Why Isn't Marty Marion In Cooperstown?
ALSO: JESSE CHAVEZ IS THE MOST TRADED PLAYER OF ALL TIME
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
Only eight closers have collected 400 saves, most recently Kenley Jansen (420) and Craig Kimbrel (417) last season. They rank seventh and eighth, respectively, on the career saves list but nobody is close to joining them in the 400 Club . . .
Toronto second baseman Will Wagner is the son of Hall-of-Fame contender Billy Wagner, the erstwhile fireballing closer . . .
Fellow Toronto infielder Spencer Horwitz is NOT related to former Mets PR man Jay Horwitz despite Jay’s statements to the contrary . . .
Yankee southpaw Nestor Cortes was outspoken is his opposition to team plans to pitch him in relief — but manager Aaron Boone said he didn’t mind . . .
Nationals Park has undergone massive renovations in recent years but the press box and broadcast booth remain light-years from the playing surface . . .
Congratulations to Cavan Biggio, now with Atlanta after playing for the Jays, Dodgers, and Giants earlier this season . . .
He’ll fill in for Luke Williams, who was filling in for Whit Merrifield, who was filling in for Ozzie Albies — all at second base.
Leading Off
Oh, Marty! Why Hasn't the Hall of Fame Been Opened To You?
By Paul Semendinger
The other day I was doing research, baseball research. It seems that I'm always doing some sort of baseball research...
This specific task had me looking at the Top 10 vote-getters for the Baseball Hall of Fame year-by-year dating back to 1970. As I looked at the list of the top ten vote- getters, year-in and year-out, I noticed something very interesting: most of the players who made it into the top ten in any given year eventually made it into Cooperstown.
For example, in 1970, all but one of the top ten vote-getters have earned enshrinement. The top vote-getters were: Lou Boudreau, Ralph Kiner, Gil Hodges, Early Wynn, Enos Slaughter, Johnny Mize, Red Schoendienst, Pee Wee Reese, and George Kell. The only one of the top ten vote-getters from 1970 who is not in the Hall of Fame is Marty Marion.
This pattern continued for many years.
A quick review of the year-by-year voting is as follows:
1971 - 8 enshrined, the two excluded are Marty Marion (again) and Allie Reynolds
1972 - 9 enshrined, Marty Marion is the lone exception
1973 - 9 enshrined, Marty Marion is (yet again) the lone exception
1974 - All 10 are in the Hall of Fame
1975 - 9 enshrined, Phil Cavarretta is the lone exception
1976 - All 10 are in the Hall of Fame
1977 - All 10 are in the Hall of Fame
1978 - All 10 are in the Hall of Fame
1979 - 9 enshrined, Maury Wills is the lone exception.
In the entire decade of the 1970s, only four players — Marty Marion, Allie Reynolds, Phil Cavarretta, and Maury Wills — finished in the top ten of vote-getters for the Hall of Fame and never made it across the threshold.
This trend continued through the mid-1980s:
1980 and 1981 - Only Maury Wills has been excluded
1982 - All 10 are in the Hall of Fame
1983 - All 10 are in the Hall of Fame
1984 - 9 enshrined, with Roger Maris is the lone exception
1985 - 8 enshrined; Maris and Harvey Kuenn the exceptions
1986 - 7 enshrined, Maris, Kuenn, and Wills are the exceptions
The ballots from 1987 and beyond are loaded with players yet to reach Cooperstown's hallowed halls, but with my interest piqued, I decided to then look backwards from 1970. The results:
1969 - 8 enshrined, the two excluded are Marty Marion and Allie Reynolds
1968 - 8 enshrined, the two excluded are Marion and Reynolds
1967 - 9 enshrined, Marion the lone exception
1966 - 9 enshrined, Marion the lone exception
1965 - It seems there wasn't a vote that year
1964 - 9 enshrined, Johnny Vander Meer is the lone exception
1963 - No vote
1962 - All 10 are in the Hall of Fame
1961 - No vote
1960 - All 10 are in the Hall of Fame
For a quarter of a century, the list of players able to reach the top ten in Hall of Fame voting in multiple years, and never gain enshrinement, is limited to a precious few:
Marty Marion - 8 times
Maury Wills - 4 times
Roger Maris - 3 times
Allie Reynolds - 3 times
I began to wonder what it was about Marty Marion that made him, over a 25-year period, a player who was consistently able to gain enough votes to be a top ten vote- getter, but never earn the ultimate selection, while the vast majority of other players who also reached the top ten were able to make it.
No player reached the top ten more times than Marty Marion in this period without gaining inclusion in the Hall of Fame.
I needed to learn more.
Does Marty Marion belong in Cooperstown? Is he the biggest Hall of Fame snub of all-time?
My next article will answer that question.
Dr. Paul Semendinger is a life-long educator. He has served at every level of education from elementary school through college. Paul spent over 25 years as a building principal, is now retired, but still serves as an adjunct professor. Paul has written a host of books: Scattering the Ashes, 365.2: Going the Distance, Impossible is an Illusion, The Least Among Them, and From Compton to the Bronx (with Roy White).
