Ramón Jaime Martínez (born March 22, 1968) is a Dominican-American former

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

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 ...

. He won 135 games over a 13-year career, mostly 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. He is the older brother of

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pitcher Pedro Martínez, and is currently a senior advisor in Latin America for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...

Baseball career

Los Angeles Dodgers

Martínez was signed by the

as an amateur free agent on September 1, 1984, and was the youngest player in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

when he made his major league debut on August 13, 1988, against the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. He allowed only one run on four hits in innings in a game the Dodgers eventually won in 11 innings. He got his first career win on August 29 against the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

. That season, he won his first and only World Series ring with the 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers. He had a breakout season in 1990, when he won 20 games, struck out 18 batters in a game (on June 4), was selected an

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

, led the major leagues with 12 complete games, and finished second in

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s as well as in the

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL). The award was introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball ( ...

balloting. He remained a solid pitcher for several years, winning 17 games in 1991 and 1995. On July 14 of the latter year, Martínez no-hit 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 team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

7-0 at

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a ballpark in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a ...

. In his no-hitter, the only thing that kept him from a perfect game was a walk to Tommy Gregg with two outs in the 8th inning. Early in the 1998 season, Martínez suffered a torn

rotator cuff The rotator cuff (SITS muscles) is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles a ...

and torn

cartilage Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. Semi-transparent and non-porous, it is usually covered by a tough and fibrous membrane called perichondrium. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints ...

, which was surgically repaired on June 30. The Dodgers did not pick up a $5.6 million option after 1998 and he signed with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. In 11 seasons with the Dodgers, he was 123–77 with a 3.45 ERA and 1,314 strikeouts, and was the team's opening day starter five times.

Later career

Martínez started the 1999 season in the minor leagues for rehabilitation. He was called up by the Red Sox in August, to pitch again alongside brother Pedro, making four starts for a 3–1 record with an ERA of 3.05. Martínez was less successful in 2000, with a record of 10–8 and a 6.03 ERA, and his option for 2001 was not picked up by the Red Sox. After his two years with the Red Sox, he signed again with the Dodgers, but they released him at the end of

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

. He played briefly with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

in 2001 before retiring.

Family

Ramón has three brothers, Pedro, Nelson, and Jesus. While he was a starter for the Dodgers, Martínez repeatedly asserted that Pedro was an even better pitcher than he was. Nevertheless, Dodgers management thought Pedro was too small to be successful and traded him away. Pedro went on to win three

s with the Expos and Red Sox, and was a first-ballot inductee to the Hall of Fame in 2015. Martínez and Pedro were eventually reunited as teammates during Martínez's two years with the Red Sox. His youngest brother, Jesus, also played professional baseball in the Dodgers farm system. He was briefly called up to the majors in September 1996, but never got into a game.Jesus Martinez stats at baseball reference
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References

External links