Shairon Benjamin Martis (born March 30, 1987) is a Dutch-Curaçaoan professional baseball

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 L&D Amsterdam of the

Honkbal Hoofdklasse The Honkbal Hoofdklasse ( Dutch for ''Major League Baseball'') is the highest level of professional baseball in the Netherlands. It is an eight-team league that plays a 42-game schedule and is overseen by the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softba ...

. He has previously pitched for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

and Minnesota Twins of

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), ...

. Martis was a member of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and the

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike t ...

, as well as the

2011 Baseball World Cup The 2011 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 39th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through the ...

. He played for Team Netherlands in the 2019 European Baseball Championship, at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in September 2019.

Amateur and international career

In 2002, Martis was a member of the Curaçao team that claimed the Senior League World Series, which took place in Bangor, Maine. Martis pitched a no-hitter on March 10, 2006, in the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Lea ...

against

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

, in a game stopped in the 7th inning due to the

mercy rule A mercy rule, slaughter rule, knockout rule, or skunk rule ends a two-competitor sports competition earlier than the scheduled endpoint if one competitor has a very large and presumably insurmountable scoring lead over the other. It is called th ...

. He played for Team Netherlands in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. He played for Team Netherlands in the 2019 European Baseball Championship, and will compete for it at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament, taking place in Italy beginning September 18, 2019.

Professional career

San Francisco Giants

Martis was signed by 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 ...

in 2004. In 2005, he pitched in 11 games with 5 starts. His record was 2–1 with a 1.85

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

for the San Francisco Giants' Arizona Rookie League team. Martis began the 2006 season with Augusta in the Low A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, where he accrued a 6–4 record and 3.64 ERA in 15 starts. On July 28, 2006, Martis was traded to the

for veteran

lefty Lefty is a nickname for a person who is left-handed. Lefty may refer to: *Lefty Bates (1920–2007), American Chicago blues guitarist *Lefty Bertrand (1909–2002), Major League Baseball pitcher for one game *Steve Carlton (born 1944), American ...

reliever Mike Stanton.

Washington Nationals

On July 28, 2006, the Nationals acquired Martis from the

for veteran

reliever Mike Stanton. He joined the roster of Savannah of the South Atlantic League on August 1, 2006. After going 1–1 with a 3.80 ERA in four starts at Savannah, Martis was promoted to Washington's Potomac club in the High A

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. He pitched two games in Potomac, giving up 4

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

s in 12 innings, and finished the season at

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

in the Double-A Eastern League, allowing 7 earned runs over 5 innings in his only appearance of the Harrisburg season. In , Martis pitched for Potomac the entire season. In 26 starts and one relief appearance, he logged a 4.23 ERA over 151 innings,

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

108 batters while issuing just 52 walks. Martis was assigned to Harrisburg to begin the season. After going 4–4 with a 3.98 ERA and a respectable 1.35 WHIP in 14 starts at Harrisburg, he was promoted on June 21 to Triple-A Columbus, where he went 1–2 and accrued a 3.02 ERA in 7 starts, striking out 42 batters and walking 17. He was selected as a member of the World Team for the

2008 All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League- ...

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

. Martis was called up to the major-league roster on September 2, with the intent of assigning him to the bullpen. However, an injury to rotation member Collin Balester caused Martis to put into the starting rotation. He made his major league debut September 4, 2008, against the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

. He gave up 2 runs in 5 innings, getting the loss. He struck out the first batter he faced,

Gregor Blanco Gregor Miguel Blanco Pedraza (born December 24, 1983) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, the Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals, ...

Chipper Jones Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones Jr. (born April 24, 1972) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves from 1993 to 2012. The Braves chose Jones with the first overall p ...

got the first hit off Martis. In his first plate appearance, he drew a walk from Braves rookie James Parr, who, like Martis, was also making his first major-league appearance. Martis struck out Parr in Parr's first at-bat earlier in the game. Martis got his first major league win on September 23, 2008, against the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

. On May 2, 2009, against 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 ...

, Martis pitched his first career complete game, which was the Nationals' first complete game since

Pedro Astacio Pedro Julio Astacio (born November 28, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He has played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1992–1997), Colorado Rockies (1997–2001), Houston Astros (2001), New York Mets (2002–2003), Boston Red Sox (20 ...

's in 2006 against the

Pittsburgh Pirates

On November 22, 2011, he signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Minnesota Twins

In June 2012, Minnesota Twins acquired Martis from the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later or cash. In 9.2 innings he struck out 7, working to a 5.59 ERA. Martis was outrighted off the roster on October 2, 2013.

Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions

On February 26, 2014, Martis signed a 1-yr deal with the

Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, stylized as Uni-President 7-ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇn Lions, also known as Uni-Lions (), are a professional baseball team playing in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). The Lions are based in Tainan City, Ta ...

of the CPBL.

Bridgeport Bluefish

Martis signed with the

Bridgeport Bluefish The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseba ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball for the 2015 season.

Lincoln Saltdogs

On February 15, 2016, Martis resigned with the

Lincoln Saltdogs The Lincoln Saltdogs are a professional baseball team based in Lincoln, Nebraska, in the United States. The Saltdogs are in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. Since the 2001 sea ...

of the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

Baltimore Orioles

On April 2, 2017, Martis signed a minor league deal with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

organization. He was released on July 19, 2017.

Return to Lincoln Saltdogs

On July 27, 2017, Martis resigned with the

of the American Association. He was released on November 19, 2019.

L&D Amsterdam

Martis signed with L&D Amsterdam of the

for the 2020 season.

References

External links

, o
RetrosheetPelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)Shairon Martis – Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martis, Shairon Living people 1987 births 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players 2015 WBSC Premier12 players 2016 European Baseball Championship players 2017 World Baseball Classic players 2019 European Baseball Championship players Águilas del Zulia players Altoona Curve players Arizona League Giants players Augusta GreenJackets players Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Bridgeport Bluefish players Columbus Clippers players Curaçao baseball players Curaçao expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Curaçao expatriate baseball players in the United States Dutch people of Curaçao descent Harrisburg Senators players Indianapolis Indians players Lincoln Saltdogs players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Curaçao Minnesota Twins players Navegantes del Magallanes players Curaçao expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New Britain Rock Cats players Olympic baseball players of the Netherlands People from Willemstad Potomac Nationals players Rochester Red Wings players Savannah Sand Gnats players Syracuse Chiefs players Tiburones de La Guaira players Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions players Washington Nationals players Curaçao expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic L&D Amsterdam Pirates players Toros del Este players