repeating the same delivery over and over again and that's the reason, I really believe, for the success."
Yom Kippur
, the Jewish day of atonement, was September 21, and Marquis was glad to be slated to pitch the day prior in a day game, as he expected to be done before sundown. "I look at it that religion is an important part of my life, but so is family and baseball," Marquis said. "To me, family takes precedent over all aspects of my life. Baseball and religion fall into place, and I try not to make one more important than the other." Marquis did have to pitch on the holiday when he was with the Braves. It was his turn, and he did not want to throw the rotation out of order. "I pitched, went to temple the next morning," Marquis said. "It was a day game. Bobby [Cox, Atlanta manager] allowed me to show up late. It turned out well."
In 2007 Marquis was 12–9, with a 4.60 ERA. He was tied for 2nd in the league in shutouts (1), was 5th in the league in hit batsmen (13), had the 5th-lowest batting average in the NL of balls hit into play against him (.280), and had the 8th-highest ground ball percentage (49.5%). He kept batters to a .229 batting average in games that were late and close.
On March 24, 2008, it was announced he would be the Cubs' fifth starter for the 2008 season. Historically, Marquis' numbers during the second half of the season were not as good as his numbers during the first half, but thanks to smart managing by Lou Piniella
, Marquis and Rich Harden
, newly acquired from the Oakland Athletics
on July 8, rotated their starts for a time, and Marquis posted a winning month of August, going 3–1 with a 3.90 ERA. It was his second-lowest ERA after a 3.81 ERA in July. He finished the season 11–9, with a 4.53 ERA, and held batters to a .192 batting average with 2 outs and runners in scoring position.
On September 26, 2008, the Cubs post-season roster was announced, and Marquis was granted a roster spot as a reliever. Marquis thereby reached the playoffs in all nine of his major league seasons through 2008. He made one appearance against the Dodgers
in Game 1 of the National League Division Series
, when he pitched the top of the ninth inning. In it he gave up a solo home run to Russell Martin
for the Dodgers' seventh and final run of the game — one they'd win by a final score of 7–2.
. General Manager
Dan O'Dowd
said: "We like (Marquis') athleticism, age and durability."
During the off-season, Marquis tweaked his delivery to improve his release point by staying over the rubber longer in his balance point, allowing his arm to catch up, resulting in a 2 to 3 inches longer stride, and leaving him on top of the ball and throwing downhill. Reporters attributed his first-half success to his new delivery and his high ground ball ratio.
On June 30 Marquis pitched a 2-hit, 0-walk, 17-ground-ball-outs, 86-pitch shutout to become the first 10-game winner in the NL. A reporter for MLB.com called it "one of the best pitching performances in Rockies history", and Rob Neyer
of ESPN
described Marquis that night as "Bob Gibson
, Orel Hershiser
, and Greg Maddux all rolled into one". He beat the LA Dodgers, which had the best record in the major leagues, and outpitched their ace Chad Billingsley
3–0 in a matchup of pitchers leading the league in wins. It was his third career shutout, and his second complete game of the season. He also drove in two of his team's three runs. "That was something special, as good as I have seen in my 7½ years behind this desk," said Rockies manager Jim Tracy.
On July 5, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel
, who managed the NL squad, chose Marquis to be on the NL All Star
team, the fifth Rockies pitcher to be an All Star. "This is something ... I'll cherish the rest of my life", said Marquis. The next day Marquis followed up his shutout of the Dodgers with 8 shutout innings in a 1–0 victory over the Nationals, for a major-league-leading 11th win. He became the third pitcher in club history to win 11 games before the All Star break, the team record, joining Shawn Chacon
(2003) and Aaron Cook (2008).
At the 2009 All Star Game
, Marquis (a former Cardinal) received one of the biggest ovations during pregame introductions of any non-Cardinal player, and then warmed up in the ninth inning but never did enter the game. He received a $75,000 bonus for making the team, and he and teammate Brad Hawpe
bought 30 bats and 50 All Star Game shirts for the Rockies players, and Marquis purchased game jerseys for all the coaches, trainers, and clubhouse staff. "I want them to know how much they are appreciated," he said. "They helped us get here."
On August 19, Marquis joined Adam Wainwright
as the only 14-game winners in the NL, and tied for the major league lead.
In 2009, Marquis was 2nd in the NL in ground ball outs induced (353) and ground balls induced (408), tied for 2nd in double plays induced (28), 3rd in ground ball percentage (55.6%), 3rd-lowest in pitches per plate appearance (3.53), tied for 4th in wins (15), 8th in innings pitched (216.0) and home runs per 9 innings pitched (.625), 4th-lowest in pitches per inning (15.0; of NL pitchers with 160 or more innings), and tied for 6th in shutouts (1). At the plate, Marquis tied for 3rd in the major leagues among pitchers in runs scored (7), and tied for 6th in doubles (3) and RBIs (8).
Marquis is one of only six major league pitchers who won at least 11 games in each year from 2004 to 2009, the others being CC Sabathia, Derek Lowe
, Johan Santana
, Javier Vazquez
, and John Lackey
. He never started fewer than 29 games during that span.
When the Rockies qualified for the post-season in 2009, it marked the 10th time in 10 years (every year of his major league career) that the team for which he pitched made the playoffs. He became the first player in baseball history to have been on a playoff team in each of the first 10 years of his career while playing for at least three different teams.
After the 2009 season Marquis became a free agent. The Rockies offered him arbitration, but he rejected their offer of a one-year, non-guaranteed deal for the possibility that he will receive a multi-year deal.
for the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
Marquis had 3 starts early in the 2010 season for the Nationals, posting an 0–3 record with a 20.52 ERA before being placed on the 15-day disabled list on April 22, 2010, with bone chips in his right elbow. He returned to action on August 8, 2010. He was much improved upon returning from his injury, but still finished the season a disappointing 2–9 with a 6.60 ERA.
Marquis started 20 games for the Nationals in 2011, going 8–5 with a 3.95 ERA.
for minor league infielder Zach Walters.
On August 14, 2011, Marquis broke his fibula, and was out for the remainder of the season.
. He throws it harder than most pitchers, gets plenty of movement on the pitch, and throws in down in the strike zone
as he tries to induce hitters to hit ground balls. He also relies heavily on a sharp slider
. In his career with Atlanta, the Braves system steered Marquis to also throw a four-seam fastball
in the mid- to high-90s, but in St. Louis he began to gravitate towards instead using a sinking two-seam fastball
that he had thrown as a teenager, which he still threw in the mid-90s. In addition, he throws an excellent occasional overhand tight curve ball, and a changeup
which has good action.
