Nicholas Andres Martinez (born August 5, 1990) is 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 ...

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 ...

for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

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), ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Texas Rangers and

, and 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 ...

and

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

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).

Amateur career

Martinez graduated from

Belen Jesuit Preparatory School Belen Jesuit Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, all-male, preparatory school run by the Antilles Province of the Society of Jesus in Tamiami, Page 1anPage 2/ref> unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, operated by the Society of Je ...

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, and enrolled at

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

. He is the 34th Fordham alumnus to make it to the

(MLB). He was 1-3 with a 5.33 ERA in 15 games, over two seasons for Fordham as a relief pitcher. He was mostly a second baseman, batting .295 with 4 HR, 66 RBI, 167 hits, and 22 stolen bases over three seasons and 148 games. In 2011, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie All ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. He also played in the

New England Collegiate Baseball League The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is a 13-team collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 44-game schedule during June ...

for the

Vermont Mountaineers The Vermont Mountaineers are a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball team based in Montpelier, Vermont. The team, a member of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, plays their home games at Montpelier Recreation Field. Hist ...

. He is the seventh Mountaineer to make it to the MLB.

Professional career

Texas Rangers

Martinez was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 18th round of the

2011 Major League Baseball draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first ...

, out of

. He made his professional debut with the

AZL Rangers The Arizona Complex League Rangers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Texas Rangers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is composed ...

, and also appeared for the Low-A

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Color ...

, posting a cumulative 2.75 ERA across 10 contests. The next year, Martinez played for the Single-A

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League (SAL) and the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans Stadium, which opened i ...

, pitching to a 8-6 record and 4.83 ERA across 31 appearances. Martinez split the 2013 season between the High-A

Myrtle Beach Pelicans The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which open ...

and the Double-A

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are nam ...

, logging a 12-7 record and 2.50 ERA with 128 strikeouts in 151.1 innings of work. Martinez was named the Rangers' fifth starter on March 26, 2014. He was formally selected to the 40-man roster on April 5 and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. In his first career start against the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

, Martinez went six innings, struck out three and allowed three earned runs on four hits. He received a no decision as the Rangers lost 5–4. After two straight starts against the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

, the Rangers got Matt Harrison back from the DL and moved Martinez to the bullpen. Martinez went 6.2 innings, struck out six and allowed only one earned run in four relief appearances. In a game against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

, Harrison injured his lower back and had spinal fusion surgery. The Rangers then put Martinez back into the starting rotation. Martinez finished his rookie season with a 5-12 record and 4.55 ERA in 29 major league contests. In 2015, Martinez posted an ERA of 3.96 and shared the major league lead in

hit batsmen In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided ...

, with 13. In 2016, Martinez split the year between the Triple-A

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

and Texas, recording a 2-3 record and 5.59 ERA in 12 big league games. In 2017, Martinez pitched to a 3-8 record and 5.66 ERA with 67 strikeouts in 111.1 innings of work for Texas.

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

Upon reaching free agency and limited interest from MLB teams, Martinez signed a one-year, $1.8 million contract with the

(NPB) on January 6, 2018. According to reports, the contract included possible incentives based on innings pitched. In his first NPB season, Martinez went 10-11 with 93 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.51. On December 18, 2018, Martinez re-signed with the team on a one-year, $2.2 million contract. In 2019, Martinez pitched four innings. On October 18, 2019, Martinez signed a 1-year extension to remain with the Fighters. In 2020, Martinez made 17 appearances for the Fighters, logging a 2-7 record and 4.62 ERA. On December 2, 2020, he became a free agent.

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

On January 30, 2021, Martinez signed with the

San Diego Padres

On March 19, 2022, Martinez signed a major league contract with the

. At the end of the 2022 offseason, Martinez opted out of his contract. On November 22, 2022, Martinez signed a three-year, $26 million contract with the Padres.

International career

On July 2, 2021, Martinez was named to the roster for the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Team USA won the Olympic baseball to ...

for the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

, contested in 2021 in Tokyo. The team went on to win silver, losing to hosts Japan in the gold medal game.

References

External links

NPB.jp

- Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Nick 1990 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic American expatriate baseball players in Japan American sportspeople of Cuban descent Arizona League Rangers players Baseball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Baseball players from Miami Falmouth Commodores players Fordham Rams baseball players Frisco RoughRiders players category:Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players Hickory Crawdads players Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players Major League Baseball pitchers Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Myrtle Beach Pelicans players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Olympic baseball players of the United States Olympic silver medalists for the United States in baseball San Diego Padres players Spokane Indians players Round Rock Express players Texas Rangers players Toros del Este players United States national baseball team players 2023 World Baseball Classic players