Marzano remembered for his passion for baseball, and friends

The other panelists strongly disagreed. They pointed out that guaranteeing $137 million to any pitcher was a huge risk. They pointed out that the Phillies didn't have the quality of minor leaguers to give up that the Mets did. They might have pointed out that Santana had been unwilling to waive his no-trade clause to come to Philadelphia had Marzano not kept cutting them off in midsentence.

When the segment ended and the cameras were off, he smiled almost apologetically before walking off the set.

"You may be right," he said softly. "It's just that I'm just such a fan."

Marzano's passionate fan's voice, brash and opinionated, has been silenced. The 45-year-old former big-leaguer, operator of a baseball clinic in Northern Liberties and proud South Philly native who had become a ubiquitous presence in the local media, was found dead of a possible heart attack at his home on Passayunk Avenue Saturday morning.

"He did not die from falling down the stairs," said Jeff Moran, spokesman for the Medical Examiner's Office. "The case is still pending. The outcome will be based on additional lab tests."

The tributes continued to roll in yesterday.

"He was like my adopted son," said Gabriel "Spanky" DiFeliciantonio, a former member of the Veterans Stadium grounds crew who was a mentor, promoter and fan. "All he cared about was his family, baseball and Philadelphia. He never forgot where he came from."

DiFeliciantonio told the story of coaching 14-year-old Marzano in a Department of Recreation League playoff game at 12th and Bigler. The winner would advance to play at the Vet, a big thrill for kids that age.

"John got hit in the eye with a ball and we rushed him to the hospital," he recalled. "We were losing, 5-3, in the bottom of the seventh inning and it was starting to get dark. And all of a sudden, here he came with his father. He had a patch over his eye and there was still blood running down his face.

"I said, 'Can you see?' He said he could so I put him up to pinch-hit. On the first pitch he hit a grand slam to win the game. And we went on to win the championship at the Vet."

Al "Sugar Bear" Barbieri was a close friend who played with Marzano in the Fairmount Park League in 1979, '80 and '81.

"When he made it to the big leagues, we were proud," Barbieri said. "How could any friend of his not be proud, a kid from the neighborhood making it to the big leagues? And for me, personally, because I was a baseball player, too, and I knew what it took to make it."

What most impressed Barbieri was the fact that he never forgot his roots.

"John was a loyal kid," he said. "I used to live in Los Angeles and when he came out there he always tried to share it with me," he said. "When I decided to pursue my dream of playing professionally [with the Camden Riversharks of the independent Atlantic League] he opened his gym for me and threw me batting practice. He knew how much it meant to me and was very supportive."

Shortly after Marzano was called up to the majors for the first time in 1987, he invited Barbieri to spend the weekend with him in Anaheim.

"This was when I knew that the South Philly had never left him," Barbieri said. "He had just come up and the Red Sox were in a pennant race. One of the prominent players, I won't mention his name, was having a party."

Barbieri and Marzano got to the door. A player answered and said that Barbieri couldn't come in, that the party was for players only. Noting that there were other non-players already inside, Marzano stood his ground.

"I've got news for you," he said. "If my friend can't come in, I'm not coming."

Noted Barbieri: "He was only a rookie. Other people would have sold out right there. But not John."

When he was with the Mariners at the end of his career, he'd invite his pal to join him for dinner with stars like Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr.

Marzano grew up near 11th and Wharton. He also played football at Central High School, but starred in baseball where he was a third baseman as a sophomore before converting to catcher. When he graduated in 1981 he was named the Player of the Year on the Daily News All-City team.

Mark Gubicza, of Penn Charter, was the Pitcher of the Year that season, the only time both honorees made it to the big leagues.

"He went to the same high school as two of my brothers [Jeff and Brian]," Gubicza said. "When we were both in the big leagues, we'd talk and joke when we saw each other. It was pretty cool. There aren't that many players from Philadelphia who make it to the big leagues because of the weather and everything.

"In recent years I'd go on MLB.com to do research and I'd see his picture and it would make me smile. He always had that great personality. When I heard the news I couldn't believe it. I thought, 'This can't be true.' It was stunning."

He was drafted in the third round by the Twins out of high school, but chose to attend Temple. He played well enough there to earn a spot in the school's Hall of Fame, to make Team USA and play in the 1984 Olympics, and be drafted in the first round by the Red Sox (14th overall).

While he never became a star in the majors, he played parts of 10 seasons in the big leagues with Boston, Texas and Seattle. He went to spring training with the Phillies in 1994 and spent the season at Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, playing in 88 games.

John Vukovich always liked to say that he had a much better second career as a coach than his first career as a player. Marzano might have eventually been able to say the same thing.

He had become a regular contributor to Comcast SportsNet and WIP (610-AM) and had also begun to establish himself nationally with MLB.com. The Internet site sponsors his player page on baseball-reference.com and, yesterday, posted this message:

"A Tremendous Guy Who Loved This Game Deeply And Made Everyone Around Him Smile. We'll Miss You, Johnny Marz."

No matter how far he might have gone as a broadcaster, though, it seems certain that he would have remained, at heart, an outspoken voice of the fan.

He is survived by his wife, Terri, daughters Dominique and Danielle, and two grandchildren.

A viewing is scheduled for Thursday, 5-9 p.m., and Friday, 8:15 to 9:15 a.m., at Baldi Funeral Home, 1331 S. Broad Street. A Funeral Mass will be held Friday at 10 a.m. at Annunciation BVM Church, 10th and Dickinson streets. Burial will be at Holy Cross Cemetery, Yeadon.

Donations in Marzano's memory can be made to the Jayden Brady and Ariana Marzano College Fund, c/o PNC Bank, 1544 Packer Ave., Philadelphia, Pa., 19145. *

Daily News sports writer Ted Silary contributed to this story.