Ariel Martínez Marrero (born May 28, 1996) is a Cuban

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

for the

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Fighters also host a ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB). He previously played in NPB for the Chunichi Dragons and the Cocodrilos de Matanzas in the Cuban National Series.

Professional career

Chunichi Dragons

On March 14, 2018, Martínez signed with the Chunichi Dragons on a developmental contract. He spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons with Chunichi's farm team. On July 1, 2020, Martinez was given a full-time rostered deal and a new shirt number, 57. Martínez notched 5 hits in 18 plate appearances for Chunichi in 2020. The Cuban catcher Ariel Martinez shone again on Wednesday in Japanese baseball, when he hit a homer that led to the victory of the Chunichi Dragons over the Yakult Swallows. Playing

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

, the versatile Martinez went 2-3, with a run scored and a walk, to leave his average at .333, and get the only run of the game, which ended 1-0 in favor of his team. He became a free agent following the 2022 season.

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

On December 21, 2022, Martinez signed with the

Personal life

Like most of the

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n children from his generation, Ariel Martínez admires legendary Cuban catcher Ariel Pestano. One catcher that he likes to study and emulate his game off of is

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

catcher

Salvador Pérez Salvador Johan Pérez Diaz (born May 10, 1990), nicknamed "Salvy", is a Venezuelan-American professional baseball catcher for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is a seven-time MLB All-Star, five-time Gold Glove Award win ...

. He tries to watch film of him often and he definitely enjoys catching plenty of

games on television when he can.

References

External links

NPB
1996 births Living people Chunichi Dragons players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Japan Nippon Professional Baseball catchers Cocodrilos de Matanzas players Baseball players from Matanzas Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players 2023 World Baseball Classic players {{Cuba-baseball-catcher-stub