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Rabbit Maranville
Given Name: Walter James Vincent
1891-1954

SS-2B 1912-33, 35 Braves, Pirates, Cubs, Dodgers, Cardinals
  • Hall Of Fame in 1954

GamesAverageHRRBI
Career 2670.25828884
World Series 8.30803

Wins-LossesWinning %
Manager 23-30.434

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Rabbit Maranville was a 5'5" baseball clown with a goblin face full of laugh lines. His humor was antic and visible to the fans: handing an umpire a pair of glasses or mocking slow pitchers and ponderous batters in pantomime. Photographers loved him. He would pull the bill of his cap over one ear - baseball's oldest comic gesture - and jump into the arms of his biggest teammate. He was an after-hours roisterer, too. After a few drinks with kindred souls like banjo-playing Charlie "Jolly Cholly" Grimm, he became the hotel ledge walker, the goldfish swallower, the practical joker.

Nicknamed for his speed and rabbit-like leaps, he was always a superior fielder, famous for his unique basket catch of high infield flies. Consistency was his hallmark and greatest virtue. During his first tour with Boston, he led NL shortstops in putouts each year from 1914 to 1919 (except for 1918, which he spent in the Navy), assists twice, double plays three times, and fielding average once.

Although a well-established Boston favorite, he was traded to Pittsburgh in 1921 for outfielders Billy Southworth and Fred Nicholson, shortstop Walter Barbare, and $15,000. With the Pirates, he led shortstops in fielding average in 1923. When young Glenn Wright took over at short in 1924, Maranville shifted to second and again had the league's best fielding average. He was dealt to the Cubs after the 1924 season, but alcohol nearly did him in. He failed in a managerial opportunity with Chicago and was relieved of duties with his club in eighth place after 53 games.

Due to his instability, he moved around the league despite his star status. The Cubs waived him to Brooklyn. The Dodgers, who suffered many eccentrics gladly in their time, released him unconditionally halfway through 1926. The Cardinals, always bargain hunters, picked him up and optioned him to Rochester (International League), where he got his drinking under control. In 1928, with the Cardinals in trouble at shortstop, Branch Rickey brought Maranville back to bolster the infield in a pennant-winning season. Charley Gelbert arrived in 1929, and Maranville was sold back to the Braves. As always, his play in the field was remarkably consistent. From 1929 to 1933, despite aging, he never played fewer than 142 games a season. He was the league's top fielding shortstop in 1930, and second baseman in 1932.

During a spring training game against the Yankees in 1934, Maranville, a spry 42, was on the front end of a double steal. The throw went to second, and Maranville, trying to score from third, had Frank Crosetti's return throw beaten, but he slid into the rookie catcher blocking the plate and snapped the tibia and fibula in his left leg. The breaks took most of the season to mend, and when he tried to play in 1935, he was clearly not his old self. But he batted .323 in 123 games for Elmira (New York-Penn League) while managing in 1936, and played six games while skippering Albany (Eastern League) three years later, at 47.

Maranville stands first among all shortstops in putouts (5,139), third in assists (7,354), and second in total chances (13,124). He hit a creditable .251 in the dead-ball years from 1914-20 and improved to .265 in the lively-ball era thereafter. In two World Series (1914 and 1928), he had identical .308 averages. He was the cleanup hitter for the 1914 Braves. He hit 177 triples lifetime, which ties him with Stan Musial at 20th on the all-time list. Of his 28 home runs, 22 were inside the park, and in 1922, he set a still-standing ML record by going to the plate 672 times (the league high) without homering. Maranville was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1954, the year of his death. (ADS)


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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
» August 6, 1914: Rabbit Maranville cracks a 10th-inning homer to give the Braves their 9th win in a row, a 5–4 topper over Pittsburgh.

» August 13, 1914: In the start of a crucial series in New York, the Braves pound Rube Marquard for 11 hits to win, 5–3. Rabbit Maranville contributes a triple and Les Mann adds a homer and 2-run single. Lefty Tyler notches another victory.

» October 9, 1914: The Boston Braves go into the World Series as underdogs, despite their strong finish. Only one regular, LF Joe Connolly, hit .300. Their strengths are pitchers Dick Rudolph, George "Lefty" Tyler, and "Seattle Bill" James, 2B Johnny Evers, who wins Chalmers' final MVP automobile, and SS Rabbit Maranville, their cleanup hitter. The Philadelphia A's Eddie Collins, with a .344 BA, wins the Chalmers AL award with 63 of 64 possible points. The A's have seven pitchers with 10 or more wins, led by Chief Bender's 17–3. Bender's World Series magic is quickly dispelled as the Braves knock him out in the 6th. Rudolph coasts to a 5-hit 7–1 victory. Hank Gowdy has a single, double, and triple. He will hit a World Series record .545, and Evers, .438. Only Babe Ruth will top Gowdy with .625 in 1928. Bender makes his last World Series appearance, finishing with a record 59 strikeouts.

