Marv Rotblatt

Marvin Rotblatt
(Rotty)

• Bats Both, Throws Left
• Height 5' 7", Weight 160 lb.
• School University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• High School Von Steuben High School
• Debut July 4, 1948
• Final Game July 22, 1951
• Born October 18, 1927 in Chicago, IL USA
• Died July 16, 2013 in Niles, IL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

A Chicago native, pitcher Marv "Rotty" Rotblatt played parts of three seasons in the majors with his hometown Chicago White Sox.

After attending Von Steuben High School, Rotblatt was at the University of Illinois from 1945 to 1948, during which time he pitched alongside four other future major leaguers (Howie Judson, Jake Thies, Dick Weik, and Dick Hyde). Over four years at the school, he went 25-4. He signed with the Sox in July 1948 and made his big league debut on July 4th, throwing 2 scoreless innings of relief in the first game of a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers. He split that summer between Chicago, where he went 0-1 with a 7.85 ERA in 7 games, and the minor league Waterloo White Hawks, for whom he was 8-1 with a 1.52 ERA. He had some rather spectacular control issues in the big leagues, as he walked 23 batters in 18 1/3 innings.

Rotblatt spent 1949 with the Memphis Chickasaws, and back with Memphis the following year, he went 22-9 for the club. He also made two late-season appearances for the White Sox in 1950. He split 1951 between the majors and the Chickasaws. With Chicago, he went 4-2 with 2 saves and a 3.40 ERA in 26 games, and he was 6-2 for Memphis. He went 12-7 for the Chickasaws in 1954 but struggled with injuries and never returned to the majors, ending his career at 29.

Following his baseball career, Rotblatt worked in the insurance industry for many years.

An obituary referred to Rotblatt as the "shortest pitcher to ever play major league baseball". However, based on his listed height of 5' 7", several players including Bobby Shantz were shorter.