Firpo: Fred Marberry, Baseball's Pioneering Closer

Fred "Firpo" Marberry was much more than a pitcher with an unforgettable nickname. Armed with a lightning-quick fastball and bulldog mentality, Marberry excelled as a starter, going 95-51 over 187 games for the Nationals and Tigers. But he also relished pitching when the game was late and close, and in an era before specialization, it was his success as a reliever in the mid-1920s that ushered in a new role in baseball strategy: the closer. This first-ever biography details the life and car...