Jerry Lindsey Martin (born May 11, 1949) is an American former

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

. He spent 11 years in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

, from to . On November 17, , Martin and Kansas City Royals teammates

Willie Aikens Willie Mays Aikens (born October 14, 1954) is an American professional baseball first baseman who played in Major League Baseball for the California Angels, Kansas City Royals, and Toronto Blue Jays between 1977 and 1985. He had established hi ...

and Willie Wilson each received three-month prison terms on misdemeanor attempted

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

possession charges. They became the first active major leaguers to serve jail time.

Furman University Paladins basketball

Martin was born in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...

, and attended Olympia High School there. He then attended Furman University in Greenville. He starred in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, and was named the All-

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly k ...

Tournament Most Valuable Player in after leading the Furman Paladins to their first conference championship.

Philadelphia Phillies

Despite his prowess in basketball, he decided to follow his father, Barney Martin, who pitched in the majors with the Cincinnati Reds, as well as his younger brother, Michael, a left handed pitcher selected fifth overall in the

1970 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1970 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Other notable Selections ''*'' Did not sign References External links Complete draft list from ''The Basebal ...

by the Philadelphia Phillies. A year later, Jerry signed with the club as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. Despite having spent three seasons together in the same organization, the brothers were never teammates. Martin earned

Western Carolinas League Portion of plaque displaying likeness of John Henry Moss at Municipal Stadium, Hagerstown, Maryland The Western Carolinas League was a Class D (1948–52; 1960–62) and a low Class A (1963–79) full-season league in American minor league base ...

MVP honors in , when he batted .316 with twelve

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 112

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

for the

Spartanburg Phillies Spartanburg is a city in and the seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest city in the state. For a time, the Offic ...

. Over four seasons in the Phillies' farm system, Martin batted .303 with 43 home runs and 290 RBIs to earn a September call-up to the majors in . Making his

major league debut Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

as a late inning defensive replacement for

Greg Luzinski Gregory Michael "The Bull" Luzinski (born November 22, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder from to , most prominently as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies where he wa ...

on September 7, Martin did not log an at-bat. When given his first major league at bat two days later, he drove in Luzinski with the first run of the Phillies' 2-0 victory over the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. After splitting the season between the Phillies and the triple A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

, Martin spent the entire season serving as a late inning defensive replacement for Luzinski. He appeared in 130 games, but logged only 129 at-bats. He made just one plate appearance in the

1976 National League Championship Series The 1976 National League Championship Series was a postseason series between the two division champions of the National League in the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies. This was the eighth NLCS held in baseball history. For the fourt ...

against the Cincinnati Reds. He reached first base on an error, and scored on

Jay Johnstone John William Johnstone Jr. (November 20, 1945 – September 26, 2020) was an American professional baseball player and television sports announcer. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1966 to 1985 for the California Angels, ...

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

in the ninth inning of the third game. Despite having been a promising prospect for the Phillies, Martin would never rise above

fourth outfielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various s ...

status over his next two seasons with the Phillies. Just as pitchers and

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

s were reporting to Spring training in , Martin was sent to the Chicago Cubs in a blockbuster deal. He,

Barry Foote Barry Clifton Foote (born February 16, 1952), is an American former professional baseball player, scout, coach, and minor league manager. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos (–), Philadelphia Phillies (1 ...

Ted Sizemore Ted Crawford Sizemore (born April 15, 1945) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. He was named the National League's Rookie of the Year in . Early life Sizemore was born in Gadsden, Alabama, but moved to Detroit, at the age of two ...

and minor leaguers

Derek Botelho Derek Wayne Botelho (born August 2, 1956) is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Kansas City Royals and Chicago Cubs, who is currently the pitching coach for the Class A-Advanced Lynchburg Hillcats.http://www.ajc.com/bra ...

and Henry Mack went to the Cubs for

Greg Gross Gregory Eugene Gross (born August 1, 1952), is an American former professional baseball outfielder / pinch hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, and Philadelphia Phillies, from –. He was prev ...

, Dave Rader and

Manny Trillo Jesús Manuel Marcano Trillo (born December 25, 1950), also nicknamed "Indio", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball second baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics (–), Chicago Cubs (–, –), Phil ...

Chicago Cubs

Finally given the opportunity to start, Martin had a career year his first season in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Playing centerfield and batting sixth in the Cubs' line-up, Martin clubbed nineteen home runs, and drove in 73 runs while scoring 74. He followed that up with a career high 23 home runs in . After a contract dispute, Martin asked to be traded, and was sent to the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

with

Jesús Figueroa Jesús Maria Figueroa (born February 20, 1957) is a Dominican former professional baseball player. He appeared in 115 games during the 1980 baseball season with the Chicago Cubs, mostly as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement. Figueroa als ...

and a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

for Phil Nastu and

Joe Strain Joseph Allan Strain (born April 30, 1954) is a former a professional baseball player who was an infielder in the Major Leagues from to for the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs. Strain currently resides in the home rule municipality of Cen ...

at the 1980

Winter meetings Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...

