Marty Martínez

Orlando Martinez Oliva

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 175 lb.

• Debut May 2, 1962
• Final Game July 19, 1972
• Born August 23, 1941 in Havana, Cuba
• Died March 8, 2007 in Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional, D.R.

BR page

Biographical Information

Just a wonderful, happy guy. - Chuck Cottier, speaking about Marty Martinez

Marty Martinez was originally signed by Washington Senators scout Joe Cambria as an amateur free agent in 1960. He played parts of seven seasons in the majors but never hit a big league homer. However, during his big league career, he played seven of the nine positions (he did not see time in center field and right field).

After his playing days ended, Martinez spent many years in the Seattle Mariners organization as a scout, minor league manager, and coach. He also served as the Mariners' interim manager in 1986 for one game, which the team lost. It came after Chuck Cottier was fired and before the hiring of Dick Williams, on May 8th. As a scout, he was responsible for signing Edgar Martinez and Omar Vizquel.

Born in Cuba, in later years he maintained homes in the Dominican Republic and in Oklahoma.

Martinez died of a heart attack in 2007 at age 65.

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1975	Pittsfield Rangers	Eastern League	19-33	6th	Texas Rangers		replaced Jackie Moore (40-40)
1976	San Antonio Brewers	Texas League	63-71	5th	Texas Rangers
1977	Tulsa Drillers	Texas League	66-62	3rd	Texas Rangers	Lost in 1st round
1978	Tulsa Drillers	Texas League	57-78	6th	Texas Rangers
1980	Wausau Timbers	Midwest League	57-82	8th	Co-op
1986	Seattle Mariners	American League	0-1	--	Seattle Mariners		interim between Chuck Cottier (9-19) and Dick Williams on May 8
1988	Calgary Cannons	Pacific Coast League	24-28	5th	Seattle Mariners		replaced Bill Plummer (44-46) on July 14
1993	AZL Mariners	Arizona League	18-36	8th	Seattle Mariners	none
1994	AZL Mariners	Arizona League	21-35	8th	Seattle Mariners	none

Further Reading

• Joseph Gerard: "Orlando 'Marty' Martinez", in Chip Greene, ed.: Mustaches and Mayhem, Charlie O's Three-Time Champions: The Oakland Athletics 1972-74, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2015, pp. 259-262. ISBN 978-1-943816-07-1
• Joseph Gerard: "Orlando "Marty" Martínez", in Steve West and Bill Nowlin, eds.: The Team That Couldn't Hit: The 1972 Texas Rangers, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2019, pp. 157-160. ISBN 978-1-943816-93-4

Related Sites

• Marty Martinez at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Manager page
• A remembrance can be found at Baseball Marty left big impression on Mariners.