Firpo Marberry, baseball player, 1923-1936

Firpo Marberry

Born: 11/30/1898 in Streetman, TX, USA

Died: 6/30/1976 in Mexia, TX, USA

MLB Debut: 1923-08-11 | Final Game: 1936-06-10

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 190 lbs

Full name: Frederick Marberry

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Biography

Firpo Marberry was a prominent American baseball pitcher who made a significant impact in Major League Baseball from 1923 until his retirement in 1936. Born in 1898, Marberry established himself as a reliable arm in the league, finishing his career with a record of 148-88 and an earned run average (ERA) of 3.63. His ability to control games and deliver crucial performances was underscored by his impressive strikeout total of 822 and a noteworthy 101 saves, highlighting his effectiveness both as a starting pitcher and a relief specialist. Competing during a transitional period in baseball, Marberry's career spanned the tail end of the deadball era and the early years of the live-ball era, allowing him to adapt his pitching style to the evolving game. His contributions were particularly significant as he was among the early adopters of the relief pitching role, paving the way for future generations of closers and setup men. Marberry's legacy in baseball is marked not only by his statistics but also by his influence on the role of pitchers in the modern game.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
148 88 551 187 86 7 101 2067.3 2049 834 96 686 822 3.63 0

Career ERA 3.63 vs. league average 4.27 across their career seasons — 14.9% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1923 WSN AL 4 0 11 4 2 0 0 44.7 42 14 17 18 2.82 4.03 (+30%) -
1924 WSN AL 11 12 50 15 6 0 15 195.3 190 67 70 68 3.09 4.13 (+25%) -
1925 WSN AL 9 5 55 0 0 0 15 93.3 84 36 45 53 3.47 4.55 (+24%) -
1926 WSN AL 12 7 64 5 3 0 22 138.0 120 46 66 43 3.00 4.11 (+27%) -
1927 WSN AL 10 7 56 10 2 0 9 155.3 177 80 68 74 4.64 4.08 (-14%) -
1928 WSN AL 13 13 48 11 7 1 3 161.3 160 69 42 76 3.85 4.13 (+7%) -
1929 WSN AL 19 12 49 26 16 0 11 250.3 233 85 69 121 3.06 4.60 (+34%) -
1930 WSN AL 15 5 33 22 9 2 1 185.0 190 84 53 56 4.09 4.80 (+15%) -
1931 WSN AL 16 4 45 25 11 1 7 219.0 211 84 63 88 3.45 4.10 (+16%) -
1932 WSN AL 8 4 54 15 8 1 13 197.7 202 88 72 66 4.01 4.13 (+3%) -
1933 DET AL 16 11 37 32 15 1 2 238.3 232 87 61 84 3.29 3.86 (+15%) 1004.6
1934 DET AL 15 5 38 19 6 1 3 155.7 174 79 48 64 4.57 4.29 (-6%) -137.0
1935 DET AL 0 1 5 2 1 0 0 19.0 22 9 9 7 4.26 4.35 (+2%) -427.3
1936 NY1 NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.3 1 0 0 0 0.00 — 0.0
1936 WSN AL 0 2 5 1 0 0 0 14.0 11 6 3 4 3.86 4.59 (+16%) -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
551 668 60 128 21 3 1 65 2 22 111 0.192 0.224 0.237 0.461 -2987.9

Career AVG .192 vs. league average .282 across their career seasons — 32.0% below league average.

Career OBP .224 vs. league average .344 across their career seasons — 34.9% below league average.

Career SLG .237 vs. league average .398 across their career seasons — 40.5% below league average.

Career OPS 0.461 vs. league average 0.742 across their career seasons — 37.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1923 WSN AL 11 14 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.143 — — — — 0.0
1924 WSN AL 50 59 6 8 0 1 0 1 0 0 12 0.136 .283 (-52%) .345 (-53%) .389 (-56%) .734 (-55%) -579.3
1925 WSN AL 55 19 3 5 0 0 0 4 1 2 1 0.263 — — — — 0.0
1926 WSN AL 64 34 3 6 1 0 0 3 0 1 9 0.176 — — — — 0.0
1927 WSN AL 56 41 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 0.122 — — — — 0.0
1928 WSN AL 48 46 1 5 1 0 0 5 0 0 4 0.109 — — — — 0.0
1929 WSN AL 49 81 9 19 3 1 0 11 0 5 14 0.235 .289 (-19%) .353 (-19%) .415 (-29%) .769 (-24%) -363.6
1930 WSN AL 33 73 9 24 4 0 0 14 0 4 7 0.329 .293 (+12%) .354 (+3%) .429 (-11%) .784 (-5%) -53.0
1931 WSN AL 45 82 7 19 3 0 1 8 1 1 16 0.232 .276 (-16%) .338 (-29%) .388 (-21%) .726 (-25%) -370.2
1932 WSN AL 54 66 5 11 1 1 0 7 0 2 12 0.167 .275 (-39%) .335 (-43%) .391 (-46%) .726 (-45%) -529.6
1933 DET AL 37 90 6 11 4 0 0 3 0 1 20 0.122 .270 (-55%) .329 (-60%) .377 (-56%) .707 (-58%) -885.0
1934 DET AL 38 55 7 12 4 0 0 9 0 4 4 0.218 .278 (-22%) .340 (-17%) .392 (-26%) .733 (-22%) -207.1
1935 DET AL 5 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.200 — — — — 0.0
1936 NY1 NL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1936 WSN AL 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
8 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1934 WS DET 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1925 WS WS1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1924 WS WS1 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 1 8 1 3 12.0 17 5 5 12 3.75

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1934 WS DET 0 0 2 0 0 1.7 5 4 1 0 21.60
1925 WS WS1 0 0 2 0 1 2.3 3 0 0 2 0.00
1924 WS WS1 0 1 4 1 2 8.0 9 1 4 10 1.12

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 551 0 92 370 17 29

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1923 WS1 P 11 0 1 10 1 0
1924 WS1 P 50 0 8 39 2 3
1925 WS1 P 55 0 6 26 0 1
1926 WS1 P 64 0 5 31 2 2
1927 WS1 P 56 0 9 25 0 4
1928 WS1 P 48 0 8 27 1 2
1929 WS1 P 49 0 15 35 0 1
1930 WS1 P 33 0 7 33 1 2
1931 WS1 P 45 0 3 36 1 4
1932 WS1 P 54 0 9 45 1 5
1933 DET P 37 0 11 37 4 3
1934 DET P 38 0 10 20 2 2
1935 DET P 5 0 0 3 0 0
1936 NY1 P 1 0 0 0 1 0
1936 WS1 P 5 0 0 3 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 551

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1931 Most Valuable Player AL 13th 11.0 80 0