Belvani Martinez

Belvani Martinez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 172 lb.

• Born December 14, 1978 in Sabana Grande de Palenque, San Cristobal D.R.

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Infielder Belvani Martinez played in the minor leagues from 1996 to 2001. He hit .263 with two homers and 23 RBI for the 1996 DSL Diamondbacks, having signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who had started to field teams at the lower levels of the minor leagues before the expansion major league team would play its first season in 1998. In 1997, he moved to the United States and split that year between the AZL Diamondbacks and the Lethbridge Black Diamonds of the Pioneer League, hitting .330/.368/.505 between the two. In 1998, he played 63 games with Lethbridge after starting the season with the South Bend Silver Hawks before the short-season Pioneer League got under way. It was another good year as he hit .292/.331/.393 in 81 games, scoring 67 runs and stealing 35 bases.

In 1999, he spent a full season in the California League with the High Desert Mavericks, where he hit .333/.366/.470 in what was a very favorable hitting environment. He continued to display good speed with another 35 steals and 84 runs scored. On August 31st, on the final day when trades could be made with the players eligible for the postseason roster, he was sent to the Colorado Rockies for veteran IF/OF Lenny Harris, who would serve as a pinch-hitter in the D-Backs' first postseason run. For his part, Belvani joined his new team in 2000, moving up to the Carolina Mudcats of the AA Southern League. The step proved to be steep, as he fell to .249 in 115 games, and was only successful on 25 of 35 stolen base attempts. He repeated the level in 2001, and improved slightly, to .261 also in 115 games, but with a miserable on-base percentage of .287. he scored just 46 runs, but he did steal 29 bases in 42 attempts. It was his final professional season however.