Agustín Marquetti
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Agustín Marquetti Moinelo
- Bats Left
Agustín Marquetti was a top Cuban hitter of the 1960s and 1970s.
Marquetti first featured in the Cuban Serie Nacional with the Industriales of 1965-1966, leading the loop with five triples. He drew 10 intentional walks in 1966-1967 to tie for the league lead. In 1968-1969, the left-hander led the league in home runs (19), RBI (85) and times hit by pitch (15). He broke Felipe Sarduy's record of 13 - the mark only stood for a few years before Armando Capiró drilled 20. He also fell one shy of Miguel Cuevas's RBI record.
Marquetti made his Cuban national team debut in the 1969 Amateur World Series, hitting .344 to help Cuba win Gold; they would win all 12 major tournaments he participated in. He hit 12 home runs for Habana in the Serie 10 Millones of 1970 to lead the league. Agustín was just 3 for 18 in the 1970 Amateur World Series, the second-worst international event of his illustrious career. He hit .387 in the 1971 Pan American Games.
At age 25, he was named Serie Nacional Most Valuable Player for the only time - he led the 1971-1972 Serie Nacional with eleven home runs and 53 RBI for the Industriales. He hit .278 in the 1972 Amateur World Series. He starred in the 1973 Amateur World Series, leading with 25 hits and 21 RBI while batting .417 for the Cuban squad. He was named MVP.
He led the 1973-1974 Serie Nacional with 7 sacrifice flies and 12 times hit by pitch. He hit .316 in the 1974 Central American and Caribbean Games, which he led with four doubles. He batted .480 in the 1975 Pan American Games. In the 1976 Amateur World Series, he hit .500 and led in doubles (7) and RBI (20).
Marquetti had not led the Serie Nacional in a key offensive department for six years when he topped the 1977-1978 Serie Nacional with fourteen doubles for the Metropolitanos; by now, Antonio Muñoz had clearly surpassed him as Cuba's top first baseman with the initials A.M.
In the 1978 Central American and Caribbean Games, Agustín continued to shine internationally, hitting .429. He batted .450/.500/.850 as Cuba's main DH in the 1978 Amateur World Series with eight runs and six RBI in six games. Marquetti hit just .152 in the 1979 Intercontinental Cup. He hit .406 in the 1979 Pan American Games, his 13 hits tying Luis Casanova and Terry Francona for the lead. It was his last year with the national team.
His 17 doubles for Habana paced the 1980 Series Selectivas, the last time he led a Cuban league in any department. He kept on playing for several more years. In 1985-1986, his 22nd and last season, he ended on a very high note. In the last game of the playoffs, he came to bat against Rogelio García in the 12th inning with a 5-5 tie and one man on. Facing a man who would finish as Cuba's all-time strikeout king, Marquetti promptly went deep to give his team the title.
Overall, Marquetti batted .288/.366/.431 in Cuba with 279 doubles, 207 home runs, 853 runs, 1,106 RBI and 753 walks while fielding .987. Through 2009, he still ranks among Cuba's all-time leaders in seasons played (tied for 8th), at-bats (6,725, 10th), RBI (10th), international walks (191, third behind Omar Linares and Antonio Muñoz) and putouts (4th with 13,000).
Marquetti's son Gus Marquetti pitched in Cuba for three seasons then defected and spent several seasons in the minor leagues.
[edit] Sources
- A History of Cuban Baseball by Peter Bjarkman
- Defunct IBAF site
- Baseballdecuba.com
- 2005 Guia Official de Beisbol
- Baseball-Fever
