Jason Marquis

Anthony McCarron of The New York Daily News touted him as "perhaps the city's best high school player since ... Manny Ramirez," and Baseball America ranked him the 39th-highest prospect in the nation.

He also played basketball at Tottenville, and on the academic side was a member of the National Honor Society.

He was a teammate on the baseball team with Anaheim Angels catcher Tom Gregorio.

Jason Scott Marquis (born August 21, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres, Minnesota Twins, and Cincinnati Reds.

Marquis starred in Little League Baseball on the South Shore Little League team that finished second in the US, and third in the world, in the Little League World Series in 1991.

The first was a Pirates (22–1) championship in 1995 over the George Washington Trojans (32–3), 3–2 at Shea Stadium, capping a season in which he posted an 11–0 record while striking out 86 batters in 61 innings.

The second championship was in 1996 when the Pirates were 33–1; again over the George Washington Trojans (41–2).

He pitched his team to a 5–1, 7-inning complete game victory in which he struck out 15 batters and did not allow any earned runs, while he himself hit a two-run triple, at Yankee Stadium.

That capped a season in which he was 14–1 with a 0.40 ERA, and struck out 150 in 79 innings, while as a batter he tied a school season record with 11 home runs, drove in 45 runs, and batted .468.

He received the Iron Horse Award as the top baseball player in the PSAL and The New York Daily News Player of the Year Award.

Marquis was named to the All-America Second Team by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings.

Marquis was drafted in the first round out of high school by the world champion Atlanta Braves, and reached the majors as a 21-year-old in 2000.

His 65 wins from 2004 to 2008 ranked 7th among N.L. pitchers.

He also excelled with the bat, winning the Silver Slugger Award in 2005.

He pitched on a World Series champion in 2006, and was an All-Star in 2009.

Marquis was featured in the 2008 Hank Greenberg 75th Anniversary edition of Jewish Major Leaguers Baseball Cards, published in affiliation with Fleer Trading Cards and the American Jewish Historical Society, commemorating the Jewish Major Leaguers from 1871 through 2008.

He joined, among other Jewish major leaguers, Brad Ausmus, Kevin Youkilis, Ian Kinsler, Ryan Braun, Gabe Kapler, Scott Feldman, John Grabow, Craig Breslow, Jason Hirsh, and Scott Schoeneweis.

As a major leaguer, Marquis won 11 or more games for six straight years through 2009, and also started 28 or more games in each of the years 2004–09.

Through 2011, in his career in games that were late and close, Marquis held batters to a .228 batting average.

He led his team to a victory in the first round over Chad Pennington and his Ohio team on his 13th birthday.

His team lost to California in the US final on ESPN, as Marquis was relegated to shortstop because Little Leaguers weren't allowed to pitch two days in a row.

Marquis then led his team to victory over Canada in the third-place game, throwing a no-hitter.

"Playing in front of that many people at that time in my life made me realize this is what I wanted to do with my life," said Marquis, "and I was going to work my hardest to get it."

As of September 2021, he was one of over 50 Little League World Series players to have reached the major leagues.

"When I was a freshman [in high school] I was 5ft 2in, and everyone thought I was too small to play," Marquis said.

"But it was always my dream to play major league baseball, and I've always worked very hard at it."

As a 6ft 1in junior and senior, however, Marquis threw a 93 miles per hour fastball, a curveball that was nearly unhittable at the high school level, and a changeup.

He pitched the Tottenville High School Pirates to two consecutive New York City Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) titles.

Through 2014, he was third all-time in career wins and strikeouts (behind Ken Holtzman and Sandy Koufax in both categories) among Jewish major league baseball players.

He also played for Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, serving as the team's ace.

As a 12-year-old, Marquis pitched his team to third place in the Little League World Series with a no-hitter.

He is one of only a few ballplayers to have played in both a Little League World Series and a Major League World Series.

He also pitched his high school team to consecutive New York City baseball championships.

He pitched for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Marquis was born in Manhasset, New York, and grew up in Staten Island's Arden Heights neighborhood, where he attended Paulo Intermediate School 75.

His mother works for the New York City Board of Education, and has a teaching degree, while his father owns a check cashing business in Brooklyn.

He was a New York Yankees fan growing up, and Don Mattingly was his favorite player.

Marquis, who is Jewish, grew up in a Conservative Jewish home, attended Hebrew school, and observes the major Jewish holidays.

"My mother was a bit more stricter with our Jewish upbringing," said Marquis, "given that her parents were Holocaust survivors."