- Rabbit Maranville
Infobox MLB retired
name=Rabbit Maranville
position=Shortstop /Second Baseman
bgcolor1=#dcdcdc
bgcolor2=#dcdcdc
textcolor1=black
textcolor2=black
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=November 11 ,1891
deathdate=death date and age|1954|1|5|1891|11|11
debutdate=September 10
debutyear= 1912
debutteam= Boston Braves
finaldate=September 29
finalyear=1935
finalteam=Boston Braves
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.258
stat2label=Hits
stat2value=2605
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=884
teams=
* Boston Braves (1912-1920, 1929-1935)
*Pittsburgh Pirates (1921-1924)
*Chicago Cubs (1925)
* Brooklyn Robins (1926)
*St. Louis Cardinals (1927-1928)
highlights=
*World Series champion: 1914
*National League pennant: 1928
hofdate=by|1954
hofvote=82.94% (fourteenth ballot)Walter James Vincent Maranville (
November 11 ,1891 -January 5 ,1954 ), better known as Rabbit Maranville due to his speed and small stature (5'5", 155 pounds), was aMajor League Baseball shortstop . At the time of his retirement in 1935, he had played in a record 23 seasons in theNational League , a mark which wasn't broken until 1986 byPete Rose . He was known as one of "baseball's most famous clowns" due to his practical jokes and lack of inhibitions.JamesAbstract|pages=pp. 615-617]When he was appointed manager of the
Chicago Cubs in 1925--one of their worst seasons ever--he did not change his behavior. One night he went through a Pullman car dumping water on sleeping players' heads, saying, "No sleeping under Maranville management, especially at night."Not long after that, he was out on the street outsideEbbets Field inBrooklyn mimicking a newsboy hawking papers. He cried out, "Read all about it! Maranville fired!" And so he was--the very next day. (Nash & Zullo, 1987)Over his lengthy career, Maranville played for the Boston Braves (1912 - 1920, 1929 - 1933, 1935),
Pittsburgh Pirates (1921 - 1924),Chicago Cubs (1925), Brooklyn Robins (1926) andSt. Louis Cardinals (1927 - 1928). He retired having compiled a .258batting average , 1255 runs, 28home run s, 884 RBI and 291stolen base s. As a shortstop, he finished his career with a positional record 5,139putout s. He won his onlyWorld Series championship in 1914 as a member of the Braves, and won his only otherNational League championship in 1928 as a member of the Cardinals.Maranville was inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 1954, after 13 failed attempts. These are the most for any member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.cite web|title=Baseball Hall of Fame Website|url=http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/history/hof%5Fvoting/alpha/M.htm|accessdate=2006-12-06]ee also
*
List of major league players with 2,000 hits
*List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
*List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs References
*Nash, B. & Zullo, A. "The Baseball Hall of Shame 3", 1987, ISBN 0-671-63386-4; p. 134External links
*
* [http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/hofer_bios/maranville_rabbit.htm Baseball Hall of Fame]
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/M/Maranville_Rabbit.stm Baseball Library]
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