MLB Player Profile: Jason Marquis
Jason Scott Marquis has impressed as a baseball player since childhood. He pitched his team to the third position in the Little League World Series when just 12 years of age and later went on to become a professional baseball player and featured in the Major
League World Series as well. This surely is a rare combination.
Marquis was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the first round of the 1996 draft. Braves, the World Champions then, picked Marquis as the 35th pick in the draft and offered the high school player a $600,000 signing bonus. Having initially signed
a letter of intent to play for the University of Miami and having earned a scholarship from the University, Marquis opted to sign with the Braves and relish his dream of becoming a professional baseball player.
Jason continued to impress in his early start as a professional player with the Minor League teams before eventually being named as the Braves’ number-five prospect in 2000 by Baseball America. This earned him a call to play in the Majors for Atlanta where
he featured in 15 games and pitched at an ERA of 5.01. He won just one game and managed 17 strike-outs in his brief stint for the season.
In 2001, Marquis was elevated to become a starter for the Braves and he went on to start 16 of the total 38 games that he played. He was impressive at the mound, bagging 98 strike-outs in 129.1 innings at an ERA of 3.48. His win-loss record of 5-6, although
not impressive, was decent enough for a youngster who is given a huge responsibility of starting the game.
In 2002 and 2003, Marquis did not let his numbers deteriorate but his ERA remained above 5 which became a question on his ability to sustain runs in addition to striking-out batters. He managed a win-loss record of 8-9 in 2002 while 2003 saw him save just
one game without any wins and losses.
Marquis moved to St. Louis Cardinals in 2004 and assumed the responsibility of a full-time starter, a position he was not fully given at Atlanta. In his first season with the Cardinals, Jason started all 32 games that he played and bagged 138 strike-outs
at an ERA of 3.71. It became evident after this season that Marquis required motivation and responsibility to exhibit his skill at the mound. The pitching coach at St. Louis, Dave Duncan, praised Marquis and stated that his ability and variety is immense and
that he needs more practice to perfect his art.
In addition to his 138 strike-outs, Marquis registered a career-best win-loss record of 15-7 which led the Cardinals to the National League title that year. In the World Series that year, Marquis threw a scoreless inning as a reliever in Game 1 of the series
before being tipped by Manager Tony La Russa to start Game 4. Marquis lived to the expectations of his team-mates and produced the best performance by a Cardinals’ pitcher in the series.
He conceded just three runs in six innings but his counterpart, Derek Lowe of Boston Red Sox, emerged superior and snatched the victory from Marquis to win the World Series for his team.
Marquis moved to the Chicago Cubs for the 2007 season on three-year $21-million contract. He played with the Cubs in 2007 and 2008 and amassed 200 strike-outs but his ERA remained on the higher side. Marquis moved to the Colorado Rockies for the 2009 season
before signing a two-year contract with the Washington Nationals for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. He impressed for the Nationals in 2011 with a win-loss record of 8-5 at an ERA of 3.95 before he was traded to Arizona Diamondbacks in the mid-season trade market
for prospect Zach Walters.
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