Jason Marquis Thrives on the Big Stage
When it comes to competing on the game’s biggest stages, few have a resume as pronounced as longtime major league veteran Jason Marquis. From representing his native Staten Island in the 1991 Little League World Series to winning a Fall Classic in 2006, Marquis contributed on every possible platform.
But none held as much importance as his start with the Atlanta Braves at Shea Stadium following the 9/11 attacks, the first sporting event of any kind in New York City since that tragic day. Nearly 15 years to the day of that game, Marquis was back on a mound representing Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic Qualifier in Brooklyn, seeking one last chance of pitching at the game’s highest level.
Born in nearby Manhasset, Marquis grew up on Staten Island and first experienced prominence on the mound for his South Shore Little League team when he authored a no-hitter against Canada in the 1991 Little League World Series. By the time he pitched for Tottenville High School in PSAL, Marquis was one of the most celebrated amateur athletes in New York City and earned local recognition as the 1996 New York Daily News Player of the Year.
“I was in love with the game from the first time I played it, and I was fortunate at a young age to realize after playing in the Little League World Series in front of 40,000 people that this was what I wanted to do for a living,” Marquis said. “Being on the mound at that age, it was like I was by myself and nothing affected me.”
The Braves, whose run of excellence became predicated on the exploits of their talented pitching staff, drafted Marquis in the first round of the 1996 MLB Draft shortly after he won a city championship on the mound at Yankee Stadium. Marquis reached the big leagues in 2000, replacing the maligned closer John Rocker on the active roster and like most young pitchers in the organization, took notice of future Hall of Famers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz.
“You go into a situation like that as a kid watching these guys on TV and trying to be like those guys and to be put into the same situation as them. You go into it with your eyes open, ears open, and your mouth closed, as you try to soak up all of the information as possible to use to your advantage. Later, you develop relationships off the field, and this is information I learned I can pass onto the next generation of baseball players,” Marquis said.
As Marquis began finding his footing in the big leagues and the Braves were on their way to their tenth consecutive division title, the terrorist attacks on September 11 temporality shut down the sport and had a personal effect on Marquis beyond his New York roots. Firefighter Michael Cammarata was one of the 3,000 victims who perished in the attacks and was a teammate of Marquis from their days at South Shore Little League.
“It was a tough time for not only for New Yorkers but for the entire nation. It was a tragedy that should never have happened. I was up early in the morning in my apartment and turned on the TV, and there was a plane in the first tower and baseball became a secondary thought at that moment,” Marquis said.
Ten days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Shea Stadium was the site of the first sporting event in New York City since that tragic day. The Braves opened up a three-game series against the Mets with Jason Marquis taking the mound for Atlanta. While the game conjures up vivid memories of Mike Piazza’s eighth-inning home run off Steve Karsay, largely forgotten was Marquis’s pitching performance, where he allowed one run in six innings in the city he still calls home.
“That night was very emotional with everything that took place, and as a competitor, you need to block out those things. It was the one game in your life where as a visiting club we did not mind losing. The night was about New York rising up and to see Piazza hit that home run was exciting for a baseball fan. Hopefully, I did my part to bring normalcy back to New York.”
Marquis would embark on a 15-year major league where he became the only player to reach the postseason for ten consecutive seasons with three different clubs. Instilling the winning pedigree Marquis embraced were renowned managers Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa, and Lou Piniella. Marquis was also a member of two clubs that reached the World Series, including the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals, who shocked the baseball world by winning the Fall Classic after recording just 83 regular-season victories.
“There is so much knowledge out there in this game, whether you are a Hall of Fame manager or the 25th man on the bench,” Marquis said. “The wealth of information was there with Bobby, Tony, and Lou, and I am fortunate to have had a career that has lasted this long and absorb all of it. I feel like my experiences pitching on big stages as a youngster were my World Series and allowed me to deal with my emotions on a stage of that magnitude.”
At age 38 and nearly 15 years to the day of taking the mound at Shea Stadium in the aftermath of 9/11, Marquis participated in the World Baseball Classic Qualifier in Brooklyn, New York signifying his Jewish heritage. Marquis allowed one run in two WBC starts and pitched four perfect innings in the clinching game against Great Britain. Marquis’s 124 career victories are the third most among Jewish pitchers in baseball history.
“My Jewish heritage helped me shape who I am today. I have two Jewish parents and went to Hebrew school. Having a Bar Mitzvah shaped the man I am today. We all take pride where we are from and how we were raised. I am just excited to represent that part of my heritage, and pitching close to home (near Staten Island) was also a bonus for me.”
After leading Israel to an appearance in the 2017 WBC, Marquis is not ready to close the book on his major league career despite not pitching in the big leagues since May 2015 with the Cincinnati Reds. Though Marquis had a few minor league offers in the past 14 months, he opted to wait for one more major league opportunity and hopes his impressive performance for Israel in the WBC Qualifier piqued the interest of prospective clubs.
“Going into the 2015 season I was coming off Tommy John Surgery, and my goal was to make a big-league ballclub, and Cincinnati gave me that opportunity. About ten starts in; they started to go in a different direction. When they released me, I did not want to end my career in the minor leagues. The competitive juices were still flowing, and it felt good to be out there again (pitching in the WBC), so I have a lot of thinking to do, and we’ll see what happens.”
(Article originally published on Scout.com during the 2016 World Baseball Classic Qualifier)