Richie Martin

Richie Martin
Martin with the Baltimore Orioles
Gastonia Baseball Club – No. 19
Shortstop
Born: (1994-12-22) December 22, 1994 (age 29)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
March 28, 2019, for the Baltimore Orioles
MLB statistics
(through 2022 season)
Batting average.212
Home runs7
Runs batted in34
Teams

Richard Allen Martin (born December 22, 1994) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Gastonia Baseball Club of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles. He attended the University of Florida and played college baseball for the Florida Gators before the Oakland Athletics selected him in the first round of the 2015 MLB draft.

Early life and college

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Martin was born in Detroit, Michigan and lived there until his family relocated to the suburbs of Tampa, Florida after his father, a school teacher, retired.[1] Martin attended Bloomingdale High School in Valrico, Florida.[2] As a senior, he hit .438.[3] Martin committed to enroll at the University of Florida to play college baseball for the Florida Gators baseball team.[4]

Martin playing for Florida in 2013

In the 2012 Major League Baseball draft, the Seattle Mariners selected Martin in the 38th round, with the 1,151st overall selection of the draft. He opted not to sign with Seattle, fulfilling his commitment to Florida, where he majored in civil engineering. As a freshman in 2013, he became the Gators' starting shortstop and batted .300 with 51 hits in 44 games.[5] In the summer, Martin played in the Cape Cod League as a member of the Falmouth Commodores and batted .193 with 19 runs scored and 11 stolen bases.[6][7]

Martin led the Gators in at bats (249), stolen bases (18) and runs scored (49) while batting .265 as a sophomore in 2014. Following the end of the season, Martin returned to the Cape Cod League and played for the Bourne Braves, where he hit .364, the highest average in Braves history and second in the league, while leading the league with 59 hits and 36 runs scored and was selected to play in the league's All-Star Game.[8][9] In 2015, Martin was named to the preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list.[10] He finished the season with a .291 batting average and set career highs with 77 hits, 63 runs scored, 36 runs batted in (RBIs), and 20 stolen bases. He was a finalist for the Brooks Wallace Award. In three collegiate seasons, Martin recorded a career batting average of .284 with 193 hits, 136 runs scored, 81 RBIs, 45 stolen bases, 27 doubles, seven home runs and seven triples in 176 games played. He studied civil engineering while at Florida and was named Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll all three seasons.[11]

Professional career

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Oakland Athletics

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In the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft, the Oakland Athletics selected Martin in the first round, with the 20th overall selection. Martin signed with the Athletics.[12] Martin spent 2015 playing for the Vermont Lake Monsters of the New York-Penn League.[13] He finished 2015 batting .237 with two home runs and 16 RBIs in 51 games. Martin spent the 2016 season with both the Stockton Ports and the Midland RockHounds, posting a combined a .235 batting average with three home runs, 38 RBIs and 14 stolen bases in 91 total games between the two teams. In 2017, he played for both Midland and the Stockton Ports, batting .234 with four home runs and 33 RBIs in 109 total games, and in 2018, he played with Midland, slashing .300/.368/.439 with six home runs, 42 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases in 118 games.[14]

Baltimore Orioles

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The Baltimore Orioles selected Martin with the first selection in the 2018 Rule 5 draft.[15] Martin made the Orioles' Opening Day roster and made his major league debut on Opening Day against the New York Yankees.[16] Martin recorded his first Major League hit, a single off James Paxton, and his first career stolen base on March 30, 2019.[17] He hit his first career home run on May 22, 2019, off CC Sabathia in a 7-5 loss to the Yankees.[18] Martin finished his rookie season with a .208 batting average with six home runs, 29 runs, 23 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 120 games played, including 90 starts at shortstop (3rd most by a rookie in Orioles history).[19]

Martin underwent wrist surgery on July 15, 2020, putting him out for two to three months and ending his 2020 season.[20] In late January 2021, Martin suffered a broken hamate bone in his left hand while working out and required surgery.[21] On May 19, 2021, it was announced that Martin suffered a non-displaced fracture in the radius bone of his left wrist, putting him out for eight to twelve weeks.[22] He was placed on the 60-day injured list on May 31.[23] On August 2, Martin was activated from the injured list and added to the major league roster.[24] On November 30, the Orioles outrighted Martin off of the 40-man roster and assigned him to the Norfolk Tides.[25]

Martin began the 2022 season with Norfolk, and Baltimore promoted Martin to the major leagues on June 11.[26] In his second game with Baltimore on June 12 against the Kansas City Royals, Martin went 3-for-5 with two triples and two RBI.[27] He was designated for assignment on September 1 and sent outright to Triple-A. He elected free agency on October 6, 2022.

