From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Martin Whiteford Marion (born December 1, 1917
in Richburg, South Carolina) is a
former shortstop and manager
in Major League Baseball. He batted
and threw right-handed.
Marion played with the St. Louis Cardinals between 1940
and 1950. He took over managerial duties in 1951, and joined the St. Louis
Browns as a player-manager in 1952, then non-playing pilot in
1953. At the end of the 1954 season he was promoted to manager of
the Chicago
White Sox, serving until his retirement in 1956.
In a 13-season career, Marion posted a .263 batting average
with 36 home runs and 624
RBI in 1572 games. He made All-Star Game appearances from
1943-44 and 1946-1950 (There was no All-Star Game in 1945). In 1944
he earned National
League MVP honors. As a manager, he compiled a 356-372 record.
His older brother, Red
Marion, was briefly an outfielder in the American League and a long-time manager
in the minor leagues.
As a shortstop, Marion was synonymous with St. Louis baseball
until the appearance of Ozzie Smith. It's clear that Marion wasn't
flashy as Smith, but at 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) and
170 pounds (77 kg), he disproved the theory that shortstops
had to be small men. Nicknamed "Slats", Marion had unusually long
arms which reached for grounders like tentacles, prompting sportwriters to call him "The Octopus".
From 1940-50, Marion led the National League shortstops in fielding percentage four times during his
reign as the glue of the Cardinals infield, despite several players
moved around the infield during these years. If Gold Glove Awards had been awarded during
his career, Marion would have earned his share. In 1941 he played
all 154 games at shortstop (also a league-high) and in 1947 he made
only 15 errors for a consistent .981 percentage.
Marion was also a better-than-average hitter for a shortstop.
His most productive season came in 1942, when he hit .276 with a
league-lead 38 doubles. In the 1942 World
Series, one of four series in which he participated with the
Cardinals, he helped his team to a World Championship with his
amazing glove. In 1943 he batted a career-high .280 in the regular
season and hit .357 in the 1943 World Series, which was more
than respectable considering his value in the infield.
He played with many second basemen throughout his career but
perhaps his favorite was Frank "Creepy" Crespi. Marion commented
after the '41 season that Creepy's play was the best he'd ever seen
by a second baseman - but their bond went deeper than that. Creepy
once took on Joe Medwick on the field (during a game) when he was
trying to intimidate Marion. They remained friends until Creepy's
passing in 1990.
In 1951 Marion managed the Cardinals and was replaced by Eddie Stanky at the
end of the season. Then, he moved to the American League Browns, and took over
for manager Rogers
Hornsby early in 1952 as their player-manager. The last manager
in St. Louis Browns history, he was let go after the 1953 season
when the Brownies moved to Baltimore. He then signed as a coach for the
White Sox for the 1954 campaign, but once again was quickly
promoted to manager that September, when skipper Paul Richards left Chicago to
become field manager and general manager — in Baltimore,
ironically. Marion led the Chisox for the rest of 1954, and for the
full seasons of 1955 and 1956, finishing third each season, before
he stepped down at the end of the 1956 season.
As of December 2009, Marion is the third oldest living former
Cardinals player at age 92. He is preceded by Don Lang aged 94 and
Freddy Schmidt aged 93, and is followed by Stan Musial, aged 88, and Red
Schoendienst at age 86.
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