Tony Martínez
Gabriel Antonio Martínez Díaz (March 18, 1940 – August 24, 1991) was a Cuban-born Major League Baseball shortstop who played in parts of four seasons for the Cleveland Indians (1963–66), appearing in 73 career games. The native of Perico threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) and weighed 165 pounds (75 kg).
| Tony Martínez | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Shortstop | |||
| Born: March 18, 1940 Perico, Matanzas Province, Cuba | |||
| Died: August 24, 1991 (aged 51) Miami, Florida | |||
| |||
| MLB debut | |||
| April 9, 1963, for the Cleveland Indians | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| June 14, 1966, for the Cleveland Indians | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .171 | ||
| Home runs | 0 | ||
| Runs batted in | 10 | ||
| Teams | |||
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Martínez' professional career began at the Class C level in 1960, but by his third pro season he was an All-Star shortstop in Triple-A, winning the 1962 Most Valuable Player Award in the International League at age 22 as a member of the pennant-winning Jacksonville Suns. He was named the 1963 Indians' first-string shortstop coming out of spring training and started the Tribe's first 35 regular-season games. But he hit only .167 with 21 hits. Finally, on May 26, Cleveland optioned Martínez back to Jacksonville and acquired his replacement at shortstop, Dick Howser, in a trade with the Kansas City Athletics.[1] Martínez continued to struggle at Jacksonville, but was recalled in September for another eight-game trial. He spent the remainder of his pro career in the minors, apart from 30 more games with the Indians during sporadic call-ups from 1964–66.
Martínez' 30 big-league hits included five doubles. He drove in ten runs.
References
- The Associated Press, May 27, 1963
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet, or Venezuelan Winter League