Marquis, the 144th Jewish player in major league history, is 6th all-time of all Jewish major leaguer pitchers in strikeouts and 7th in wins, trailing among others Sandy Koufax
, Ken Holtzman
, and Steve Stone in both categories. In 2009 he became only the 2nd Jewish pitcher to notch at least 10 victories in six consecutive seasons, joining Koufax. When there was talk in the off-season about an Israeli/Jewish team being fielded in the World Baseball Classic
, Marquis said if it came about he would definitely be interested in playing to represent his heritage.
in batting cage
s. His baserunning speed has also led to him being used as a pinch-runner. "Watch Marquis take batting practice," wrote John Schlegel for MLB.com
, "and you think you're watching a left-handed slugger. He can ping baseballs off the bleachers with the best of them. Watch him run up the first-base line with the speed of an outfielder and the intensity of a linebacker, and you can't believe he's a pitcher."
In 2005 he achieved two career-highs: a .310 batting average, and a .460 slugging percentage. In 87 at bat
s he had 27 hits
, including 9 doubles, a triple, and a home run as he both scored 10 runs and drove in
10 runs. He was the first pitcher to bat over .300 since Mike Hampton
batted .344 in 2002 (minimum of 50 at bats). His 27 hits were the most by a big-league pitcher since Rick Rhoden
had 28 in 1984, and 24 came as a pitcher and 3 as pinch-hitter. His 10 extra-base hits were the highest extra-base hit total by a pitcher since 1986, when Rhoden had 10. For his hitting, Marquis won the 2005 NL Pitcher Silver Slugger Award.
His first three home runs were hit off of Wandy Rodríguez
, Brian Lawrence
, and Javier Vázquez
. In 2008 he hit a career-high 2 homers as he again drove in 10 runs, this time in 59 at bats. He belted his fourth home run on September 6, against Cincinnati's
Gary Majewski
at the Great American Ballpark. On September 22, he hit his first career grand slam
, off of New York Mets
rookie Jon Niese
at Shea Stadium
. That night he was also credited with five RBIs — four of which came with his grand slam — in a career-high performance. It was the first grand slam by a Jewish pitcher since Saul Rogovin
of the Detroit Tigers
hit one in 1950 off Eddie Lopat
of the Yankees.
In 441 at bat
s through 2008 Marquis had a .206 career batting average, with 25 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs, 50 runs scored, 40 RBIs, 23 sacrifice hits, and a .306 slugging percentage — 9th-best of all pitchers with at least 100 at bats. He had a .276 career batting average, in 59 plate appearance
s, with 2 outs and runners in scoring position
. With the bases loaded, through August 2008 he was a career .364 batter, with a .500 on base percentage and an .818 slugging percentage. In 26 at bats as a pinch hitter
, he had a .231 batting average. Summarizing his approach to hitting, Marquis said: "I'm not going up as a pitcher with a bat. I'm going up as a hitter."
at pitcher than the league average every year of his career, through 2009.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
who is a free agent. He previously pitched for the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
, St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
, Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
, Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1991, they started play in 1993 and are in the West Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains...
, Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
and Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field...
.
As a 12-year-old, Marquis pitched his team to third place in the Little League World Series
Little League World Series
The Little League Baseball World Series is a baseball tournament for children aged 11 to 13 years old. It was originally called the National Little League Tournament and was later renamed for the World Series in Major League Baseball. It was first held in 1947 and is held every August in South...
with a no-hitter
No-hitter
A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
. He is one of only a few ballplayers to have played in both a Little League World Series and a Major League World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
. He also pitched his high school team to consecutive New York City championships. Marquis was drafted in the first round out of high school by the world champion Atlanta Braves, and reached the majors as a 21-year-old in 2000.
As a major leaguer, Marquis won 11 or more games for six straight years through 2009, and also started 28 or more games in each of the years 2004–09. His 65 wins from 2004 to 2008 ranked 7th among N.L. pitchers. Through 2011, in his career in games that were late and close Marquis held batters to a .228 batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
. He also excelled with the bat, winning the Silver Slugger Award in 2005.
Early life
Marquis was born in Manhasset, New YorkManhasset, New York
Manhasset is a hamlet and neighborhood in Nassau County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 8,080....
, and grew up in Staten Island, New York's Arden Heights
Arden Heights, Staten Island
Arden Heights is a name increasingly applied to the western part of Annadale, a neighborhood located on the South Shore of Staten Island, New York, USA...
neighborhood, where he attended Paulo Intermediate School 75. His mother works for the New York City Board of Education
New York City Board of Education
The New York City Board of Education is the governing body of the New York City Department of Education. The members of the board are appointed by the mayor and by the five borough presidents.-Rise, fall and return of Mayoral Control:...
, and has a teaching degree, while his father owns a check
Cheque
A cheque is a document/instrument See the negotiable cow—itself a fictional story—for discussions of cheques written on unusual surfaces. that orders a payment of money from a bank account...
cashing business in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. He was a New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
fan growing up, and Don Mattingly
Don Mattingly
Donald Arthur "Don" Mattingly is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and current manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Nicknamed "The Hit Man" and "Donnie Baseball", he played his entire 14-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
was his favorite player.
Marquis, who is Jewish, grew up in a Conservative Jewish
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
home, attended Hebrew school
Hebrew school
Hebrew school can be either the Jewish equivalent of Sunday school - an educational regimen separate from secular education, focusing on topics of Jewish history and learning the Hebrew language, or a primary, secondary or college level educational institution where some or all of the classes are...
, and observes the major Jewish holiday
Jewish holiday
Jewish holidays are days observed by Jews as holy or secular commemorations of important events in Jewish history. In Hebrew, Jewish holidays and festivals, depending on their nature, may be called yom tov or chag or ta'anit...
s. “My mother was stricter with our Jewish upbringing," said Marquis, given that her parents were Holocaust survivors." Marquis was featured in the 2008 Hank Greenberg 75th Anniversary edition of Jewish Major Leaguers Baseball Cards, published in affiliation with Fleer
Fleer
The Fleer Corporation, founded by Frank H. Fleer in 1885, was the first company to successfully manufacture bubblegum; it remained a family-owned enterprise until it was taken private in 1989....
Trading Cards and the American Jewish Historical Society
American Jewish Historical Society
The American Jewish Historical Society was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of the American Jewish heritage and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation and dissemination of materials relating to American...
, commemorating the Jewish Major Leaguers from 1871 through 2008. He joined, among other Jewish major leaguers, Brad Ausmus
Brad Ausmus
Bradley David "Brad" Ausmus is a former All Star catcher in Major League Baseball, and currently a special assistant for the San Diego Padres....
, Kevin Youkilis
Kevin Youkilis
Kevin Edmund Youkilis , also known as "Youk" , is an American professional baseball player with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball...
, Ian Kinsler
Ian Kinsler
Ian Michael Kinsler is a Major League Baseball All-Star second baseman for the Texas Rangers.Despite having been drafted in only the 17th round out of college, Kinsler has risen to become a two-time All Star, and a member of the Sporting News 2009 list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball...
