Baseball has always been a big part of the life of Jason Marquis. Growing up in New York, he followed the Yankees and played Little League Baseball. He is one of a handful of major league players to have played in the Little League World Series and Major League World Series. He led his Little League team to a third place finish in the 1991 LLWS, tossing a no-hitter in the third place game. In 1996, the Atlanta Braves selected Jason with their first round pick, and he decided to sign with the Braves rather than go pitch with the University of Miami. In 2000, he was called up to replace John Rocker on the roster and stayed with Atlanta until he was dealt to St. Louis along with Adam Wainwright for J.D. Drew. In St. Louis under the watchful eye of Dave Duncan, he developed into a solid starter. He spent 3 years there before moving on to pitch with the Cubs. His best year was in 2009 with Colorado Rockies. Using a revamped pitching motion, he pitched well enough to be selected to play in the All-Star game, which was held in St. Louis. The Cardinal fans gave him the longest ovation for a non-Cardinal player. He has struggled with injuries over the last couple of season, but appears to be back on track with the San Diego Padres this season. Jason is also a great hitting pitcher. He won the Silver Slugger Award in 2005 with the Cardinals hitting a career high .310 with 8 doubles, one triple, one homer and 10 RBI's.
Catching Jason near the dugout before the game, I asked him who his favorite all-time player was he said, "Don Mattingly,,,,outside of myself," which he said with a laugh. He said he grew up a fan of the Yankees and he "loved Don's work ethic." Thank you Jason for taking the time to chat with me.
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