Ramón Martínez (baseball infielder)
Encyclopedia
Ramón E. Martínez is a Major League Baseball
utility infielder
. He is the cousin of Chicago Cubs
catcher
Geovany Soto
.
in Texas
, where he played baseball
and graduated in 1992. He was signed as an undrafted free agent
by the Kansas City Royals
on January 15, .
, Wichita
, and Omaha
.
On December 9, , Martínez was traded by the Royals to the San Francisco Giants
for Jamie Brewington
. He played with the Giants Double-A team in Shreveport and Triple-A teams in Phoenix
and Fresno
before finally getting his first shot at the big leagues.
Martínez made his major league debut on June 20, , as the starting second baseman
for the Giants against the San Diego Padres
. He went 3 for 3 in his debut, with his first hit
being a single
off Mark Langston
. He was the first Giant since Willie McCovey
to register at least 3 hits in his first Major League game.
He remained on the Giants roster through . The Giants used him as a utility player primarily, with occasional starts at second, short
or third
.
He left the Giants as a free agent following the 2002 season and signed with the Chicago Cubs, where he was their top infield reserve/pinch hitter
for two seasons.
Martínez started the season with the Detroit Tigers
and was traded on June 9 to the Philadelphia Phillies
alongside Ugueth Urbina
for infielder Plácido Polanco
. He hit. 286 for the Phillies, who used him as their backup first baseman
. Ramon's only home run
with the Phillies was a grand slam
off Horacio Ramírez
on September 14, 2005, in a 12-4 Phillies win.
Martínez signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers
prior to the season and spent the next two seasons as a utility player for the Dodgers, playing solidly in 2006 during injuries to starting second baseman Jeff Kent
. His option was not picked up by the club after the season, but on January 29, , they signed him to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training
. He wound up assigned to the minor league Las Vegas 51s
to start the 2008 season, but was injured and spent several months on the DL
. He eventually returned to the 51s, but was released by the Dodgers on July 24 and was signed by the New York Mets to a minor league deal. He was called up late in the season. Martinez signed a minor league deal to rejoin the Mets on February 13, 2009.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
utility infielder
Infielder
An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field.-Standard arrangement of positions:In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles...
. He is the cousin of Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
Geovany Soto
Geovany Soto
Geovany Soto is a Major League Baseball catcher for the Chicago Cubs.-Professional career:...
.
Early career
Martínez graduated from Escuela Superior Catolica High School and then attended Vernon Regional Junior CollegeVernon College
Vernon College, known as Vernon Regional Junior College until May 2001, is a community college, located in Wichita Falls, Texas and Vernon, Texas.-Service area:Vernon College's service area includes twelve counties in North Texas.*Archer*Baylor...
in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, where he played baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
and graduated in 1992. He was signed as an undrafted free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
by the Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
on January 15, .
Major League career
Martínez made his professional baseball debut with the Gulf Coast Royals in the rookie leagues in 1993 and rose through the Royals farm system with stops in WilmingtonWilmington Blue Rocks
The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team located in Wilmington, Delaware. The Blue Rocks play in the Northern Division of the Carolina League.-Franchise history:...
, Wichita
Wichita Wranglers
The Wichita Wranglers were a minor league baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team, which played in the Texas League, was the Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals major-league club from 1995 to 2007, and of the San Diego Padres from 1987 to 1994. The Wranglers played in...
, and Omaha
Omaha Royals
The Omaha Storm Chasers are a United States minor league baseball team currently based in the Omaha suburb of Papillion, Nebraska. The team is the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals major league club and has been a member of the expanded Pacific Coast League since 1998. From 1969 to 1997,...
.
On December 9, , Martínez was traded by the Royals to the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
for Jamie Brewington
Jamie Brewington
Jamie Chancellor Brewington is an American former Major League Baseball player. A pitcher, Brewington played for the San Francisco Giants in 1995 and the Cleveland Indians in 2000.-External links:...
