Rabbit Maranville

Shortstop
  • Card series: Diamond Heads '15
  • City: Boston
  • Team: Braves
  • League: National League
  • Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame

Walter James Vincent Maranville (1891-1954) played 23 ML seasons as a madcap shortstop, catching pop-ups like a circus performer and hitting in the clutch often enough to make the Hall of Fame with a .258 lifetime average. Along the way, “Rabbit” became the smallest 20th Century inductee and the only one to be demoted to the minors mid-career. His endurance and eventual recognition among the pantheon of the sport are tributes to his effervescent spirit and dogged work habits. He partied as hard as he worked, witnessed by his pivotal HR on 8/6/14 that sparked the Boston Braves’ “miracle” comeback to take the pennant and Series — he never saw Babe Adams’ pitch. He was way too hung over. A broken ankle in an exhibition game with the Yankees effectively ended his long career in 1934.

  • In retirement, Rabbit mentored many young players in NY, including Whitey Ford & Billy Loes
  • His record of most MLB seasons wasn’t eclipsed until Pete Rose in 1986
  • Elected to Hall of Fame: 1954

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