JAWS and the 2026 Corridor of Fame Poll: Nick Markakis

The next article is a part of Jay Jaffe’s ongoing have a look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2026 Corridor of Fame poll. For an in depth introduction to this yr’s poll, and different candidates within the sequence, use the device above; an introduction to JAWS will be discovered right here. For a tentative schedule, see right here. All WAR figures seek advice from the Baseball Reference model except in any other case indicated.

Early in his profession, Nick Markakis gave the impression to be a star within the making. In his second and third seasons within the majors (2007 and ’08), the previous first-round decide topped 40 doubles, 20 homers, and a .300 batting common whereas slugging almost .500. He led the AL in WAR in 2008, his age-24 marketing campaign — not that anybody was conscious of it on the time, which helps to elucidate his omission from that yr’s AL All-Star workforce.

It will take one other decade earlier than Markakis lastly turned an All-Star, and through that stretch, his performances leveled off. He turned higher identified for his sturdiness, his protection (he received three Gold Gloves), and above all, the instance he set for youthful gamers whereas enduring lean years each in Baltimore and Atlanta. He caught round lengthy sufficient to assist each groups’ rebuilding efforts come to fruition with playoff appearances, racking up so many hits that he generated dialogue relating to his potential Corridor-worthiness if he endured lengthy sufficient to succeed in the magic 3,000-hit milestone.

Markakis’ retirement after his age-36 season rendered that query moot. He didn’t generate a Corridor-caliber résumé or gaudy statistics throughout his 15-year profession, however he obtained appreciable reward for his influence on his teammates. From Braves supervisor Brian Snitker, who managed him from 2016–20:

“Some of the constant, skilled execs that I’ve ever been round. I’m glad I had the dignity to handle him in his final years, as a result of he’s a particular participant… How constant he was, how skilled he was, the best way he performed the sport, how he grinded each at-bat. He by no means took a pitch off. And to see what he did late in his profession, profitable that Gold Glove, and the stabilizing power that he was for our membership whereas I used to be right here. You don’t respect a man like Nick till you handle him. What an amazing profession he had.”

Nicholas William Markakis was born on November 17, 1983 — the identical day as fellow first-year Corridor of Fame candidate Ryan Braun — in Glen Cove, New York, on the North Shore of Lengthy Island. He was the second of 4 sons of Dennis, a automobile salesman, and Mary Lou, a banker. When he was 10, his household moved from Glen Cove to Woodstock, Georgia, 30 miles north of Atlanta.

Rising up, Markakis was a Crimson Sox fan whose favourite gamers included Roger Clemens and Nomar Garciaparra. Years later, his selection of jersey no. 21, which he wore first at Younger Harris Junior Faculty after which with the Orioles, was in tribute to Clemens, and he saved the quantity even after the Rocket’s 2007 look within the Mitchell Report — shocking provided that Markakis turned one of many recreation’s extra outspoken gamers with regards to performance-enhancing medication. When he moved to the Braves, Markakis switched to no. 22 as a result of 21 had been retired for Warren Spahn; coincidentally, Clemens wore no. 22 with the Yankees and Astros.

As a teen, Markakis was a member of a journey workforce, the East Cobb Astros, which featured future main leaguers comparable to Kyle Davies, Jeff Francoeur, and Jeremy Hermida, however whereas they showcased their expertise, he sat. “I used to be the one sitting the bench,” Markakis instructed the Baltimore Solar’s Jeff Zrebiec in 2007. “I by no means performed. They gave me the choice to go down to a different workforce, so I may truly play. However I needed to stay up there. Simply being round these guys motivated me lots.”

Whereas he grew to be 6-foot-1, 210 kilos, Markakis was solely 5-foot-9, 165 kilos as a senior at Woodstock Excessive College, the place he performed the outfield and pitched. That didn’t cease him from dominating. As a 16-year-old junior, he was named the Cherokee County Pitcher of the Yr after going 9-5 with a 1.85 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 83 1/3 innings, and he additionally hit a team-high .425. He was touched by tragedy close to the tip of the season, as his finest buddy Taylor Randahl died in a motorbike accident. On the day of Randahl’s wake, Markakis was scheduled to pitch within the second recreation of a doubleheader towards state energy Walton Excessive College within the first spherical of the state playoffs. He missed the beginning of the sport however entered within the second inning together with his workforce down 3-0 and held Walton scoreless the remainder of the best way. Woodstock misplaced, however as Dennis Markakis instructed Zrebiec, “That’s once I knew he had it. To have one thing like that occur and to have the ability to put that out of his thoughts, I knew there was one thing there.”

