MARTY MARION

Like Maz and Jim Hegan, Marion makes our Hall hecause he was one of the greatest defensive players of all time; indeed, his nickname is Mr. Shortstop. How good? The tall, skinny (aka. Slats) North Carolinian was the NL's 1944 MVP despite the fact that he hit .267, 6, 50, even though teammate Musial was .347, 12, 94. Baseball pundits generally rank him with Luis Aparicio and Ozzie Smith as the finest fielding shortstops ever. During his era, however, he was overshadowed by Luke Appling, Lou Boudreau, Pee Wee Reese and Phil Rizzuto, all of whom are in Cooperstown and all of whom, with the exception of the Scooter, were heftier hitters. He did lead the NL in doubles with 38 in 1942 and in fielding percentage three times. Of course, a fielder with the great range a Marty Marion possessed a disadvantage in fielding percentage because he will go after more balls than a lead foot. In any case, the BBWA favors sluggers over singles hitters, offense over defense, strikeouts artists over finesse pitchers.

Branch Rickey, the creator of the modern farm system had dozens of Cardinal farm teams in the '20s and '30s. Usually there were two or three major league caliber players at each position, all under contract to the Cards. It was effective, of course, as the Cards won pennants in '26, '28, '30, '31, '34, '42, '43, '44 and '46, with Marion on the last four clubs. Rickey himself signed Slats in the mid '30s, inking Marion and a buddy to unheard of four-year contracts. He hit .278 his rookie year (1940), dazzled fans and experts alike with his graceful, spectacular style and became, with Pee Wee, the dominant NL shortstop of the '40s.

As well as the four World Series that he played in with Musial, Harry "The Hat" Walker, the Cooper brothers, Terry Moore and Enos Slaughter, he made six All Star teams between 1943 and 1950. By the early '50s a childhood leg injury flared up and an operation revealed too much destroyed cartilage to continue playing. He remained close to the game, managing the Cards in '51, the Browns in '52-3 and the Chisox from late '54-'56. In 1956 he passed on some off his immense knowledge to a rookie from Venezuela-Luis Aparicio.