, Ryan Braun
Ryan Braun
Ryan Joseph Braun is an American right-handed Major League Baseball left fielder for the Milwaukee Brewers. A perennial standout, he was ranked No...
, Gabe Kapler
Gabe Kapler
Gabriel "Gabe" Stefan Kapler is an American Major League Baseball outfielder.He has played portions of 13 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and the Tampa Bay Rays...
, Scott Feldman
Scott Feldman
Scott Feldman was a news anchor for News 12 Long Island for 22 years.-Early life:Feldman was born in St. Louis, Missouri, graduated from the University of Denver in 1971. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves and National Guard....
, John Grabow
John Grabow
John William Grabow, nicknamed "Grabes" , is a Major League Baseball left-handed reliever....
, Craig Breslow
Craig Breslow
Craig Andrew Breslow is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Oakland Athletics. He throws left-handed, and is considered a lefty specialist....
, Jason Hirsh
Jason Hirsh
Jason Michael Hirsh is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who is a free agent.Hirsh was a dominant minor league pitcher in 2005–06, winning the Double-A Texas League Pitcher of the Year Award and the Triple-A Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year Award in successive seasons, as he went...
, and Scott Schoeneweis
Scott Schoeneweis
Scott David Schoeneweis is an American Major League Baseball left-handed relief pitcher who is currently a free agent.In the five seasons from 2003–07, Schoeneweis allowed only one home run to left-handed batters...
. Through July 2011, he was fourth all-time in career wins and strikeouts (directly behind Steve Stone in both categories) among Jewish major league baseball players.
Little League World Series
Marquis starred in Little League BaseballLittle League
Little League Baseball and Softball is a non-profit organization in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States which organizes local youth baseball and softball leagues throughout the U.S...
on the South Shore Little League team that finished second in the US, and third in the world, in the Little League World Series
Little League World Series
The Little League Baseball World Series is a baseball tournament for children aged 11 to 13 years old. It was originally called the National Little League Tournament and was later renamed for the World Series in Major League Baseball. It was first held in 1947 and is held every August in South...
in 1991. He led his team to a victory in the first round over Chad Pennington and his Ohio team, as Marquis celebrated his 13th birthday by throwing a three-hitter, striking out 11, not allowing a walk, and adding three hits and three RBIs.
His team lost to California in the US final on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, as Marquis was relegated to shortstop because Little Leaguers weren't allowed to pitch two days in a row. Marquis then led his team to victory over Canada in the third-place game, throwing a no-hitter
No-hitter
A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
. "Playing in front of that many people at that time in my life made me realize this is what I wanted to do with my life," said Marquis, "and I was going to work my hardest to get it." As of October 2008, he was one of 31 Little League World Series players to have reached the major leagues.
His bar mitzvah had a baseball theme, as his parents surprised him with a replica scoreboard
Scoreboard
A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game or match. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used a mechanical clock and numeral cards to...
, 15 or 20 feet wide by 15 feet tall, of the game line from his Little League World Series no-hitter against Canada.
High school
"When I was a freshman [in high school] I was 5' 2", and everyone thought I was too small to play," Marquis said. "But it was always my dream to play major league baseball, and I've always worked very hard at it." As a 6' 1" junior and senior, however, Marquis threw a 93 miles per hour fastball, a curveballCurveball
The curveball is a type of pitch in baseball thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball causing it to dive in a downward path as it approaches the plate. Its close relatives are the slider and the slurve. The "curve" of the ball varies from pitcher to...
that was nearly unhittable at the high school level, and a changeup
Changeup
A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball. Other names include change-of-pace, Bugs Bunny change-up, the dreaded equalizer, and simply change. The changeup is sometimes called an off-speed pitch, although that term can also be used simply to mean any pitch that is slower than a fastball...
. He pitched the Tottenville High School
Tottenville High School
Tottenville High School is located at 100 Luten Avenue, in Huguenot, Staten Island, New York. It is within walking distance of the Huguenot train station of the Staten Island Railway system. Tottenville H.S. is in administrative district 31. The school’s current principal is John P. Tuminaro...
Pirates to two consecutive New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) titles. The first was a Pirates (22–1) championship in 1995 over the George Washington Trojans (32–3), 3–2 at Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
, capping a season in which he posted an 11–0 record while striking out 86 batters in 61 innings.
The second championship was in 1996 when the Pirates were 33–1; again over the George Washington Trojans (41–2). He pitched his team to a 5–1, 7-inning complete game victory in which he struck out 15 batters and did not allow any earned runs, while he himself hit a two-run triple, at Yankee Stadium. That capped a season in which he was 14–1 with a 0.40 ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
, and struck out 150 in 79 innings, while as a batter he tied a school season record with 11 home runs, drove in 45 runs, and batted .468.
He received the Iron Horse Award as the top baseball player in the PSAL, The New York Daily News Player of the Year Award, and was named 1st team High School All-American. Anthony McCarron of the The New York Daily News touted him as "perhaps the city's best high school player since ... Manny Ramirez
Manny Ramírez
Manuel "Manny" Arístides Ramírez Onelcida is a retired Dominican-American professional baseball outfielder. He was recognized for great batting skill and power, a nine-time Silver Slugger and one of 25 players to hit 500 career home runs. Ramirez's 21 grand slams are third all-time, and his 28...
", and Baseball America
Baseball America
Baseball America is a magazine which covers baseball at every level, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in high school, college, Japan, and the minor leagues. It is currently published in the form of a bi-weekly newspaper, five annual reference book titles, a weekly podcast, and a...
ranked him the 39th-highest prospect in the nation. He also played basketball at Tottenville, and on the academic side was a member of the National Honor Society
National Honor Society
The National Honor Society is a recognition program for high school students in grades 10-12 in the United States and in several other countries...
. One of his classmates at Tottenville was Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
defensive end
Defensive end
Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...
Adewale Ogunleye
Adewale Ogunleye
Adewale Ogunleye is an American football defensive end who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2000. He played college football at Indiana.-Early years:...
.
Draft
The right-hander originally signed a letter of intentLetter of intent
A letter of intent is a document outlining an agreement between two or more parties before the agreement is finalized. The concept is similar to a heads of agreement...
to play for the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
, which offered him a scholarship. The day of the 1996 draft
Draft (sports)
A draft is a process used in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Russia and the Philippines to allocate certain players to sports teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players...
, he was pitching in a high school playoff game, so his mother stayed home to wait for the phone call, and then showed up at his game in the second inning. She relayed the message that he had been drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the first round, the 35th selection overall. Marquis was excited, and his team won the game and went on to win the city championship. He then opted out of his letter of intent, and signed with the Braves on July 18, 1996, for a reported $600,000 ($ today) signing bonus
Signing bonus
A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive to the employee, e.g., if the annual salary is lower than he or she desires...
.
