Orlando Martínez Oliva (August 23, 1941 – March 8, 2007) was a Cuban

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, basketball, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

, coach and

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

. Listed at 6' 0" , 170 lb. , Martínez was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. Born in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

in 945 major-league career

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

s, but did everything a player was asked to do. Martínez appeared at

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

in 157

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

, and also played at first (5),

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

(59), and

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

bases (74);

caught Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket. A batsman is out caught if the batsman hits the ball, from a legitimate delivery, with the bat, and the ball is caught by the bowler or a fielder before it hits the ground. If the catch ...

(30), and made a

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

appearance. Nevertheless, he is best remembered as the man who scouted and signed Edgar Martínez and Omar Vizquel, among other distinguished players. Signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 1960, Martínez reached the majors in

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

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) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

, spending one year with them before moving to 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

(1967–1968),

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

(1969–1971),

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

(1972),

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

(1972) and Texas Rangers (1972). In 1968 with Atlanta, he appeared in a career-high 113 games. In 1969, he hit a career-high .308 in 78 games for Houston as a backup catcher for Johnny Edwards and also played six different positions. In all or part of seven seasons, Martínez was a .243 hitter with 57 RBI and 97 runs in 436 games, including 230

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

, 19 doubles, 11

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

and seven

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s. Following his major league career, Martínez played and managed for the

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

, Texas Rangers Double-A affiliate. He managed the Drillers in 1977 and 1978 and led the team to a

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

first-half title in 1977. After that, he spent more than a decade in the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

organization as a coach on the staffs of Del Crandall, Chuck Cottier and

Bill Plummer William Francis Plummer (March 21, 1947 – March 12, 2024) was an American professional baseball player and Manager (baseball), manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher in 1968 and then from 1970 to 1978, most notably as a ...

(1983–86; 1992), serving as the Mariners interim manager in the 1986 season. As a Mariners instructor, he nurtured and molded a whole generations of Seattle infielders, including the aforementioned Vizquel and Martínez, as well as Harold Reynolds and Spike Owen. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

at the age of 65.

External links

Marty Martínez
at SABR BioProject
Marty Martínez
at Baseball Almanac
"Baseball Marty" left big impression on Mariners

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

(Obituary) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Marty 1941 births 2007 deaths Águilas del Zulia players Atlanta Braves players Atlanta Crackers players Cardenales de Lara players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Denver Bears players Erie Sailors players Florida Instructional League Twins players Houston Astros players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Cuba Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Minnesota Twins players Minor league baseball managers Oakland Athletics players Pittsfield Rangers players San Antonio Brewers players Seattle Mariners coaches Seattle Mariners managers Seattle Mariners scouts Spokane Indians players Baseball players from Havana Baseball players from Santo Domingo St. Louis Cardinals players Texas Rangers players Tulsa Drillers players Wausau Timbers players Wilson Tobs players