Washington DC Baseball

[GeoPoto]

Player #104C: Frederick "Firpo" Marberry. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1923-1932. 148 wins and 99 saves in 14 MLB seasons. First prominent reliever; used as a closer. Important piece of the Washington team that won back-to-back AL pennants in 1924-1925. 1924 World Series champion. His most productive season was 1929 with Washington as he posted a 19-12 record with a 3.06 ERA in 250.1 innings pitched. He ended his career with Washington in 1936.

The Senators won their first American League pennant in 1924, and the Browns’ George Sisler, among others, thought Marberry was Washington’s MVP. In the second game of the World Series, he came into a tie game with two outs in the ninth inning to strike out Travis Jackson, and then watched as the Senators won the game in the bottom of the ninth. By modern reckoning he would be awarded the victory, but the official scorer awarded the win to starting pitcher Tom Zachary. Marberry started and lost Game Three, but pitched well in Games Four and Seven as the Senators captured their first and only World Series title. . . .

. . . Washington won the pennant again in 1925, with Marberry playing another large role. This time he was used exclusively as a relief pitcher, setting records with 55 relief appearances and 39 games finished. Marberry pitched only twice in the World Series, and Harris received some criticism for this. In the seventh and deciding game, while a rested Marberry watched, Walter Johnson was allowed to give up 15 hits and 9 runs in a complete-game 9-7 loss.

In 1926 Marberry appeared in 64 contests, extending his relief appearances record to 59. Although not calculated until decades later, he also earned 22 saves, a record that would not be surpassed until Joe Page did so in 1949. Though still effective, Marberry regressed a bit in 1927 (10-7, 4.64) and 1928 (13-13, 3.85), pitching mainly in relief but getting 21 starts over the two seasons. (We will return here when Firpo next surfaces.)

Firpo is second from the left:

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