Minor league career
In 1996 Marquis began his pro career with the Danville BravesDanville Braves
The Danville Braves are a minor league baseball team in Danville, Virginia, USA. They are an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League and have been a farm team of the Atlanta Braves since 1993. The Braves play home games at American Legion Post 325 Field...
(Rookie Advanced) in the Appalachian League
Appalachian League
The Appalachian League is a Rookie-class minor league that began play in 1937 with one year of inactivity in 1956. From 1937 to 1962, it was a Class D League. Teams are located in the Appalachian regions of Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia and Tennessee...
, going 1–1 with a 4.63 ERA in 7 games. He had 24 strikeouts and gave up 7 walks in 23 innings.
The next year he tied for the South Atlantic League
South Atlantic League
The South Atlantic League is a minor league baseball league based chiefly in the Southeastern United States, with the exception of three teams in the Mid-Atlantic States...
lead with a team-record 14 victories for the Macon Braves, as he went 14–10 with a 4.38 ERA, tied for second in the league with 28 starts, and was named the Braves' No. 5 prospect by Baseball America. "He's like a man on a mission to get to the big leagues," said Mark Ross
Mark Ross
Mark Joseph Ross is a former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched parts of six seasons in Major League Baseball between 1982 until 1990....
, the Macon pitching coach. "He's doing great."
In 1998 he began the season as youngest pitcher in the Carolina League
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...
, but won only 2 of 22 starts for Class A Danville 97s
Danville 97s
The Danville 97s were a minor league baseball team based in Danville, Virginia for the 1998 season only. They were a baseball team that played in the Carolina League and were affiliated with the Atlanta Braves for their lone season. Prior to the 97s, the Durham Bulls were the Braves High-A...
, as he went 2–12 and struck out 135 in 114.2 innings, while walking only 41.
In 1999 Marquis began the season at Class A Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Myrtle Beach Pelicans
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a minor league baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. They are a Class A Advanced team in the Carolina League and the franchise is currently the farm team of the Texas Rangers. From their inaugural season until 2010, the Pelicans were an affiliate of the...
of the Carolina League
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...
, where he opened the season by firing 20.0 consecutive scoreless innings. Marquis was named Baseball America Carolina League Player of the Week for the period April 15–21, as he pitched 10.0 innings, striking out 11. He allowed only one earned run in 6 starts (3–0, 0.28 ERA) before being promoted on May 10 to the AA Greenville Braves
Greenville Braves
The Greenville Braves were an American minor league baseball franchise, based in Greenville, South Carolina, that served as the Class AA farm team of the Atlanta Braves between 1984 and 2004...
, and was named the Braves' No. 6 prospect by Baseball America. With Greenville he went 3–4, 4.58 in 12 starts. He spent much of the summer on the DL
Disabled list
In Major League Baseball, the disabled list is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players.-General guidelines:...
with a sore elbow, a tender right shoulder, and a pulled oblique
Abdominal internal oblique muscle
The internal oblique muscle is the intermediate muscle of the abdomen, lying just underneath the external oblique and just above the transverse abdominal muscle.-Structure:...
stomach muscle.
In 2000 Baseball America named him the Braves' No. 5 prospect, and he split time between AA Greenville (going 4–2 with a 3.57 ERA), the AAA Richmond Braves
Richmond Braves
The Richmond Braves were the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and played in the International League. Colloquially referred to as the R-Braves, they were based in Richmond, Virginia, where they played from 1966, when the Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta where their AAA team, the Crackers,...
, and Atlanta (15 games in relief; a 5.01 ERA. Marquis spent much of 2003 back in the minors, where his overall record at Richmond was 8–4, with a 3.35 ERA in 15 games (all starts).
Atlanta Braves (2000–03)
Marquis was called up to the majors by the Braves in June 2000, at the age of 21 the 10th-youngest player in the NL, after the Braves demoted struggling closer John RockerJohn Rocker
John Loy Rocker is a retired American Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for the Atlanta Braves, the Cleveland Indians, the Texas Rangers, and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as well as the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball...
for threatening a reporter. He made his debut on June 6, 2000, in relief of Tom Glavine
Tom Glavine
Thomas Michael Glavine is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher.With 164 victories during the 1990s, Glavine was the second winningest pitcher in the National League, second only to teammate Greg Maddux's 176...
against the Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
. "Getting that first call and running out to the mound," said Marquis, "I promise you I didn't feel my legs at all." He was later sent back down to AAA Richmond, but was recalled again in September. During the 2000 season he appeared strictly in relief, finishing 7 games in his 15 appearances, and winning 1.
He became a starting pitcher in 2001, joining a celebrated staff with Greg Maddux
Greg Maddux
Gregory Alan Maddux , nicknamed "Mad Dog" and "The Professor", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the first pitcher in major league history to win the Cy Young Award for four consecutive years , a feat matched only by Randy Johnson...
, Tom Glavine, and Kevin Millwood
Kevin Millwood
Kevin Austin Millwood is an American professional baseball pitcher. He has previously played for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles and Colorado Rockies.-Personal life:Millwood graduated from Bessemer City High School in North Carolina...
. The 9/11 attack that interrupted the season also led to the death of one of his Little League World Series teammates, Michael Cammarata, a firefighter. "It's tough knowing that people died who were part of your life at one point," Marquis said. Marquis was the starting pitcher for the Braves in the first game played in New York City after 9/11.
In his first year as a starter, Marquis held batters to a .145 batting average with runners in scoring position
Batting Average with Runners in Scoring Position
Batting Average with Runners in Scoring Position is a baseball statistic derived by dividing a players hits with runners in scoring positions by his at bats with runners in scoring position...
, and 2 out. The club's front office made it clear that he was off-limits in trade talks, saying: "He's going to be a big-time No. 1 pitcher. You don't give up an arm like that." He maintained a spot on the rotation again in 2002 as the fifth starter, behind Maddux, Glavine, Millwood, and Damian Moss
Damian Moss
Damian Joseph Moss is a retired Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher.-Career:After making his major league debut on April 26, , with the Atlanta Braves, Moss would also spend the season in Atlanta, where he placed fifth in the National League Rookie of the Year award...
.
In 2003, the Braves revamped their starting rotation with the acquisitions of Mike Hampton
Mike Hampton
Michael William Hampton is a left-handed former Major League Baseball pitcher. During his career, Hampton was well known for being one of the best hitting pitchers of his time, as well as for his large contract and frequent injuries.-Early career:Mike Hampton was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in...
, Russ Ortiz
Russ Ortiz
Russell Reid Ortiz is a retired Major League baseball pitcher. Ortiz played for the Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers...
, Shane Reynolds
Shane Reynolds
Richard Shane Reynolds is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Houston Astros , Atlanta Braves and Arizona Diamondbacks...