» October 1, 1917: In a 2–0 Pittsburgh win over the Braves, Boston LF Joe Kelly and SS Rabbit Maranville combine on a 9–6 double play. Rabbit makes his out at home plate.

» July 7, 1918: Rabbit Maranville gets a 10-day leave from the Navy and hits .316 in 11 games for the Braves before going back to sea.

» February 23, 1921: The Pirates obtain vet SS Rabbit Maranville from Boston. They give up OF Billy Southworth, OF Fred Nicholson, IF Walter Barbare, and $15,000.

» April 12, 1922: Giants SS Dave Bancroft handles two assists and three putouts in a 4–3 Opening Day loss to Brooklyn. He will handle 1,046 for the year, putting him even with Rabbit Maranville's 1914 record as the most active shortstops of any season.

» October 27, 1924: The Cubs trade P Vic Aldridge, 1B George Grantham, and 1B Al Niehaus to Pittsburgh for 1B Charlie Grimm, SS Rabbit Maranville, and P Wilbur Cooper. Grantham will hit .300 for six seasons with the Bucs, while Grimm will play 11 seasons with Chicago, eventually becoming player-manager. In 1925, Maranville will be named a player-manager as well. Cooper, who has averaged 20 wins a year over the past six seasona, will drop to 12–14 with the Cubs. This past season he picked off seven runners at 3B.

» March 15, 1925: Cubs SS Rabbit Maranville breaks his leg sliding into 3B in an exhibition game in Los Angeles. At 33, the injury threatens to end his career, but the Rabbit will be back in the lineup by May 24.

» July 7, 1925: The seventh-place Cubs install Rabbit Maranville as manager, replacing Bill Killefer.

» November 9, 1925: Rabbit Maranville is waived to the Dodgers from the Cubs.

» August 21, 1926: Rabbit Maranville, hitting .235, is released by the Dodgers.

» June 21, 1927: The Cardinals sweep two games from the Cubs, but lose SS Tommy Thevenow when he breaks his leg in the 4th inning of the 2nd game. It will be Rabbit redux, as Rabbit Maranville will be signed to take the shortstop spot. Jess Haines wins the opener, 6–5 in 13 innings over Charlie Root; Flint Rhem coasts to a 12–3 win in the nitecap as the Cards slam Buck Brillheart.

» September 2, 1927: The Cardinals bring Rabbit Maranville back from the minors, buying him from Rochester (IL).

» October 4, 1928: The Cardinals lack the Yankees' power, but have a .325 hitter in Jim Bottomley, who tied with Hack Wilson for NL HR honors with 31 and led in RBI with 136. St. Louis has a solid IF defense with Frankie Frisch, the venerable Rabbit Maranville, and their fleet OF, led by Taylor Douthit, whose 547 putouts and 566 total chances in CF have set post-1900 records.

» December 8, 1928: The Cardinals sell veteran SS Rabbit Maranville to the Braves.

» May 5, 1929: The Braves play their first Sunday home game in history, losing to Pittsburgh, 7–2 before 35,000. The winning pitcher is Burleigh Grimes, who helps his own cause by starting a 3rd inning triple play (1-5-2-5-4-2) on a grounder by Al Spohrer. Heinie Mueller is run down, Spohrer is caught trying to reach 2B, and Rabbit Maranville is caught trying to score. The Bucs have four triples, one each by the Waners.

» August 29, 1930: A little comedy is injected into an 11-inning, 9–8 Braves victory over the Phillies. The Braves Rabbit Maranville makes the 3rd out of the 4th inning in a steal attempt at 2B. He argues vigorously and at length. Fresco Thompson of the Phils finally tires of it, picks up the scrappy little guy and carries him to his position at SS.

» March 28, 1934: In a collision with C Norman Kies, forty-two-year-old Rabbit Maranville breaks his left leg sliding home on a double steal in an exhibition game against the Yankees. The Braves veteran is out for the season and will play just 23 games next year. He had broken his right leg earlier in spring training of 1926.

» May 9, 1935: The Braves Rabbit Maranville sets a new record for National League service by appearing in his 23rd season. It is his first appearance since breaking his ankle in last year's spring training. The Rabbit has a single but Tex Carleton is too much for the Braves and the Cubs win, 8–1.

» August 6, 1949: Luke Appling appears as SS in his 2,154th game, surpassing Rabbit Maranville's major-league mark. Appling will finish with 2,218.

» January 21, 1953: The Hall of Fame passes over Joe DiMaggio in his first year of eligibility and elects P Dizzy Dean and OF Al Simmons to Cooperstown. Dean gathers 209 votes while Simmons' total of 199 is one more than needed. Also joining DiMag, who finished 8th in the voting, are in order Bill Terry, Bill Dickey, Rabbit Maranville, Dazzy Vance, Ted Lyons, Chief Bender (9th) and Gabby Hartnett (10th). All will eventually make it.