After a senior yr during which he made the All-Cherokee County workforce as each a left-handed pitcher and outfielder, Markakis was chosen within the 2001 draft within the thirty fifth spherical by the Reds, who seen him as a pitcher. He opted as an alternative to enroll at Younger Harris Junior Faculty in northeast Georgia, close to the Tennessee border. Persevering with his two-way profession, he turned the primary participant to be named Baseball America’s Junior Faculty Participant of the Yr twice, in each 2002 and ’03 whereas serving to Younger Harris to back-to-back convention titles. He hit .455 with 17 house runs whereas going 11-3 with a 4.53 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 91 innings in 2002, after which he was once more drafted by the Reds, this time as a twenty third spherical draft-and-follow. In 2003, he posted what BA known as “one of many biggest two-way seasons in junior school historical past,” going 12-0 with a 1.68 ERA whereas hitting .439 with 21 homers; each his 160 strikeouts (in 96 2/3 innings) on the mound and 92 RBI led all junior school gamers. BA reported that his fastball sat 92-94 mph for many of the season, and that his slurvy breaking ball was a plus pitch. In its pre-draft evaluation, the publication moreover reported each that Markakis turned down a $1.5 million take-it-or-leave-it bonus supply from the Reds, and that there have been rumors he had made inflated bonus calls for in hopes of slipping to the Braves within the supplemental portion of the 2003 draft. As an alternative, he was chosen seventh by the Orioles and signed for a $1.85 million bonus, $450,000 lower than MLB’s slot suggestion.

The Orioles seen Markakis as an outfielder, and he was completely satisfied to go alongside. “I actually love each,” he instructed the Batimore Solar’s Roch Kubatko. “I’m simply going to do what they need me to do up there.” Earlier than reporting to Low-A Aberdeen, he joined Greece’s nationwide workforce, qualifying as a result of his great-grandparents on his father’s facet had been born in Greece, and inspired to take part as a result of Orioles proprietor Peter Angelos had a hand in assembling the workforce. Markakis helped the workforce win a silver medal within the European Championships within the Netherlands, hitting .323 with seven RBI in eight video games.

At Aberdeen, after a gradual begin, Markakis hit .293/.372/395 with one house run and 13 stolen bases in 59 video games. BA named him the highest prospect within the New York-Penn League (and no. 90 on its Prime 100), admiring his easy left-handed stroke and his above-average energy projection. He hit .299/.371/.470 with 11 homers and 12 steals at A-level Delmarva, lacking the ultimate month of the season to rejoin the Greek squad for the 2004 Summer season Olympics in Athens, for whom he even chipped in a few innings in aid, exhibiting off a 94-mph fastball. He hit a team-high .346 and homered in Greece’s lone win, over Italy.

Markakis rose to sixty fifth on BA’s Prime 100 checklist in 2005, a season during which he hit a mixed .310/.390/.504 with 15 homers break up between Excessive-A Frederick and Double-A Bowie earlier than a stint within the Arizona Fall League. He climbed to twenty first on the checklist the next spring, with BA writing, “He has all of the bodily instruments for fulfillment — the power to hit to all fields with energy, and the pace, instincts and arm to play anyplace within the outfield. His aptitude for the sport is what makes him a premium prospect. ‘His intangibles are each bit pretty much as good as his skill,’ one scout mentioned.”

Although he had simply 33 video games of expertise at Double-A, the 22-year-old Markakis made the Orioles out of spring coaching in 2006. He debuted on April 3 as a defensive substitute as a part of a ninth-inning double-switch on Opening Day towards the Satan Rays, catching a fly ball off the bat of Jonny Gomes. Two days later, Markakis received his first begin, and after strolling thrice towards starter Seth McClung, he hit a ninth-inning house run off Dan Miceli in a 16-6 win. He had his ups and downs, at one level going 70 video games between his second and third house runs, however upon transferring from ninth to second within the batting order on August 16, he went on a binge, homering 9 occasions in a 14-game span, together with thrice off the Twins Carlos Silva on August 22, making him the second-youngest participant in franchise historical past with a three-homer recreation.

Markakis completed his rookie season with 16 house runs, a .291/.351/.448 (106 OPS+) line, and a pair of.5 WAR. He positioned sixth within the AL Rookie of the Yr voting, gathering one of many two first-place votes that didn’t go to winner Justin Verlander.

Markakis improved to .300/.362/.485 (121 OPS+) with 23 homers, 18 steals, and 112 RBI — he’d by no means high these counting stats once more — and 4.2 WAR in 2007. He appeared like one of many recreation’s brightest younger stars in 2008, when he drew a career-high 99 walks and put up slash stats he’d by no means surpass (.306/.406/.491, 136 OPS+). Although he ended up main the AL with 7.4 WAR — one other determine he’d by no means once more attain — he in some way missed out on an All-Star berth. “Hitting 40 doubles in consecutive years by his age-24 season places him on an inventory that’s affected by Corridor of Famers: Musial, Yastrzemski, Williams, Medwick, Gehrig, Greenberg,” wrote Baseball Prospectus in its 2009 annual. “On the draw back, it additionally contains Ben Grieve.”