, and the promotion of Horacio Ramírez
Horacio Ramírez
Horacio Ramírez is a Major League Baseball pitcher. His parents emigrated from Jalostotitlan, Jalisco, Mexico.-Career:...
from AA. Marquis was sent to the bullpen. He was upset about being sent to the bullpen, and requested to be sent to the minors where he could be a starting pitcher, and observed by scouts from other organizations. Ultimately, he split his season, making only 2 starts in 21 appearances for Atlanta, while starting 15 games for Richmond in AAA.
On December 13, 2003, Marquis was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals along with relief pitcher
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
Ray King
Ray King
Raymond Keith King is a retired Major League Baseball relief pitcher. King stands at 6'0" tall and weighs 265 pounds. Because of his large size, former Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog playfully referred to King as The Hefty Lefty...
and rookie prospect Adam Wainwright
Adam Wainwright
Adam Parrish Wainwright is a right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was drafted 29th overall by the Atlanta Braves in the 2000 amateur draft. He made his major league debut for the St...
for outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
J. D. Drew
J. D. Drew
David Jonathan "J. D." Drew is an American professional baseball right fielder who is a free agent. He is a left-handed hitter, and began his major league career in with the St. Louis Cardinals...
and catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
Eli Marrero
Eli Marrero
Elieser Marrero , is a former Major League Baseball player. Marrero started his career as a catcher, but spent time at first base, third base and in the outfield....
. Looking back years later, Marquis said: "I was pretty young ... and I think it really shook me, to realize that nothing was forever."
St. Louis Cardinals (2004–06)
Marquis became a full-time starter in 2004 with the Cardinals, and came under the wing of pitching coach Dave DuncanDave Duncan (baseball)
David Edwin Duncan is an American former professional baseball player and current pitching coach for the St. Louis Cardinals...
who observed that Marquis "always had a devastating skinner (sinker), and ... needs to get back to it more." "It's just the pitch I had growing up, and I got away from it," Marquis said. He stole a base against former Atlanta Braves teammate and mentor Greg Maddux on May 3, who also stole a base in the same game. It marked the first time since June 11, 1950, when Warren Spahn
Warren Spahn
Warren Edward Spahn was an American Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in the National League. He won 20 games each in 13 seasons, including a 23-7 record when he was age 42...
of the Braves and Bob Rush
Bob Rush (baseball)
Robert Ransom Rush was a professional baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball from 1948-60.Rush played for the Milwaukee Braves, Chicago Cubs, and the Chicago White Sox....
of the Cubs pulled it off, that opposing pitchers stole a base in the same game. Marquis strung together a Cardinals' season-high 11-game winning streak from May 31 – September 4, the longest by a Cards pitcher since 1985 when John Tudor also won 11 straight games. He had a shutout streak of 18⅓ innings from August 24 – September 10. On the business side, the Cardinals players elected him their # 2 representative to the Major League Baseball Players Association
Major League Baseball Players Association
The Major League Baseball Players Association is the union of professional major-league baseball players.-History of MLBPA:The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players...
.
For the season, Marquis posted a career-best 15–9 record, with a 3.71 ERA and a career-high 138 strikeout
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
s, for the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
champions
2004 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Wednesday, October 13, 2004 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MissouriThe series opener at St. Louis' Busch Stadium was a slugfest involving four homers, 17 runs, and 22 hits, eventually won by St. Louis, 10–7. Houston struck the first blow of the series when Carlos Beltrán hit a two-run home...
. He was 2nd in the NL in ground ball/fly ball ratio (2.17), tied for 5th in percentage of strikes that were "looking" (31%), 6th in pitches per start (104), 8th in won-lost percentage (.682), 9th in wins (15), and tied for 10th in double play
Double play
In baseball, a double play for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two"....
s induced (21). He held batters to a .198 batting average with runners in scoring position, and a .163 batting average with 2 outs and runners in scoring position.
Marquis tossed a scoreless inning of relief in Game 1 of the 2004 World Series
2004 World Series
The 2004 World Series was the Major League Baseball championship series for the 2004 season. It was the 100th World Series and featured the American League champions, the Boston Red Sox, against the National League champions, the St. Louis Cardinals...
at Boston, and Manager Tony La Russa
Tony La Russa
Anthony "Tony" La Russa, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball manager and infielder, best known for his tenures as manager of the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, and St. Louis Cardinals...
tabbed Marquis to start Game 4. He turned in the best performance of any Cardinals starter in the series, pitching 6 innings and giving up 3 runs. He was bested, however, by Boston pitcher Derek Lowe
Derek Lowe
Derek Christopher Lowe is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Cleveland Indians. He throws and bats right-handed. He is 6'6" and 230 pounds.-Early years:...
, who threw shutout ball for 7 innings to win the series for the Red Sox. "Whether you lose 100 games or win 100 games and go to the World Series, the last day of the season you're still looking around and saying, 'The season is over? What do I do now?' " said Marquis as he stuffed jerseys into a duffel bag. "It's hard to handle."
After the season he was a member of MLB's roster for the Japan All-Star Series from November 5–14, and appeared in two games out of the bullpen, allowing three earned runs in 6.2 innings.
Marquis had an up-and-down season in 2005. Although he started the season strong, he slid into a personal 7-game losing streak. It ended on August 27, 2005, when Marquis pitched a 2-hitter against the Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
, for his first career shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....
. Overall Marquis posted a 13–14 record, with a 4.13 ERA in 207 innings pitched
Innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...
. He appeared in 33 games, starting 32, and completing 3 (6th in the NL). He gave up the second-lowest percentage of line drives in the NL (17.3%), induced 29 double plays (T-4th in the league), and was 4th with 1.26 GIDP/9 IP.
In the postseason he worked out of the bullpen in the NLCS, after not being used in the Division Series, and pitched in three games, finished with a 3.38 ERA.
In January 2006, Marquis and the Cardinals agreed to a 1-year contract for $5.15 million, avoiding salary arbitration
Arbitration
Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, where the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons , by whose decision they agree to be bound...
. The season started off well for Marquis, as on July 23 he became the first NL pitcher to win 12 games, raising his record to 12–7. But Marquis followed with a losing second half of the season. Pitching in the starting rotation all year, Marquis finished 14–16, but with a 6.02 ERA, the 2nd-worst in baseball among players who qualified for the ERA title (Joel Piñeiro
Joel Piñeiro
Joel Alberto Piñeiro is a Puerto Rican Major League Baseball starting pitcher. He is 6'1" tall and weighs 200 pounds. He is right-handed and made his major league debut on August 8, .-Career:...
, of the Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...
, finished last with a 6.36 ERA). He led the majors in runs allowed (136), and led the NL in losses (16) and home runs allowed (35). He also had the two worst game scores in the NL, a game against the White Sox on June 21 in which he gave up 13 earned runs in 5 innings as Tony La Russa
Tony La Russa
Anthony "Tony" La Russa, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball manager and infielder, best known for his tenures as manager of the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, and St. Louis Cardinals...
left him in to save a weary bullpen, and one against the Braves 3 weeks later in which Marquis allowed 12 earned runs in 5 innings. "Obviously, those were tough pills to swallow," Marquis said. "I took one for the team." On the other hand, in games that were late and close, he held batters to a .188 batting average.