San Francisco Giants

Martin signed a five-year deal shortly after arriving in San Francisco, however, his tenure with the Giants ended up being shorter than expected. His numbers dipped in the

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

shortened season, as he hit just four home runs and drove in 25 while batting .241. After just one season with the Giants, Martin was dealt to the Kansas City Royals for pitchers

Rich Gale Richard Blackwell Gale (born January 19, 1954) is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played with four teams between and . Listed at and , Gale batted and threw right-handed. During 1992 and 1993, he served as pitching c ...

and

Bill Laskey William Alan Laskey (born December 20, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player who was a pitcher for six seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1982 to 1986 and in 1988. He played for the San Francisco Giants, Montreal Expos ...

Kansas City Royals

A new position came with his change of scenery, as Martin was shifted to right field with the Royals. He got off to a hot start in Kansas City, batting .304 with five home runs and 25 RBIs through May. Though he would cool off by the end of the season, his .266

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 ...

, fifteen home runs and 65 RBIs in was a marked improvement over his previous season. He got off to a fast start in as well, but a muscle tear in his right wrist ended his season on April 24. Toward the end of the 1983 season, Martin and several of his Royals teammates were questioned by U.S. Attorney Jim Marquez in connection with a federal

probe. Following the season, he, Willie Aikens and Willie Wilson pleaded

guilt Guilt may refer to: *Guilt (emotion), an emotion that occurs when a person feels that they have violated a moral standard *Culpability, a legal term *Guilt (law), a legal term Music * ''Guilt'' (album), a 2009 album by Mims * "Guilt" (The Long Bl ...

y to attempting to purchase cocaine, while former teammate

Vida Blue Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (born July 28, 1949) is a former American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball between and , most notably as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thr ...

pleaded guilty to

possession Possession may refer to: Law * Dependent territory, an area of land over which another country exercises sovereignty, but which does not have the full right of participation in that country's governance * Drug possession, a crime * Ownership * ...

of three

gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to th ...

s of cocaine. On November 17, Martin, Aikens, Blue and Wilson were all sentenced to a year in prison, with nine months of it suspended, and ordered to surrender to a

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

minimum security federal correctional institution on December 5 (Aikens was given until January 5 in order to complete a drug treatment program).

New York Mets

Martin was released early from prison on February 23, , however,

Baseball commissioner The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as "organized baseball". Under the direction of the Commiss ...

Bowie Kuhn Bowie Kent Kuhn (; October 28, 1926 – March 15, 2007) was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, 1969, to September 30, 1984. He served as legal counsel for Ma ...

subsequently suspended all four players for the entire season. The suspensions were reduced after appeal, and the four were allowed to return to their teams on May 15. By then, Martin had signed with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. Martin joined the Mets on May 16 in San Francisco. Through 51 games with the Mets, Martin managed just a .154

, three home runs and five RBIs, and was released on September 30. A bid for a comeback in found no takers, so he retired. Martin took a coaching job in the Phillies' minor league system shortly after his retirement. He spent the first six weeks of the season as interim first base coach for the eventual

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, ...

Phillies while

Davey Lopes David Earle Lopes (; born May 3, 1945) is an American former second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted and threw right-handed. He played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, and Houston ...

was undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. Martin most recently served as hitting coach for the Detroit Tigers' double A affiliate, the Erie SeaWolves, in and .

Tommy John Thomas Edward John Jr. (born May 22, 1943), nicknamed "The Bionic Man," is an American retired professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 26 seasons between 1963 and 1989. He played for the Cleveland Indians, ...

called Martin "a strong defensive outfielder." He is the son of Barney Martin, who pitched in a single game for the Cincinnati Reds in .

References

External links

Jerry Martin
at Baseball Almanac
Jerry Martin
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Jerry 1949 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players American people convicted of drug offenses Baseball players from Columbia, South Carolina Chicago Cubs players Fort Myers Sun Sox players Furman Paladins baseball players Furman Paladins men's basketball players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players suspended for drug offenses Minor league baseball managers Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New York Mets players Orlando Juice players Philadelphia Phillies players Pulaski Phillies players Reading Phillies players San Francisco Giants players Spartanburg Phillies players Tidewater Tides players Toledo Mud Hens players St. Petersburg Pelicans players Spartanburg Methodist Pioneers baseball players