In January 2009, the Orioles — who hadn’t posted a profitable season since 1997, and had misplaced not less than 92 video games in every of the earlier three seasons — signed Markakis to a six-year, $66.1 million extension, viewing him as a possible cornerstone for his or her subsequent profitable workforce. He would change into that… albeit extra as a supporting solid member than a star, regressing from that stellar efficiency. From 2009–11, he averaged 15 house runs and a pair of.6 WAR a yr whereas batting a mixed .291/.356/.431 (111 OPS+). He was notably sturdy, lacking simply 5 video games in that span, and in 2011, he received his first Gold Glove, extra possible on account of his 325 possibilities with out an error than his 4 DRS. The Orioles continued their streak of not less than 92 losses throughout that span, bottoming out at 64-98 in 2009 however enhancing to 69-93 in ’11, Buck Showalter’s first yr on the helm.

After taking part in 799 video games from 2007–11 — tied for third within the majors with Robinson Canó, behind solely Adrián González and Prince Fielder (each 802) — Markakis was restricted to 104 video games in 2012 on account of two separate hand accidents. He fractured a hamate bone in his proper wrist whereas swinging a bat on Might 30 and missed 40 days, then broke his left thumb in September 8 when he was hit by a CC Sabathia pitch. When obtainable, he hit nicely (.298/.363/.471, 13 homers, 126 OPS+, 1.7 WAR). Fueled by the arrival of 19-year-old rookie third baseman Manny Machado and a 29-9 document in one-run video games, the Orioles received 93 video games and claimed a Wild Card berth, however Markakis didn’t heal in time for the postseason. The Orioles received so far as the Division Collection, shedding to the Yankees in 5 video games.

Although he returned to play 160 video games in 2013, Markakis skilled an influence outage. He hit extra groundballs than ever, managed simply 10 homers, batted .271/.329/.356 (88 OPS+), and was within the purple defensively for the fourth yr out of 5 (-5 DRS) whereas totaling simply 0.4 WAR. He rebounded barely in 2014 (.276/.342/.386, 14 homers, 104 OPS+, 1.9 WAR), and because of one other error-free season with middling metrics (1 DRS), he received a second Gold Glove. The Orioles, who had missed the playoffs with 85 wins the yr earlier than, went 96-66 and received their first division title in 17 years. This time Markakis was obtainable, and he got here up huge in a Division Collection sweep of the Tigers, with two hits off Max Scherzer in Sport 1, together with a go-ahead RBI single, in addition to a two-run homer off Verlander in Sport 2. He collected three hits within the ALCS opener towards the Royals, however the Orioles misplaced that recreation in 10 innings and had been swept by the eventual AL champions.

Markakis had a $17.5 million mutual choice for 2015, his age-31 season, however the Orioles declined their finish, paying him a $2 million buyout as an alternative. Considerably surprisingly given his modest latest performances, he signed a four-year, $44 million cope with the Braves, who after going 79-83 dedicated to rebuilding by buying and selling away Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, and Evan Gattis — all of their big-name place gamers moreover Freddie Freeman and Andrelton Simmons. Shortly after signing, Markakis underwent surgical procedure to restore a herniated disc in his neck — a situation that Orioles basic supervisor Dan Duquette later admitted was a part of the rationale they let him stroll.

The Braves noticed Markakis as a veteran who may function a constructive instance for youthful gamers as they endured the rebuilding course of, a well-known state of affairs from his years in Baltimore. “I’ve been on this scenario earlier than,” Markakis mentioned in mid-August because the workforce headed towards 95 losses. “It’s powerful, however each backside has a lightweight on the high of it. You’ve simply received to go about what you are promoting, play exhausting, set good examples and assist your teammates any means you may… It’s going to be a protracted and thrilling journey. However we’ll get there.”

Regardless of the surgical procedure, Markakis performed 156 video games in 2015. On June 18, he set a document for consecutive errorless video games by a non-pitcher with 392, surpassing Darren Lewis’ mark from 1990 to 1994; the streak ended every week later at 398 video games.

From 2015–17, Markakis averaged 158 video games, eight house runs, and 1.5 WAR whereas batting .280/.357/.386 (101 OPS+); although he homered simply thrice in 2015, he had his highest WAR of the stretch (1.9) that season. The Braves improved a bit over that span, from 95 losses to 93 to 90, transitioning from supervisor Fredi Gonzalez to Snitker in mid-Might 2016, the identical yr that shortstop Dansby Swanson arrived; second baseman Ozzie Albies debuted in 2017. On August 3, 2017, Markakis collected the two,000th hit of his profession, a single off the Dodgers’ Alex Wooden.

