Tino Martinez

From SoSH

Constantino "Tino" Martinez (born December 7, 1967 in Tampa, FL) was a left handed hitting first baseman for the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, Saint Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The two time all-star was a member of the powerful NY Yankees of the late 1990's. Tino retired after the 2005 season.

Contents 1 Career Overview 2 Awards 3 Achievements 4 Transactions 5 External Links

Career Overview

Tino Martinez was drafted by the Seattle Mariners as the 14th overall pick in the 1988 Amateur Draft. By 1990 Tino was called up in late August for the struggling Seattle Mariners. However, it wasn't until 1992 that he saw full time action for the Mariners when he played 136 games at first base. In 1995 Tino finally had the break out season that the Mariners were waiting for. He hit .293 with 31 HR's and 111 RBI's and helped the Mariners to a first place finish in the AL West. The team lost in six games in the ALCS to the Cleveland Indians.

The following year the Yankees signed Martinez to replace Don Mattingly who had retired. Mattingly, who was a popular Yankee and loved by the fans was hard to replace. Martinez hit .292 with 25 HR's and 117 RBIs in his effort to win the fans over. That year the Yankees won their first World Series since 1978, but Martinez played horrible in the playoffs only hitting .091 in the World Series. Tino eventually became one of the more popular players during his time with the Yankees and helped the team form a new Yankees dynasty. Martinez was a fixture on those teams often leading the Yankees in home runs, RBI's, or both. With his help the Yankees won the World Series in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000.

After the 2001 season, a bounce back year after he had struggled in 2000, Tino ended his stay with the Yankees and signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. Tino was again replacing a fan favorite at first base, this time it was Mark McGwire. During Tino's two year stay with the Cardinals it became clear that he was not the player that he had been and after the 2003 season he was traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. After the 2004 season with the Devil Rays, Tino signed on one last time with the Yankees for the '05 season. By this time it was clear his skills had diminished significantly. Tino retired in February of 2006 before the start of the new season.

Awards

• 2-time American League All-Star (One-time starter 1997)
• American League Silver Slugger – 1B (1997)
• Home Run Derby Champion – 1997

Achievements

• 30-Home Run Seasons: 3 (1995, 1997 & 2001)
• 40-Home Run Seasons: 1 (1997)
• 100-RBI Seasons: 6 (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, & 2001)

Transactions

• June 3, 1985: Drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 3rd round of the 1985 amateur draft, but did not sign.
• June 1, 1988: Drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 1st round (14th pick) of the 1988 amateur draft. Player signed June 11, 1988.
• December 7, 1995: Traded by the Seattle Mariners with Jim Mecir and Jeff Nelson to the New York Yankees for Russ Davis and Sterling Hitchcock.
• November 5, 2001: Granted Free Agency.
• December 18, 2001: Signed as a Free Agent with the St. Louis Cardinals.
• November 21, 2003: Traded by the St. Louis Cardinals to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for a player to be named later and Evan Rust (minors). The Tampa Bay Devil Rays sent John-Paul Davis (minors) (December 16, 2003) to the St. Louis Cardinals to complete the trade.
• November 2, 2004: Granted Free Agency.
• January 1, 2005: Signed as a Free Agent with the New York Yankees.
• November 8, 2005: Granted Free Agency.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis