Richie Martin

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

Richie Martin
Martin with the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles – No. 1
Shortstop
Born: (1994-12-22) December 22, 1994
Detroit, Michigan
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
March 28, 2019, for the Baltimore Orioles
MLB statistics
(through 2019 season)
Batting average.208
Home runs6
Runs batted in23
Teams

Early life and college

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, 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] 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.[7] In 2015, Martin was named to the preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list.[8] 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.[9]

Professional career

Oakland Athletics

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.[10] Martin spent 2015 playing for the Vermont Lake Monsters of the New York-Penn League.[11] 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.[12]

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles selected Martin with the first selection in the 2018 Rule 5 draft.[13] Martin made the Orioles' Opening Day roster and made his major league debut on Opening Day against the New York Yankees.[14] Martin recorded his first Major League hit, a single off James Paxton, and his first career stolen base on March 30, 2019.[15] He hit his first career home run on May 22, 2019 off CC Sabathia in a 7-5 loss to the Yankees.[16] 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).[17]

Personal

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.[18]

See also

References
  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. Thompson, Edgar (June 8, 2015). "UF shortstop Richie Martin selected 20th by Oakland A's". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  8. 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.
  9. "Richie Martin - Baseball". Florida Gators. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  10. "A's agree to terms with first round draft pick SS Richie Martin". CSN Bay Area. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  11. "Richie Martin Baseball Statistics [2013-2015]". www.thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  12. "Richie Martin Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. Meoli, Jon (March 30, 2019). "Orioles use their legs to beat Yankees, 5-3". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  16. "Torres hits 2 of Yankees' 5 HRs in 7-5 win over Orioles". ESPN.com. Associated Press. May 22, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  17. 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.
  18. 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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