With Ronald Acuña Jr. debuting in late April 2018, the Braves turned the nook towards rivalry, and the 34-year-old Markakis stepped up, hitting a scorching .323/.389/.488 with 10 house runs within the first half due to much-improved exit velocity. He was elected to start out the All-Star Sport — the primary time in his 13-year profession he was chosen in any respect — becoming a member of an NL outfield that additionally included Bryce Harper and the improbably resurgent Matt Kemp. Although Markakis cooled off within the second half, he performed all 162 video games and batted .297/.366/.440; his 14 homers had been his most since 2014, his slugging proportion and 116 OPS+ had been his finest marks since ’12, and his 2.6 WAR his highest since ’11. Once more pushed by a scarcity of errors moderately than sterling defensive metrics, he received his third Gold Glove. The Braves received 90 video games and the NL East; he went simply 1-for-12 within the Division Collection towards the Dodgers.

Markakis collected 185 hits in 2018, the seventh time he recorded not less than 180 in a season. Amid his first-half sizzling streak, just some months after I joined the FanGraphs employees, a reader requested me throughout a chat what I assumed would occur if Markakis reached 3,000 hits — that’s, if would he get elected to the Corridor of Fame like each different 3,000-hit membership member with no connections to performance-enhancing medication or (ahem) bans on account of playing.

“I don’t assume he’d get in even when he will get to 3K,” I wrote. “Any individual will probably be That Man [who doesn’t get in], and for awhile it appeared like Johnny Damon is perhaps the take a look at case, however not less than he had some huge postseason stuff to hold his assortment of hats on. Markakis not a lot. I don’t assume he’ll get that shut, as a result of he doesn’t have that many standout abilities, and as soon as his efficiency takes a dip under common, he’ll be finished racking up 160 hits per yr.”

Others had been pondering about Markakis’ pursuit round that point, and variants of the Corridor query would resurface in my chats and on social media. I tended to throw chilly water upon the hypothetical as a result of the milestone gave the impression to be so unlikely — such a Corridor of Fame case would have been unprecedented — however it seems, Dan Szymborski’s ZiPS projection system gave him higher odds than I anticipated at that juncture:

The Braves re-signed Markakis to a one-year, $6 million deal in January 2019, and whereas he returned to hit .285/.356/.420 (97 OPS+) with 9 homers, he missed almost seven weeks after the Phillies’ Cole Irvin fractured his wrist with a fastball on July 26. He returned in mid-September because the Braves received one other NL East title, however once more scuffled within the Division Collection, going 3-for-21 in a five-game loss to the Cardinals.

Although Markakis re-signed with Atlanta in November 2019, he revisited that call the next July, after the season was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. He determined to decide out after Freeman examined constructive for the virus. Three weeks into the season, nonetheless, Markakis modified his thoughts. After making his season debut as a pinch-hitter on August 5, the subsequent evening he hit a walk-off house run off the Blue Jays’ Wilmer Font.

That turned out to be Markakis’ solely homer for the season; he batted .254/.312/.392 (85 OPS+) with -0.2 WAR. The Braves once more received the NL East, and following sweeps of the Reds within the Wild Card Collection and the Marlins within the Division Collection, they reached the NLCS and got here inside one win of a visit to the World Collection earlier than shedding to the Dodgers. Alas, Markakis hit simply .216/.237/.324 in 38 plate appearances throughout the postseason and didn’t drive in a single run. He did triple and rating the Braves’ solely run in Sport 6 of the NLCS, however that was the second of three straight losses that ended their season.

Markakis didn’t pursue one other touchdown spot for 2021, and in March of that yr, introduced his retirement. Showalter and Snitker each hailed his professionalism and the instance he set. “It’s like I’ve mentioned about (Don) Mattingly, Nick’s substance was his type,” mentioned Showalter. “There was such a common respect for Nick from different groups and opponents. He did these issues that everyone wasn’t essentially keen to do. He simply introduced it every single day.”

Markakis isn’t a Corridor of Famer, however he received’t be shut out on this election. Longtime Orioles beat author Dan Connolly included him on his eight-man poll, a gesture that was widespread when ballots had been much less crowded. “Markakis is among the most underrated and underappreciated within the historical past of the sport,” he wrote. “Nobody within the Orioles’ clubhouse throughout that point was extra revered. Nobody in that clubhouse performed tougher or extra typically than Markakis.” Even with out Cooperstown, Markakis left his mark.