Felix Anthony "Tippy" Martinez (born May 31, 1950), is an American retired

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 professiona ...

left-handed

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 dr ...

. He pitched 14 seasons 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 (A ...

(MLB) between 1974 and 1988, primarily as a

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 ...

. The majority of his career (1976–1986) was spent as a member of 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 ...

, where he was a member of 1983 World Series championship team.

Career

Martinez was drafted by the Washington Senators in the 35th round of the 1969 amateur draft, but did not sign with the team. He began his MLB career with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

in 1974 after signing as a free agent. He was acquired along with Rick Dempsey, Scott McGregor,

Rudy May Rudolph May, Jr. (born July 18, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher in and from to for the California Angels, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles and Montreal Expo ...

and

Dave Pagan David Percy Pagan (born September 15, 1949) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of five seasons in Major League Baseball from 1973 until 1977, and was a member of the Seattle Mariners' 1977 inaugural season roster. ...

by the Orioles for

Ken Holtzman Kenneth Dale Holtzman (born November 3, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Chicago Cubs for whom he pitch ...

Doyle Alexander Doyle Lafayette Alexander (born September 4, 1950) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue J ...

, Elrod Hendricks, Grant Jackson and

Jimmy Freeman Jimmy Lee Freeman (born June 29, 1951) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who made two brief appearances with the Atlanta Braves in the early 1970s. He batted and threw left-handed. Freeman was born in Carlsbad, New Mexico, and was drafte ...

at the

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, dra ...

on June 15, 1976. He, Dempsey and McGregor became part of a nucleus that kept the Orioles as perennial contender for the next decade, culminating with the 1983 World Series championship. Martinez may be best known for picking off three

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

in one

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

during the August 24, 1983, game at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. The baserunners were Barry Bonnell,

Dave Collins David S. Collins (born October 20, 1952) is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball from to . Collins is one of three players to have made it to the major leagues who played for the Rapid City Post 22 American Legion baseball program i ...

and Willie Upshaw. 100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Dan Connolly, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2015, ISBN 978-1-62937-041-5, p.188 The Orioles, having replaced both their starting

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 cat ...

and his backup while rallying to tie the game in the ninth inning, entered the tenth with reserve

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

Lenn Sakata Lenn Haruki Sakata (born June 8, 1954) is an American former professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues primarily as a utility player from 1977 to 1987 and was a member of the Baltimore Orioles 1983 World Series Championship tea ...

in the game at catcher. Three consecutive Blue Jays hitters reached first base and each one, thinking it would be easy to steal a base on Sakata, took a big lead. Martinez picked off all three

baserunner In baseball, base running is the act of running from base to base, performed by members of the team at bat. Base running is a tactical part of the game with the goal of eventually reaching home base (home plate) to score a run. Batters strive t ...

s, then became the winning pitcher when the Orioles won the game on Sakata's

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 ...

in the bottom of the tenth. A grassroots fan club was created for Tippy Martinez near the bullpen in left field of Memorial Stadium in 1980, called "Tippy's Tweeters". Fans blew on an official Oriole Tweeter every time Martinez entered a game as a reliever, and when he struck out the side. Martinez finished his MLB career with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

in 1988. He posted a lifetime win–loss record of 55–42 with an ERA of 3.45. He also recorded 115 saves. In December 2006, Martinez became the pitching coach of the

York Revolution The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseba ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

References

External links

Tippy Martinez
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League)
Newspaper article

of the three-pickoff game, Aug. 24, 1983 * Baltimore Su
article
on the 25th anniversary of the three-pickoff game {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Tippy 1950 births Living people American League All-Stars American people of Mexican descent Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Colorado Bradenton Explorers players Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Colorado State Rams baseball players Daytona Beach Explorers players Hagerstown Suns players Kinston Eagles players Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players New York Yankees players Oneonta Yankees players Rochester Red Wings players Syracuse Chiefs players Tigres de Aragua players People from La Junta, Colorado

Career

See also

References

External links