José Martínez (baseball, born 1988)

José Alberto Martínez (born July 25, 1988) is a Venezuelan professional baseball first baseman and outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals. He made his major league debut with the Cardinals on September 6, 2016, after 887 games in ten minor league seasons.

José Martínez
Martínez with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017
Tampa Bay Rays – No. 40
First baseman / Outfielder
Born: (1988-07-25) July 25, 1988
La Guaira, Vargas, Venezuela
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 6, 2016, for the St. Louis Cardinals
MLB statistics
(through August 10, 2020)
Batting average.296
Home runs43
Runs batted in179
Teams

As a member of the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers in the Kansas City Royals organization in 2015, Martínez set a modern-day Pacific Coast League (PCL) record with a .384 batting average. He also previously played in the Chicago White Sox and Atlanta Braves organizations as well as in the Frontier League.

Playing career

Minor leagues

Martínez signed with the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent in February 2006. From 2006 to 2014, he played in the White Sox and Atlanta Braves organizations.[1] He also spent time with the Rockford Aviators of the Frontier League, an independent league, in 2014.

Prior to 2015 season, Martínez signed with the Kansas City Royals. While playing for the Omaha Storm Chasers that year, his .384 batting average broke a modern-day Pacific Coast League (PCL) record.[2][3] He also led the PCL in on-base percentage (OBP, .461) and was an All-Star.[4] He batted .382 overall in 2014–which included rehab time in the Arizona League–good for the fifth-highest mark since the modern era of the minor leagues began in 1963. Martinez was ultimately seven hits short of batting .400 for the season.[5]

The Royals added Martínez to the 40-man roster on November 6, 2015, and designated him for assignment on May 18, 2016, in favor of Whit Merrifield.[6] One week later, they traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals for cash.[7]

St. Louis Cardinals

After 887 games with 11 minor league teams,[8] Martínez made his major league debut on September 6, 2016, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He ground out as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning in his first at bat.[9] His first major league hit and run batted in (RBI) occurred two days later, scoring Greg Garcia on an infield single in a 12−5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.[10] For the season, he had 7 hits in 16 at bats.[11]

The Cardinals announced that Martínez made their 2017 Opening Day roster, his first in the major leagues, after leading the club with 19 hits and 15 RBI in spring training.[12] He hit his first major league home run against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 25.[13] On August 6, 2017, Martínez hit his first major league career grand slam off Homer Bailey of the Cincinnati Reds, cementing a nine run frame for the Cardinals in a 13–4 win.[14] For the season, he batted .309/.379/.518.[11]

Martínez began 2018 as St. Louis' starting first baseman. On June 8, 2018, he hit two home runs off of Matt Harvey of the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park, helping St. Louis defeat the Reds 7-6 in ten innings.[15] He finished his 2018 campaign slashing .305/.364/.457 with 17 home runs and 83 RBIs in 152 games, and led the majors in percentage of balls hit to the opposite field (34.7%), as well as in percentage of soft-hit batted balls (34.7%).[16][17][16]

In February 2019, Martínez signed a two-year, $3.25 million contract with St. Louis.[18] For the 2019 regular season, he batted .269/.340/.751 with ten home runs and 42 RBIs over 128 games.

Tampa Bay Rays

On January 9, 2020, Martínez was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays along with Randy Arozarena and the Cardinals’ Competitive Balance Round A draft pick in exchange for Matthew Liberatore, Edgardo Rodriguez, and the Rays’ pick in Competitive Balance Round B.[19]

Personal life

Martínez is a son of former infielder Carlos Martínez, who played seven seasons in MLB for the Cleveland Indians, White Sox and California Angels.[2] He lives in Edwardsville, Illinois during the season.

Martínez has two children; one son, and one daughter.[20][21]

See also

References
  1. Taft, Jay (June 19, 2014). "Aviators' Jose Martinez won't give up on baseball dream". The Journal Standard. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  2. Boone, Tony (May 5, 2016). "Big year hard to ignore, but Chasers' Jose Martinez must follow up to get closer to big leagues". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  3. Goold, Derrick (May 26, 2016). "Carpenter on paternity leave; G. Garcia recalled". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  4. FOX Sports Midwest (May 25, 2016). "Cardinals acquire OF Jose Martinez from Royals, assign to Memphis". Fox Sports Midwest. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  5. Callis, Jim (August 16, 2018). "A history of hitting .400 in the Minors". MLB.com. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  6. Mellinger, Sam (May 11, 2018). "Strange tale: How Jose Martinez went from the Royals to the middle of the Cardinals' lineup". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  7. Langosch, Jenifer (May 25, 2016). "Cards get OF Martinez from KC for cash considerations". MLB.com. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  8. Cooper, J. J. (September 7, 2016). "Jose Martinez's incredible journey gets a payoff". Baseball America. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  9. "Cardinals 9, Pirates 7". MLB.com. September 6, 2016.
  10. Timmerman, Tom (September 9, 2016). "A first hit, a broken slump and some power: a few offensive bright spots in the 12−5 loss". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  11. Jose Martinez Stats | Baseball-Reference.com
  12. Langosch, Jenifer (March 31, 2017). "Few surprises on Cards' Opening Day roster: Journeyman J. Martinez nabs fourth-outfielder spot; Tuivailala rounds out 'pen". cardinals.mlb.com. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  13. Langosch, Jenifer; Chisolm, Gregor (April 26, 2017). "Wacha solid, but Cards fall to Blue Jays in 11". MLB.com. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  14. Langosch, Jenifer (August 6, 2017). "J. Martinez's slam highlights Cards' 9-run frame". MLB.com. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  15. Cardinals get it right in the end, win 12th in a row over Reds | St. Louis Cardinals | stltoday.com
  16. Major League Leaderboards » 2018 » Batters » Batted Ball Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball
  17. St. Louis Cardinals 2018 player grades: Infielders | Sports | kmov.com
  18. https://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/cardinals-notebook-j-martinez-gets--year-contract/article_e97cbe7c-093a-5e62-a576-8b7755d18e3a.html#4
  19. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28454369/jose-martinez-part-cardinals-package-rays-lefty-prospect-matt-liberatore
  20. https://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/duty-calls-jose-martinez-goes-on-paternity-leave-will-miss/article_8dbaa864-598a-5144-8900-7c398da0819b.html
  21. https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/st-louis-cardinals-news-analysis-mlb/2018/6/18/17475068/look-at-jose-martinez-and-his-adorable-baby-daughter-a-hunt-and-peck
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