Washington Nationals

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On January 17, 2023, Martin signed a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds that included an invitation to spring training.[28] He was released on March 28, shortly after being informed that he would not make the Opening Day roster.[29]

On April 14, 2023, Martin signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals and was assigned to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings.[30] In 113 games for the Triple–A Rochester Red Wings, he batted .217/.329/.314 with 3 home runs, 36 RBI, and 29 stolen bases. Martin elected free agency following the season on November 6.[31]

Gastonia Baseball Club

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On January 8, 2024, Martin signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels.[32] After going 1–for–10 with five strikeouts in spring training, Martin was released by the Angels organization on March 3.[33]

On July 5, 2024, Martin signed with the Gastonia Baseball Club of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.[34] In 37 games he hit .244/.326/.430 with 5 home runs, 15 RBIs and 22 stolen bases.

Personal life

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Martin's maternal grandfather, Walter Lewis Thomas, played professional baseball in the Negro leagues and was a teammate of Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson as a member of the Kansas City Monarchs.[35]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Meoli, Jon (April 13, 2019). "How a lifetime of being a year ahead has Orioles' Richie Martin ready for Rule 5 season". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  2. ^ Keeley, Laura (May 29, 2012). "Florida high school sports - Draft: Bloomingdale SS Martin takes his baseball seriously". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on June 1, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  3. ^ Hastings, Marshall (August 1, 2015). "Richie Martin's Journey Begins". BaseballEssential.com.
  4. ^ Keeley, Laura (November 10, 2011). "Florida high school sports - Signing Day: Bloomingdale SS Richie Martin signs with Florida". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on November 21, 2011. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  5. ^ Andes, Scott (June 8, 2015). "MLB.com Projects The Dodgers Taking Richie Martin With Their First Pick". DodgersWay.com. FanSided. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  6. ^ Godfrey, Paul (June 8, 2015). "Cape League well represented in MLB draft". Cape Cod Times. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  7. ^ "#10 Richard Martin Jr". pointstreak.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  8. ^ Thompson, Edgar (June 8, 2015). "UF shortstop Richie Martin selected 20th by Oakland A's". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  9. ^ "#12 Richard Martin Jr". pointstreak.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  10. ^ English, Antonya (February 11, 2015). "Bloomingdale's Richie Martin among two Gators named to Preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on June 9, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  11. ^ "Richie Martin - Baseball". Florida Gators. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  12. ^ "A's agree to terms with first round draft pick SS Richie Martin". CSN Bay Area. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  13. ^ "Richie Martin Baseball Statistics [2013-2015]". www.thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  14. ^ "Richie Martin Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  15. ^ Meoli, Jon (December 13, 2018). "Orioles select shortstop Richie Martin, acquire infielder Drew Jackson in Rule 5 draft". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  16. ^ Meoli, Jon (March 28, 2019). "Eleven Orioles experience their first Opening Day vs. Yankees: 'It's a dream come true'". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  17. ^ Meoli, Jon (March 30, 2019). "Orioles use their legs to beat Yankees, 5-3". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  18. ^ "Torres hits 2 of Yankees' 5 HRs in 7-5 win over Orioles". ESPN.com. Associated Press. May 22, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  19. ^ Melewski, Steve (October 18, 2019). "Richie Martin made big improvement in second half; what does that mean for 2020?". MASNSports.com. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  20. ^ Steve Adams (July 13, 2020). "Orioles' Richie Martin, Ty Blach to Undergo Surgery". Mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  21. ^ Steve Adams (January 27, 2021). "Braves Expressed Trade Interest in Orioles' Trey Mancini". Mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  22. ^ TC Zencka (May 19, 2021). "Chris Davis Out for Season". Mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  23. ^ TC Zencka (May 31, 2021). "Orioles Option Chance Sisco, Select Austin Wynns". Mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  24. ^ "Home".
  25. ^ "Transactions". MLB.com.
  26. ^ "Richie Martin back in bigs as Ramón Urías heads to IL - Blog". Masnsports.com. June 11, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  27. ^ "Orioles' Richie Martin: Two triples in win". cbssports.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  28. ^ "Cincinnati Reds on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  29. ^ "Richie Martin: Exits Cincinnati organization". cbssports.com. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  30. ^ "Nationals' Richie Martin: Gets minors deal from Nats". cbssports.com. April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  31. ^ "2023 MiLB Free Agents". baseballamerica.com. November 8, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  32. ^ "Transactions".
  33. ^ "Richie Martin: Released by Angels". cbssports.com. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  34. ^ "Transactions". baseball.pointstreak.com. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  35. ^ Slusser, Susan (June 30, 2015). "A's top pick Richie Martin arrives in Oakland". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
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