Dennis Martinez
El Presidente: Nicaragua's first big leaguer, who rebuilt his career in Montreal and threw a perfect game.
via Wikipedia: Dennis Martínez · see source
Dennis Martínez, known as El Presidente, is a Nicaraguan former pitcher who spent 1976 to 1998 in Major League Baseball with the Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Expos, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners and Atlanta Braves. He was the first player from Nicaragua to reach the majors. A four-time All-Star, he threw a perfect game in 1991 during his years with the Expos. His story is one of reinvention: after struggles with alcohol derailed his Baltimore career, he found new life in Montreal and won 100 games for the franchise.
Quick Facts
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats
- Right
- Born
- 14 May 1955
- Birthplace
- Granada, Nicaragua
- Debut league
- MLB
- Debut date
- September 14
- Debut year
- 1976
- Debut team
- Baltimore Orioles
Facts from the source article.
Background
Martínez was born on May 14, 1955, in Granada, Nicaragua, the youngest of seven children in a poor farming family. Baltimore scout Ray Poitevint signed him in 1973 for $3,000, and he debuted on September 14, 1976, earning a win in relief against the Detroit Tigers. He became a workhorse for the Orioles, but drinking that started when he was 17 grew into a serious problem. Joe Altobelli left him off the 1983 postseason roster, and after an arrest for intoxication that year he entered rehab. He won his 100th game on June 5, 1985, but in June 1986 Baltimore traded him to the Montreal Expos.
Did You Know?
- At his peak he faced a career- and league-high 1,206 batters in one season.
- He went 108–93 across 11 seasons in Baltimore.
- Rene Gonzales, sent to Baltimore in the trade, played 267 games there in four seasons while Martínez won 100 games for Montreal.
- He once appeared in the lineup as a designated hitter but was pinch-hit for before batting.
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