Marshall Edwards

[Michael Trzinski]

Marshall Lynn Edwards was born in 1952 in Fort Lewis, Washington. The family moved to Los Angeles and Edwards ran track and played baseball at Jefferson High School, graduating in 1970. Edwards attended Los Angeles Community College and then UCLA, graduating in 1974.

He was not drafted but instead was signed as a free agent by the Baltimore Orioles in June 1974. Edwards showed speed and hitting tools, stealing 167 bags in four minor league seasons while slashing .289/.358/.328. Power was not his game, as he hit only eight home runs in his pro career.

In December 1977, Edwards was selected by the Brewers Double-A club, the Holyoke (Massachusetts) Millers, in the Rule 5 minor league draft. He spent the 1978 campaign in the Eastern League and tied for the league lead with 11 triples and was second with 147 hits.

Edwards moved up to Triple-A Vancouver and did well in 1979-1980, including leading the Pacific Coast League with 17 triples and second with 68 stolen bases in 1980.

In 1981, Edwards began the season in Milwaukee, playing mostly as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement. The highlight of his season was in a 5-2 win over Boston at Fenway Park on May 31, when he went 3-for-4 with a double, triple, stolen base, and two RBIs.

Edwards started the 1982 season with Vancouver and was called up to Milwaukee in May. The slender (5-foot-9, 157 pound) left-handed outfielder had career bests with 69 games, 178 at-bats, 44 hits, and 10 stolen bases. He played in three ALCS games and one World Series game as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement, going 0-for-1 while scoring a pair of runs and stealing one base. While replacing injured center fielder Gorman Thomas, Edwards made a nice catch to rob the Angels Don Baylor of extra bases in Game 5 of the ALCS to help propel the Brewers to the World Series.

The 1983 season was Edwards’ final big-league season. He played in 51 games, starting 19 of them. He finished the season with a .297 batting average but only had one walk and two extra-base hits across 74 at-bats.

Edwards was sent down to Triple-A Vancouver in 1984 and played in 93 games before retiring from baseball.

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[Jim French Stepstool]

A very overlooked aspect of the '82 postseason was Harvey Kuenn lifting Gorman Thomas, who clearly wasn't at 100%, for Edwards late in game 5 of the ALCS. We'll never know if Thomas catches the long drive off the bat of Don Baylor but I wouldn't be too confident.

In an era where you could have five or six position players on your bench (and one more than that in the NL), Edwards filled a specific role & filled it pretty well.