. He played with the Giants Double-A team in Shreveport and Triple-A teams in Phoenix
Phoenix Firebirds
The Phoenix Firebirds, formerly the Phoenix Giants, were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Phoenix, Arizona, USA from 1958-1959, and 1966 until 1997....
and Fresno
Fresno Grizzlies
The Fresno Grizzlies are a minor league baseball team based in Fresno, California. The team, which plays in the Pacific Coast League , is the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club. The Grizzlies play in Chukchansi Park , located in downtown Fresno and built in 2002...
before finally getting his first shot at the big leagues.
Martínez made his major league debut on June 20, , as the starting second baseman
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...
for the Giants against the San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
. He went 3 for 3 in his debut, with his first hit
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
being a single
Single (baseball)
In baseball, a single is the most common type of base hit, accomplished through the act of a batter safely reaching first base by hitting a fair ball and getting to first base before a fielder puts him out...
off Mark Langston
Mark Langston
Mark Edward Langston is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched for the Seattle Mariners , Montreal Expos , California and Anaheim Angels , San Diego Padres , and Cleveland Indians...
. He was the first Giant since Willie McCovey
Willie McCovey
Willie Lee McCovey , nicknamed "Mac", "Big Mac", and "Stretch", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played nineteen seasons for the San Francisco Giants, and three more for the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics, between and...
to register at least 3 hits in his first Major League game.
He remained on the Giants roster through . The Giants used him as a utility player primarily, with occasional starts at second, short
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
or third
Third Base
is a 1978 Japanese film directed by Yōichi Higashi.-External links:...
.
He left the Giants as a free agent following the 2002 season and signed with the Chicago Cubs, where he was their top infield reserve/pinch hitter
Pinch hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead ; the manager may use any player that has not yet entered the game as a substitute...
for two seasons.
Martínez started the season with the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
and was traded on June 9 to the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
alongside Ugueth Urbina
Ugueth Urbina
Ugueth Urtaín Urbina Villarreal is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. A two-time All-Star, Urbina led the National League in saves with 41 in the 1999 season and helped the Florida Marlins win the 2003 World Series...
for infielder Plácido Polanco
Plácido Polanco
Plácido Enrique Polanco is a Major League Baseball player who plays for the Philadelphia Phillies and has also played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers. He is a third baseman, but in the past has played second base and shortstop...
. He hit. 286 for the Phillies, who used him as their backup first baseman
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
. Ramon's only home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
with the Phillies was a grand slam
Grand slam (baseball)
In the sport of baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners , thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the term originated in the card game of contract bridge, in which a grand slam involves...
off Horacio Ramírez
Horacio Ramírez
Horacio Ramírez is a Major League Baseball pitcher. His parents emigrated from Jalostotitlan, Jalisco, Mexico.-Career:...
on September 14, 2005, in a 12-4 Phillies win.
Martínez signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
prior to the season and spent the next two seasons as a utility player for the Dodgers, playing solidly in 2006 during injuries to starting second baseman Jeff Kent
Jeff Kent
Jeffrey Franklin Kent is a retired Major League Baseball second baseman. Kent won the National League Most Valuable Player award in 2000 with the San Francisco Giants, and is the all-time leader in home runs among second basemen...
. His option was not picked up by the club after the season, but on January 29, , they signed him to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
. He wound up assigned to the minor league Las Vegas 51s
Las Vegas 51s
The Las Vegas 51s, formerly known as the Las Vegas Stars, are a minor league baseball team. They are the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. They play at Cashman Field in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team competes in the Pacific Coast League...
to start the 2008 season, but was injured and spent several months on the DL
Disabled list
In Major League Baseball, the disabled list is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players.-General guidelines:...
. He eventually returned to the 51s, but was released by the Dodgers on July 24 and was signed by the New York Mets to a minor league deal. He was called up late in the season. Martinez signed a minor league deal to rejoin the Mets on February 13, 2009.