Shortstop, St. Louis Cardinals
Age: 27
5th season
with Cardinals
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’2” Weight: 170
Prior to 1944:
Born in South
Carolina, Marion grew up in Atlanta, where a compound fracture of his right leg
at age 10 put him in traction for several months and didn’t allow him to walk
for over a year. He was later able to play third base at Tech High School and
for an American Legion team. He was signed by the Cardinals following a tryout
in 1936. Assigned to Huntington of the Class C Middle Atlantic League as a
19-year-old, he played shortstop and hit .268. The tall and slender Marion
picked up the nickname “Slats”, which stuck. He advanced to Rochester of the
Class AA International League in 1937 and batted .246. Quick and agile in the
field with a strong throwing arm, Marion spent two more seasons with Rochester
in 1938 and ’39, hitting for .272 in the latter year. He won the starting
shortstop job for the Cardinals in 1940 and batted .278 with 22 extra-base hits
while performing well in the field, where his fielding percentage was .949 and
he was in the top five among NL shortstops in chances, put outs, assists, and
double plays. Known for his friendly personality as well as defensive skill,
Marion hit .252 with 22 doubles in 1941 while leading league shortstops with
489 assists. The Cards won the NL pennant in 1942 while “Slats”, or “the
Octopus” (due to his long arms and legs) batted .276 with a league-leading 38
doubles and was among the leaders among NL shortstops with 775 chances, 296 put
outs, 448 assists, and 87 DPs. He placed seventh in league MVP voting. He hit
only .111 in the World Series triumph over the Yankees. Eligible to be drafted
for World War II military service, Marion was deferred due to concerns
regarding his boyhood leg injury. The Cardinals repeated as NL champs in 1943
and Marion was an All-Star for the first time, batting .280 and once again
ranking among the leaders in defensive measurements at shortstop. This time he
hit .357 as the Cards lost the World Series rematch with the Yankees.
1944 Season Summary
Appeared in 144
games
SS – 144
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 565
At Bats – 506
Runs – 50
Hits – 135
Doubles – 26
Triples – 2
Home Runs – 6
RBI – 63
Bases on Balls
– 43
Int. BB – N/A
Strikeouts – 50
[12, tied with Ray Sanders & Buck Etchison]
Stolen Bases – 1
Caught Stealing
– 3
Average - .267
OBP - .324
Slugging Pct. -
.362
Total Bases – 183
GDP – 9
Hit by Pitches
– 0
Sac Hits – 16
[5]
Sac Flies – N/A
Midseason
snapshot: 2B – 9, HR - 1, RBI – 27, AVG – .254, OBP - .314
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 7 AB) at Pittsburgh 6/23 – 14 innings, (in 4 AB) at Bos. Braves 7/22
Longest hitting
streak – 9 games
Most HR, game –
2 (in 5 AB) at NY Giants 10/1 – 13 innings
HR at home – 2
HR on road – 4
Multi-HR games
– 1
Most RBIs, game
– 3 at Phila. Phillies 7/27, at Pittsburgh 8/3
Pinch-hitting –
No appearances
Fielding
Chances – 750
Put Outs – 268
Assists – 461
Errors – 21
DP - 90
Pct. - .972
Postseason
Batting: 6 G (World Series vs. St. Louis Browns)
PA – 25, AB – 22,
R – 1, H – 5, 2B – 3,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 2, BB – 2, IBB – 2, SO – 3, SB – 0,
CS – 0, AVG - .227, OBP - .292, SLG - .364, TB – 8, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 1,
SF – N/A
Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: BBWAA
MLB Player of
the Year: Sporting News
All-Star
(Started for NL at SS)
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Marty Marion,
St.LC.: 190 pts. – 7 of 24 first place votes, 57% share
Bill Nicholson,
ChiC.: 189 pts. – 4 first place votes, 56% share
Dixie Walker,
Brook.: 145 pts. – 3 first place votes, 43% share
Stan Musial,
StLC.: 136 pts. – 3 first place votes, 40% share
Bucky Walters,
Cin.: 107 pts. – 3 first place votes, 32% share
Bill Voiselle,
NYG: 107 pts. – 32% share
(2 first place
votes for Ray Mueller, Cin., who ranked seventh & 1 first place vote apiece
for Walker Cooper, StLC., who ranked eighth & Babe Dahlgren, Pitt., who
ranked twelfth)
---
Cardinals went 105-49
to win the NL pennant by 14.5 games over the Pittsburgh Pirates, while leading
the league in runs scored (772), hits (1507), doubles (274), home runs (100),
RBIs (722), batting (.275), OBP (.344), and slugging (.402). The Cards cruised
to their third straight pennant, despite a small September slump. Won World
Series over the St. Louis Browns, 4 games to 2, in the only all-St. Louis
Series, with Marion performing impressively in the field.
Aftermath of ‘44:
Marion’s
stellar defensive performances were despite the Cardinals’ home field, Sportsman’s
Park, having an infield that was regularly in poor condition. Playing shallow
at short, he was sure-handed, agile, and effective at throwing out runners from
deep in the hole. The Cardinals dipped in the standings in 1945 but Marion
batted .277 with 27 doubles and continued to excel in the field. He placed
eighth in NL MVP voting. Dealing with chronic back pain, Marion maintained his
All-Star status in 1946, while hitting .233 with 29 doubles and leading NL
shortstops with 791 chances, 290 put outs, 480 assists, and 105 double plays.
The Cardinals returned to the top of the National League and defeated the Red
Sox in the World Series. In 1947, Marion batted .272 with a career-high 74 RBIs
and led NL shortstops with 796 chances, 329 put outs, and 104 DPs. Off the
field, he played a significant role in negotiating a pension plan for major
league players. Marion remained with the Cardinals until 1950, when he was
limited to 106 games due to a knee injury. He became manager of the Cards in
1951 and the club finished third and, having run afoul of owner Fred Saigh, he
was fired and moved on to the St. Louis Browns, where he was a player/coach in
1952 and ‘53. He saw limited action on the field, and it marked the end of his
playing career. For his major league career, Marion batted .263 with 1448 hits
that included 272 doubles, 37 triples, and 36 home runs. He scored 602 runs and
compiled 624 RBIs. Almost all of his production occurred with the Cardinals.
Appearing in 23 World Series games, he hit .231 with a home run and 11 RBIs. Marion
became manager of the Browns during the 1952 season and stayed on through 1953,
the club’s final year in St. Louis. He became a coach with the Chicago White
Sox in 1954 and took over as manager late in the season. He stayed on through
1956. His managerial record was 356-372. Marion remained involved in baseball,
becoming a minor league co-owner, and attempting to return to the major leagues
in a similar capacity. He was elected to the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014,
three years after his death at age 94. His brother Red played briefly for the
Washington Senators.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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