Jake Marshall is at it again.
The veteran journeyman professional baseball player for various teams in independent leagues over the years recently signed a three-day contract with the High Point Rockers of North Carolina, who play in the Atlantic League.
The Yorktown High School graduate was asked to join the team to serve as an emergency catcher for a few games. Marshall started consecutive contests on Sept. 2 and 3, lining an RBI single to center field in his first game, and not striking out in eight at-bats in the two outings. He joined the squad just three hours before the Sept. 2 contest.
More importantly, Marshall, 29, played flawless defense behind the plate.
After playing the two games for the Rockers, Marshall’s contract was extended for another week.
Over the years, Marshall has developed a strong reputation as a versatile defensive specialist as a backstop. He is regarded as a standout at blocking wild pitches. Marshall has become kind of a hired gun by teams needing such an emergency catcher.
That was the reason Marshall was signed by the Rockers. Their starting catcher suffered an injury, the backup had to miss games for personal reasons, then the bullpen catcher – a third-stringer – struggled defensively. So a call was put in to Marshall.
Marshall owns a home improvement business in Northern Virginia, but continued to keep his baseball skills sharp this summer by playing 24 games for the Potomac Clementes of Northern Virginia’s wooden-bat Industrial League.
In previous summers, the 5-foot-11 Marshall played for independent teams in Australia and California, then most recently was a catcher for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League in Waldorf, Md.
After graduating from Yorktown, Marshall played in college at Potomac State junior college in Keyser, W.Va., then was a bullpen catcher for the University of West Virginia team, where he graduated in 2017.