Cleaning Up
Meet The Most-Traded Man in Baseball History
By Dan Schlossberg
Once upon a time, there was a baseball player named Harry Simpson.
An outfielder-first baseman who batted left-handed, he played for 11 years in a nondescript career that ended with a .251 batting average, 76 home runs, and an unforgettable nickname.
A survivor of the Negro Leagues, he had one big year – with the 1956 Kansas City Athletics – but the distinction of being included in almost every trade or rumor that surfaced while he was active.
But “Suitcase” Simpson, as he was called, had nothing on Jesse Chavez.
Still active despite the fact he turned 41 last month, Chavez became the oldest man in the National League when the Atlanta Braves brought him back to their varsity this season. He’s got a few months on pitching teammate Charlie Morton.
A bespectacled right-hander known for his white glasses and ability to pitch in long relief, Chavez is traded more often than a common stock.
He’s not the guy who’s played with the most different teams – Edwin Jackson owns that at 14 – but he does own the record for being included in more trades than anyone else. Well-liked in the clubhouse and on the mound, he keeps popping up in places he’s been before.
Suffice to say he’ll soon start his sixth sojourn with the Atlanta Braves. Sixth!
The 6-1, 180-pound California began his odyssey with big-league baseball on June 5, 2001, when he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 39th round – which no longer exists – of the amateur draft. He didn’t sign but was drafted a year later in an even later round: the 42nd. Realizing that he was not in hot demand, he signed his first pro contract – with the Texas Rangers.
Then the odyssey began in earnest.
He was traded to Pittsburgh in 2006, to Tampa Bay in 2009, and to Atlanta one month later. He lasted only a half-season with the Braves before they shipped him to Kansas City in a four-player trade that brought them Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth at the 2010 trade deadline.
Chavez was then selected off waivers by Toronto, sold to the Oakland Athletics, and traded back to the Blue Jays – for Liam Hendriks no less – three years later.
The Jays sent him on to the Dodgers in a 2016 mid-season swap but the pitcher, perhaps tired of being a human ping-pong ball, took matters into his own hands by electing free agency.
After signing a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels, Chavez found himself a free agent again and signed his second one-year contract with the Angels. And guess what? He was back on the market the following fall.
He signed with the Texas Rangers in February but was traded to the Chicago Cubs just before the July deadline. On Oct. 29, 2018, Jesse Chavez declared free agency again. Big surprise!
The Rangers came calling and Chavez took the bait, this time lasting two years before leaving. He became a free agent, signing with the Angels after 2021 spring training started, but lasted only a month before drawing his release. In April, he signed with the Braves for the first time.
When that one-year contract expired, Chavez got an offer from the Chicago Cubs, signing on March 14, 2022. Just five weeks later, on April 21, the Cubs traded him back to Braves for Sean Newcomb, a left-hander who never mastered the strike zone.
In the last pre-deadline deal of 2022, the Braves sent him back to the Angels, along with Tucker Davidson, for closer Raisel Iglesias, a star for Atlanta ever since.
Before August was over, however, the Angels released Chavez from his halo, setting the stage for the pitcher to rejoin the Braves one day later. Selected off waivers on Aug. 30, Chavez still qualified for the playoffs. After the season, however, he also qualified for free agency.
Six days after Chavez reached that status, he returned to the Braves, where he spent all of 2023. Granted free agency again, the right-hander signed with the Chicago White Sox on Feb. 16. He lasted more than a month before the youth-oriented Sox decided to let the old man walk. The Braves watched the transaction with almost eager anticipation, scooping him up on a minor-league contract likely to become a major-league one.
Atlanta would have to cut another player to give Chavez a roster spot. Candidates include Jackson Stephens, a journeyman who served as a long man last year, and rookie outfielder Forrest Wall, a speed merchant recently relegated to No. 5 in the pecking order.
Once paid $5.7 million by the Angels, Chavez won’t make much more than the major-league minimum of $740,000 when the Braves bring him up. But the promise of post-season bonuses is too much to ignore. Not to mention the chance to go home again.
The most traded player in history might even be able to rent an apartment in Atlanta.
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is the author of Home Run King: the Remarkable Record of Hank Aaron. He’s also a national baseball writer for forbes.com. E.mail him at ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia: Oakland-Sacramento-Las Vegas
“The clubhouse can’t be worse. The visiting clubhouse can’t be worse. The attendance can’t be worse. And even if attendance is small, in a smaller venue it’s not going to look as egregious as it does in the Coliseum, which is massive.”
— Seattle infielder Justin Turner on the Athletics moving to Sacramento in 2025
Seating capacity at Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park is 14,014 including lawn seating, standing room, and fixed seats . . .
Average home attendance in Oakland the last three seasons was 8,660, 9,849, and 10,276 . . .
Milwaukee DH Rhys Hoskins, a Sacramento native, says both the overall product plus the lack of big-league facilities would keep him from signing with the A’s when he becomes a free agent this fall . . .
Clubhouses at Sutter Health Park are in the outfield, not under the stands with easy access to the dugouts as at most major-league fields . . .
The new Athletics ballpark in Las Vegas is expected to open for the 2028 season.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles Monday and Tuesday editions, Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] does Wednesday and Thursday, and Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com] edits the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HTP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.