Marquis was on the Cardinals roster for their first-round playoff matchup against the San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
, but did not make an appearance in the series and was not included on the roster for either the NLCS
National League Championship Series
In Major League Baseball, the National League Championship Series is a round in the postseason that determines who wins the National League pennant and advances to Major League Baseball's championship, the World Series, facing the winner of the American League Championship Series. The reigning...
or for the 2006 World Series
2006 World Series
The 2006 World Series, the 102nd edition of Major League Baseball's championship series, began on October 21 and ended on October 27, and matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals won the Series in five games, taking...
, which the Cardinals won. "Obviously, I'm very disappointed," he said. "[The] year was a little bittersweet," he said. "Because you bust your butt for three years for a manager, you give it your all and don't complain, and you contribute so much in the regular season, then to have it taken away in the postseason ... But managers are going to make their decisions. You really can't question them or change them because they're going to do what they want anyway. You have to go out there and work hard and be thankful for what you have." His teammates still voted him a full playoff/World Series share.
Chicago Cubs (2007–08)
In December 2006 Marquis signed a 3-year contract with the Chicago Cubs worth $21 million. With the Cubs, he wore his favorite # 21, the number formerly worn by ex-Cubs slugger Sammy SosaSammy Sosa
Samuel Peralta "Sammy" Sosa is a Dominican former professional baseball right fielder. Sosa played with four Major League Baseball teams over his career which spanned from 1989-2007....
, who coincidentally hit his 600th home run against Marquis. This caused some concern, due to Sosa's accomplishments with the Cubs, including his status as the Cubs' all-time home run leader.
On May 9, Marquis completed a three-hit shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates, defeating them 1–0. He had a perfect game
Perfect game
A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any...
going into the 6th inning, retiring the first 16 batters he faced, but Pirates shortstop Don Kelly
Don Kelly (baseball)
Donald Thomas Kelly is an American professional baseball player infielder with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball...
broke it up with a single. The game took only 2 hours and 6 minutes. Marquis struck out 5, and needed only 109 pitches to complete the game. "His ball was diving and darting. He was awesome," said teammate Jacque Jones
Jacque Jones
Jacque Dewayne Jones is a Major League Baseball outfielder who currently is a free agent-Early life:...
. The win improved Marquis' record to 5–1, and dropped his ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
to 1.70, 3rd-best in the NL. After the game, Marquis highlighted his consistency as being the key to his turnaround. "My delivery is as consistent as it's ever been. I feel like I'm repeating the same delivery over and over again and that's the reason, I really believe, for the success."
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
, the Jewish day of atonement, was September 21, and Marquis was glad to be slated to pitch the day prior in a day game, as he expected to be done before sundown. "I look at it that religion is an important part of my life, but so is family and baseball," Marquis said. "To me, family takes precedent over all aspects of my life. Baseball and religion fall into place, and I try not to make one more important than the other." Marquis did have to pitch on the holiday when he was with the Braves. It was his turn, and he did not want to throw the rotation out of order. "I pitched, went to temple the next morning," Marquis said. "It was a day game. Bobby [Cox, Atlanta manager] allowed me to show up late. It turned out well."
In 2007 Marquis was 12–9, with a 4.60 ERA. He was tied for 2nd in the league in shutouts (1), was 5th in the league in hit batsmen (13), had the 5th-lowest batting average in the NL of balls hit into play against him (.280), and had the 8th-highest ground ball percentage (49.5%). He kept batters to a .229 batting average in games that were late and close.
On March 24, 2008, it was announced he would be the Cubs' fifth starter for the 2008 season. Historically, Marquis' numbers during the second half of the season were not as good as his numbers during the first half, but thanks to smart managing by Lou Piniella
Lou Piniella
Louis Victor Piniella is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He has been nicknamed "Sweet Lou," both for his swing as a major league hitter and, facetiously, to describe his demeanor as a player and manager...
, Marquis and Rich Harden
Rich Harden
James Richard Harden is a Canadian professional baseball pitcher.-Early years:Harden attended Claremont Secondary School in Victoria, British Columbia. He was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 38th round of the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft...
, newly acquired from the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
on July 8, rotated their starts for a time, and Marquis posted a winning month of August, going 3–1 with a 3.90 ERA. It was his second-lowest ERA after a 3.81 ERA in July. He finished the season 11–9, with a 4.53 ERA, and held batters to a .192 batting average with 2 outs and runners in scoring position.
On September 26, 2008, the Cubs post-season roster was announced, and Marquis was granted a roster spot as a reliever. Marquis thereby reached the playoffs in all nine of his major league seasons through 2008. He made one appearance against the Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
in Game 1 of the National League Division Series
National League Division Series
In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series determine which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series...
, when he pitched the top of the ninth inning. In it he gave up a solo home run to Russell Martin
Russell Martin
Russell Nathan Jeanson Coltrane Martin, Jr is a Canadian Major League Baseball catcher for the New York Yankees.Martin became the everyday catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers immediately upon his Major League debut, and continued in that role for nearly 5 years...
for the Dodgers' seventh and final run of the game — one they'd win by a final score of 7–2.
Colorado Rockies (2009)
On January 6, 2009, Marquis was traded to the Colorado Rockies for pitcher Luis VizcaínoLuis Vizcaíno
Luis Vizcaíno Arias is a Dominican Republic professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played for the Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, Colorado Rockies, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Indians in his career.-Career:Vizcaíno...
. General Manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
Dan O'Dowd
Dan O'Dowd
Dan O'Dowd has served as the General Manager of the Colorado Rockies since September 20, 1999. Before being hired by the Rockies, he spent 15 years working for the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians, working his way from Accounts Manager to Director of Baseball Operations / Assistant General...
said: "We like (Marquis') athleticism, age and durability."
During the off-season, Marquis tweaked his delivery to improve his release point by staying over the rubber longer in his balance point, allowing his arm to catch up, resulting in a 2 to 3 inches longer stride, and leaving him on top of the ball and throwing downhill. Reporters attributed his first-half success to his new delivery and his high ground ball ratio.
On June 30 Marquis pitched a 2-hit, 0-walk, 17-ground-ball-outs, 86-pitch shutout to become the first 10-game winner in the NL. A reporter for MLB.com called it "one of the best pitching performances in Rockies history", and Rob Neyer
Rob Neyer
Rob Neyer is a baseball author and writer for SB Nation. He started his career working for Bill James and STATS, and then joined ESPN.com as a columnist from 1996 to January 2011 before becoming SB Nation's National Baseball Editor...
of ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
described Marquis that night as "Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
, Orel Hershiser
Orel Hershiser
Orel Leonard Hershiser IV is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is currently an analyst for Baseball Tonight and Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN and a professional poker player for...
