Thomas Edgar Martin (born May 21, 1970) is a former

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), ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

. He batted and threw

left-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 subject ...

Career

Martin was selected by 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 ...

in the sixth round of the Major League Baseball Draft. Martin was traded to 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 penn ...

on February 17, for Jim Lewis and Steve Martin. In the minor league draft, Martin was selected from the Padres by 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 ...

where he made it as high as Triple-A before being released on January 25, . On February 21, 1995, The Houston Astros signed him, where in , Martin made his major league debut. He appeared in relief in 55 games that season with an impressive 2.09

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 ...

. The

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

selected Martin in the 1997 MLB Expansion Draft, but traded him to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

along with

Travis Fryman David Travis Fryman (born March 25, 1969) is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman shortstop, and a hitting instructor for the Cleveland Indians farm system. He also managed the Mahoning Valley Scrappers from 2008 to 2010 and in ...

for Matt Williams thirteen days later. For the next three seasons, Martin would be up and down between the majors and minors, before he was traded to 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 ...

for Javier Ochoa on January 11, . Becoming a free agent at the end of the season, Martin signed with the

Tampa Bay Devil 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) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

, but was released on September 9, . On February 26, , Martin signed with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

where he enjoyed success keeping his ERA under 4. On July 31, , the day of the non-waiver

trade deadline In professional sports within the United States and Canada, a trade is a sports league transaction between sports clubs involving the exchange of player rights from one team to another. Though player rights are the primary trading assets, draft p ...

, the Dodgers traded Martin to the

for Matt Merricks. Released by the Braves on April 14, , he was signed by the team he made his major league debut for, the Houston Astros, but was released two and a half months later without appearing in a major league game. Martin signed with the Colorado Rockies on January 18, , spending the entire year in the majors. After being released by the Rockies in July of , Martin signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the Los Angeles Dodgers on January 26, . He was released by the Dodgers on March 10. On April 22, 2008, Martin signed with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League. In 6 games, he had a 3.38 ERA and 6 strikeouts. In January , he signed a minor league contract with the

and was invited to spring training. On March 22, he was released due to a broken wrist. He re-signed a minor league contract on May 15. On June 23, 2009, Martin was released by the Mets.

References

External links

Tom Martin
at Baseball Almanac
Tom Martin
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Tom 1970 births Living people Akron Aeros players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from South Carolina Bluefield Orioles players Brooklyn Cyclones players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cleveland Indians players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Durham Bulls players Erie Orioles players Greenville Braves players High Desert Mavericks players Houston Astros players Jackson Generals (Texas League) players Kane County Cougars players Long Island Ducks players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New York Mets players Norfolk Tides players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Richmond Braves players Round Rock Express players San Angelo Colts players Sportspeople from Charleston, South Carolina Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Tigres del México players Tucson Toros players Waterloo Diamonds players Wausau Timbers players