Wednesday, November 30, 2016
no. 602 - marty martinez
Who is the man: Marty Martinez suffered a down season in 1970 after a couple of semiproductive years with the Braves and Astros in 1968 and 1969. He'd be dealt to the Cardinals at the end of the 1971 season.
Can ya dig it: You can see by the signature that Martinez's actual first name is Orlando.
Right on: That Astros logo needs to come back, I don't care if no one plays in the Astrodome anymore.
You see that cat Martinez is a bad mother: Please note the "infield" position designation on Martinez's card. He played all over the infield, the outfield, even caught 30 games during his career. Oh, and he pitched in a game.
Shut your mouth: Martinez is known for scouting and signing future Mariners Edgar Martinez and Omar Vizquel.
No one understands him but his woman: Martinez managed one game for the Seattle Mariners. It was on May 9, 1986 against the Red Sox (a 4-2 loss). Seattle had fired manager Chuck Cottier the day before and hired Dick Williams. Martinez served as interim manager before Williams' arrival.
(A word about the back): The Braves picked up Martinez from the Twins in the Rule 5 draft. Twins president Calvin Griffith dismissed the loss of Martinez, causing Braves manager Billy Hitchcock to say, "All I know is we weren't the only club interested in drafting Martinez. I know of at least two other clubs who wanted to make him their first draft choice."
"WELCOME TO THE NATIONAL LEAGUE!!!"
ReplyDeleteAccording to "Ball Four" that is what Martinez yelled at Padres rookie pitcher Mike Corkins in his major league debut after the Astros knocked him out of the game in the first inning.