, and Greg Maddux all rolled into one". He beat the LA Dodgers, which had the best record in the major leagues, and outpitched their ace Chad Billingsley
Chad Billingsley
Chad Ryan Billingsley is a Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers.-Biography:...
3–0 in a matchup of pitchers leading the league in wins. It was his third career shutout, and his second complete game of the season. He also drove in two of his team's three runs. "That was something special, as good as I have seen in my 7½ years behind this desk," said Rockies manager Jim Tracy.
On July 5, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel
Charlie Manuel
Charles Fuqua Manuel, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball outfielder and current Major League Baseball manager of the Philadelphia Phillies...
, who managed the NL squad, chose Marquis to be on the NL All Star
All-star
All-star is a term designating an individual as having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry...
team, the fifth Rockies pitcher to be an All Star. "This is something ... I'll cherish the rest of my life", said Marquis. The next day Marquis followed up his shutout of the Dodgers with 8 shutout innings in a 1–0 victory over the Nationals, for a major-league-leading 11th win. He became the third pitcher in club history to win 11 games before the All Star break, the team record, joining Shawn Chacon
Shawn Chacón
Shawn Anthony Chacón is a Major League pitcher, currently a free agent. He last played in the Majors for the Houston Astros...
(2003) and Aaron Cook (2008).
At the 2009 All Star Game
2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 80th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League and the National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 14, 2009, at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, the home of the...
, Marquis (a former Cardinal) received one of the biggest ovations during pregame introductions of any non-Cardinal player, and then warmed up in the ninth inning but never did enter the game. He received a $75,000 bonus for making the team, and he and teammate Brad Hawpe
Brad Hawpe
Bradley Bonte Hawpe is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman.-High school and college:...
bought 30 bats and 50 All Star Game shirts for the Rockies players, and Marquis purchased game jerseys for all the coaches, trainers, and clubhouse staff. "I want them to know how much they are appreciated," he said. "They helped us get here."
On August 19, Marquis joined Adam Wainwright
Adam Wainwright
Adam Parrish Wainwright is a right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was drafted 29th overall by the Atlanta Braves in the 2000 amateur draft. He made his major league debut for the St...
as the only 14-game winners in the NL, and tied for the major league lead.
In 2009, Marquis was 2nd in the NL in ground ball outs induced (353) and ground balls induced (408), tied for 2nd in double plays induced (28), 3rd in ground ball percentage (55.6%), 3rd-lowest in pitches per plate appearance (3.53), tied for 4th in wins (15), 8th in innings pitched (216.0) and home runs per 9 innings pitched (.625), 4th-lowest in pitches per inning (15.0; of NL pitchers with 160 or more innings), and tied for 6th in shutouts (1). At the plate, Marquis tied for 3rd in the major leagues among pitchers in runs scored (7), and tied for 6th in doubles (3) and RBIs (8).
Marquis is one of only six major league pitchers who won at least 11 games in each year from 2004 to 2009, the others being CC Sabathia, Derek Lowe
Derek Lowe
Derek Christopher Lowe is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Cleveland Indians. He throws and bats right-handed. He is 6'6" and 230 pounds.-Early years:...
, Johan Santana
Johan Santana
Johan Alexander Santana Araque is a Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher who is currently playing for the New York Mets. He is a native of Venezuela....
, Javier Vazquez
Javier Vázquez
Javier Carlos Vázquez is a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. Previously, he pitched for the Florida Marlins , Atlanta Braves , Chicago White Sox , Arizona Diamondbacks , New York Yankees and Montreal Expos . Vázquez was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico...
, and John Lackey
John Lackey
John Derran Lackey is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. Lackey was drafted by the Anaheim Angels in 1999 and helped the franchise win its first World Series title in 2002, which was his first season in the major leagues...
. He never started fewer than 29 games during that span.
When the Rockies qualified for the post-season in 2009, it marked the 10th time in 10 years (every year of his major league career) that the team for which he pitched made the playoffs. He became the first player in baseball history to have been on a playoff team in each of the first 10 years of his career while playing for at least three different teams.
After the 2009 season Marquis became a free agent. The Rockies offered him arbitration, but he rejected their offer of a one-year, non-guaranteed deal for the possibility that he will receive a multi-year deal.
Washington Nationals (2010–11)
On December 22, 2009, Marquis signed a 2-year, $15 million contract with the Washington NationalsWashington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
for the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
Marquis had 3 starts early in the 2010 season for the Nationals, posting an 0–3 record with a 20.52 ERA before being placed on the 15-day disabled list on April 22, 2010, with bone chips in his right elbow. He returned to action on August 8, 2010. He was much improved upon returning from his injury, but still finished the season a disappointing 2–9 with a 6.60 ERA.
Marquis started 20 games for the Nationals in 2011, going 8–5 with a 3.95 ERA.
Arizona Diamondbacks (2011–present)
On July 30, 2011, Marquis was traded to the Arizona DiamondbacksArizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field...
for minor league infielder Zach Walters.
On August 14, 2011, Marquis broke his fibula, and was out for the remainder of the season.
Pitching
Marquis relies mostly on his sinkerSinker (baseball)
In baseball, a sinker , is a type of fastball pitch which has significant downward and horizontal movement. The sinker is known for inducing a lot of ground balls...
. He throws it harder than most pitchers, gets plenty of movement on the pitch, and throws in down in the strike zone
Strike zone
In baseball, the strike zone is a conceptual right pentagonal prism over home plate which defines the boundaries through which a pitch must pass in order to count as a strike when the batter does not swing.-Definition:...
as he tries to induce hitters to hit ground balls. He also relies heavily on a sharp slider
Slider
In baseball, a slider is a pitch that breaks laterally and down, with a speed between that of a curveball and that of a fastball....
. In his career with Atlanta, the Braves system steered Marquis to also throw a four-seam fastball
Four-seam fastball
A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family...
in the mid- to high-90s, but in St. Louis he began to gravitate towards instead using a sinking two-seam fastball
Two-seam fastball
A two-seam fastball is a pitch in baseball and a variant of the straight fastball. The pitch has the speed of a fastball, but the general movement of a screwball...
that he had thrown as a teenager, which he still threw in the mid-90s. In addition, he throws an excellent occasional overhand tight curve ball, and a changeup
Changeup
A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball. Other names include change-of-pace, Bugs Bunny change-up, the dreaded equalizer, and simply change. The changeup is sometimes called an off-speed pitch, although that term can also be used simply to mean any pitch that is slower than a fastball...
which has good action.
Marquis, the 144th Jewish player in major league history, is 6th all-time of all Jewish major leaguer pitchers in strikeouts and 7th in wins, trailing among others Sandy Koufax
Sandy Koufax
Sanford "Sandy" Koufax is a former left-handed baseball pitcher who played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers...
