John Joseph Martina (July 8, 1889 – March 22, 1962), known as Oyster Joe, was an American

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 ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

. A

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

and a native and lifelong resident of

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, he spent 22 seasons in baseball, but only one year——in the Major Leagues as a member of the

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Washington Senators. He won 349

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

games, with 277 defeats charged against him.Minor league record
from

Baseball Reference Baseball-Reference is a website providing baseball statistics for every player in Major League Baseball history. The site is often used by major media organizations and baseball broadcasters as a source for statistics. It offers a variety of advan ...

The , Martina began his career at age 20 in 1910 and by the time he hung up his spikes in 1931, he had won 20 games seven times, including a 28-win season in 1919 for the

Beaumont Oilers Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex **Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche * Bea ...

of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. He was 34 years old when, after consecutive 20-win campaigns for his hometown

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

of the

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cl ...

, he made the 1924 Senators' team. In Martina's only big-league season, he worked in 24

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

, including 14 starts. He won six games and lost eight, posting eight

complete games In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

with no

shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

. In 125

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

he allowed 129

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and 56

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

, with 57

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s. He compiled a mediocre 4.67

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

, well above the staff ERA (3.34). But, led by

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Walter Johnson Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "Barney" and "The Big Train", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Baseball as a right-ha ...

's 23 victories, Washington won its first

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

pennant; the Senators' 92–62 record put them two games ahead of 1923's champions, the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

, and into the

1924 World Series The 1924 World Series was the championship series of the 1924 Major League Baseball season. A best-of-seven playoff, the series was played between the American League (AL) pennant winner Washington Senators and the National League (NL) pennan ...

against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

. Martina appeared in Game 3 and set the Giants down in order in his only

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

of work, retiring Hall of Fame hitter

Bill Terry William Harold Terry (October 30, 1898 – January 9, 1989) was an American professional baseball first baseman and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants from 1923 to 1936 and managed the Giants from 1932 to 19 ...

in the process.

Retrosheet Retrosheet is a nonprofit organization whose website features box scores of Major League Baseball (MLB) games from 1906 to the present, and play-by-play narratives for almost every contest since the 1930s. It also includes scores from every major ...

br>box score: Game 3, 1924 World Series, 6 October 1924
/ref> New York won that game, 6–4, but Washington triumphed in the series, four games to three, giving the capital its first baseball title. Martina's lone inning pitched in the third contest was his last MLB appearance. He then returned to New Orleans in 1925 and over the next three seasons he won 23, 19 and 23 games. Said his former minor league

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Larry Gilbert Lawrence Allen Gilbert, Sr. (November 19, 1942 – January 21, 1998) was an American professional golfer best known for winning the 1997 Senior Players Championship, one of the major championships on the Senior PGA Tour. Gilbert was born in For ...

: "Martina had a live

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thro ...

, sharp

curve In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line (geometry), line, but that does not have to be Linearity, straight. Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point (ge ...

and good control, but his greatest asset was his durability. I never remember 'Oyster Joe' having a sore arm. He was a fierce competitor, great team man and one of the best conditioned athletes I've ever known."Buddy Deliberto, ''Iron-Armed Joe Martina, Pel Ace of the Twenties, Is Dead''

New Orleans Times-Picayune ''The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate'' is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, since January 25, 1837. The current publication is the result of the 2019 acquisition of ''The Times-Picayune'' (itself a result of th ...

, 23 March 1962 Martina also played five innings at

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

for the 1924 Senators, making one

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

in five total

chances Chances may refer to: * ''Chances'' (TV series), an Australian soap opera * ''Chances'' (Philippine TV series), a prime-time soap opera * '' Chances: The Women of Magdalene'', a 2006 documentary film * ''Chances'' (novel), a 1981 novel by Jac ...

on September 30.Information
at

During that season, he showed skill as a batter, with 14

in 43

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

(for a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of .326), with two doubles. His

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

was coined because his father was an

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

dealer. In one of professional sports' most peculiar transactions ever, Martina negotiated his own release from the

Dallas Steers The Dallas Rangers were a high-level minor league baseball team located in Dallas, Texas from 1958 to 1964. The team was known by the Dallas Rangers name in 1958, 1959, and 1964 and as the Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers from 1960 to 1963. It played in ...

in exchange for two

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

s of oysters on December 28, 1929. The ball club had agreed to a barrel, but the local Dallas sportswriters successfully argued that he was worth an additional one which they shared amongst themselves.March, Lochlahn. "The Weirdest Trades in Baseball History," ''Sports Illustrated'', Sunday, July 31, 2022.
Retrieved August 1, 2022. Martina died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in his home city at the age of 72, three decades after his last game in organized baseball.

References

External links

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