Raidel Martínez Perez (born October 11, 1996) is a Cuban

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 ...

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

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011) ...

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).

Professional career

On February 26, 2017, Martínez signed with the

. After spending the 2017 season with the club's farm team, Martínez recorded his first NPB victory on May 15, 2018, in a win over the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda ...

. However, he struggled to a 6.65 ERA in 7 games. In 2019, Martínez recorded a stellar 2.66 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 43 appearances. In 2020, he pitched to a neat 1.13 ERA in 40.0 innings across 40 appearances. On May 27, 2022, He made his first NPB All-Star appearance at

Matsuyama Central Park Baseball Stadium The is a multi-purpose stadium in Matsuyama Central Park, Matsuyama, Ehime, Shikoku, Japan. It is currently used mostly for baseball matches. The stadium holds 30,136 people. The nickname is "Botchan Stadium". It is named after well-known ...

. He took the mound in the eighth inning and allowed one hit but kept one scoreless inning.

International career

Martínez previously pitched for Vegueros de Pinar del Rio in the

Cuban National Series The Cuban National Series (, SNB) is the primary domestic professional baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the Series is a part of the Cuban baseball league system. ...

. Martinez played for the

Cuba national baseball team The Cuba national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Cuba'') represents Cuba at regional and international levels. The team is made up from the most professional players from the Cuban national baseball system. Cuba has been de ...

at 2017 World Baseball Classic.

References

External links

NPB
1996 births Living people Baseball players at the 2019 Pan American Games Chunichi Dragons players Cuban baseball players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Japan Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Tigres de Ciego de Avila players Vegueros de Pinar del Rio players 2017 World Baseball Classic players Pan American Games competitors for Cuba People from Pinar del Río {{Cuba-baseball-pitcher-stub