, Ken Holtzman
Ken Holtzman
Kenneth Dale Holtzman is a left-handed former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics...
, and Steve Stone in both categories. In 2009 he became only the 2nd Jewish pitcher to notch at least 10 victories in six consecutive seasons, joining Koufax. When there was talk in the off-season about an Israeli/Jewish team being fielded in the World Baseball Classic
World Baseball Classic
The World Baseball Classic is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation and created by Major League Baseball , the Major League Baseball Players Association , and other professional baseball leagues and their players associations around the world...
, Marquis said if it came about he would definitely be interested in playing to represent his heritage.
Hitting and baserunning
Marquis is an excellent hitter for a pitcher. He is so good, in fact, that he is sometimes called upon to pinch hit, something that is extraordinarily rare for a modern day pitcher. He constantly hits off the teeTee
A tee is a stand used to support a stationary ball so that the player can strike it, particularly in golf, tee ball, American football, and rugby.- Etymology :...
in batting cage
Batting cage
A batting cage is an enclosed cage for baseball players to practice the skill of batting.It is usually made of netting or a chain-link fence and rectangular in shape. A batter stands at one end of the cage, with a pitching machine at the opposing end...
s. His baserunning speed has also led to him being used as a pinch-runner. "Watch Marquis take batting practice," wrote John Schlegel for MLB.com
MLB.com
MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. . MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports columns...
, "and you think you're watching a left-handed slugger. He can ping baseballs off the bleachers with the best of them. Watch him run up the first-base line with the speed of an outfielder and the intensity of a linebacker, and you can't believe he's a pitcher."
In 2005 he achieved two career-highs: a .310 batting average, and a .460 slugging percentage. In 87 at bat
At bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...
s he had 27 hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
, including 9 doubles, a triple, and a home run as he both scored 10 runs and drove in
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
10 runs. He was the first pitcher to bat over .300 since Mike Hampton
Mike Hampton
Michael William Hampton is a left-handed former Major League Baseball pitcher. During his career, Hampton was well known for being one of the best hitting pitchers of his time, as well as for his large contract and frequent injuries.-Early career:Mike Hampton was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in...
batted .344 in 2002 (minimum of 50 at bats). His 27 hits were the most by a big-league pitcher since Rick Rhoden
Rick Rhoden
Richard Alan Rhoden is a professional golfer and was a Major League Baseball pitcher. During his 16 year baseball career, he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros of the National League; and the New York Yankees of the American League.-Early years:Rhoden was...
had 28 in 1984, and 24 came as a pitcher and 3 as pinch-hitter. His 10 extra-base hits were the highest extra-base hit total by a pitcher since 1986, when Rhoden had 10. For his hitting, Marquis won the 2005 NL Pitcher Silver Slugger Award.
His first three home runs were hit off of Wandy Rodríguez
Wandy Rodríguez
Wandy Fulton Rodríguez is a Dominican pitcher for the Houston Astros. He is a native of Santiago Rodriguez, located in the North Region of the Dominican Republic.-Playing career:...
, Brian Lawrence
Brian Lawrence
Brian Michael Lawrence is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher. He batted and threw right-handed.-High school:Lawrence attended Carthage High School in Carthage, Texas...
, and Javier Vázquez
Javier Vázquez
Javier Carlos Vázquez is a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. Previously, he pitched for the Florida Marlins , Atlanta Braves , Chicago White Sox , Arizona Diamondbacks , New York Yankees and Montreal Expos . Vázquez was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico...
. In 2008 he hit a career-high 2 homers as he again drove in 10 runs, this time in 59 at bats. He belted his fourth home run on September 6, against Cincinnati's
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
Gary Majewski
Gary Majewski
-Career:Majewski graduated in 1998 from St. Pius X High School in Houston, where he was unanimously selected for Houston Player of the Year for his achievement of maintaining a 1.64 ERA and a 14-3 record. With that, he led his team to the state championship in Class 5A TAPPS.In the majors, Majewski...
at the Great American Ballpark. On September 22, he hit his first career grand slam
Grand slam (baseball)
In the sport of baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners , thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the term originated in the card game of contract bridge, in which a grand slam involves...
, off of New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
rookie Jon Niese
Jon Niese
Jonathon Joseph "Jon" Niese is an American professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, he currently plays for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball.-Biography:...
at Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
. That night he was also credited with five RBIs — four of which came with his grand slam — in a career-high performance. It was the first grand slam by a Jewish pitcher since Saul Rogovin
Saul Rogovin
Saul Walter Rogovin was a professional baseball player.Rogovin was a pitcher over parts of 8 seasons , with the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, and Philadelphia Phillies...
of the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
hit one in 1950 off Eddie Lopat
Eddie Lopat
Edmund Walter ""The Junkman"" Lopat was a Major League Baseball pitcher.Lopat was born in New York, New York. His Major League debut was on April 30, 1944, playing for the Chicago White Sox....
of the Yankees.
In 441 at bat
At bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...
s through 2008 Marquis had a .206 career batting average, with 25 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs, 50 runs scored, 40 RBIs, 23 sacrifice hits, and a .306 slugging percentage — 9th-best of all pitchers with at least 100 at bats. He had a .276 career batting average, in 59 plate appearance
Plate appearance
In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance each time he completes a turn batting. A player completes a turn batting when: He strikes out or is declared out before reaching first base; or He reaches first base safely or is awarded first base ; or He hits a fair ball which...
s, with 2 outs and runners in scoring position
Scoring position
In the sport of baseball, a baserunner is said to be in scoring position when he is on second or third base. The distinction between being on first base and second or third base is that a runner on first can usually only score if the batter hits an extra base hit, while a runner on second or third...
. With the bases loaded, through August 2008 he was a career .364 batter, with a .500 on base percentage and an .818 slugging percentage. In 26 at bats as a pinch hitter
Pinch hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead ; the manager may use any player that has not yet entered the game as a substitute...
, he had a .231 batting average. Summarizing his approach to hitting, Marquis said: "I'm not going up as a pitcher with a bat. I'm going up as a hitter."
Fielding
Marquis has exhibited a better range factorRange Factor
Range Factor is a baseball statistic developed by Bill James. It is calculated by dividing putouts and assists by number of innings or games played at a given defense position...
at pitcher than the league average every year of his career, through 2009.
See also
- List of select Jewish Major League Baseball players
External links
- Jews in Sports bio
- Jewish Major League career leaders
- "Jason Marquis pregame quotes: Game 4 pitcher talks about his approach to starting," MLB.com, 10/26/04
- "The boys of summer and seder: Baseball, Passover share openers," 3/12/07
- http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-070924outloudmarquis,0,6714694.story"Out loud with Jason Marquis; Cubs pitcher tells Our Guy about his role models, growing up in New York and his bar mitzvah," Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, 9/24/07] - "Warming up for the Jewish Boys of Summer," 3/5/08