Marvin Zelaya

Marvin Jose Zelaya Poveda

• Throws Right

• Born February 23, 1968

Biographical Information

Marvin Zelaya was a long-time pitching star in Nicaragua.

Zelaya debuted in 1987 with Leon, with a 3.38 ERA in limited action (5 1/3 IP). He missed the next two years then returned in 1990 with Chinandega, going 10-7 with a 3.82 ERA. He improved to 10-3, 3.42 for the same club in '91 and was 12-9 with a 3.99 ERA in 1992 (including a no-hitter). In 1993, he moved to Boer and was 12-6 with two saves and a 5.31 ERA. He walked a league-high 90 in 135 2/3 IP. Despite his worst performance in four years, he made his first appearances with the Nicaraguan national team that year. He was 1-1 with a 2.93 ERA at the 1993 Intercontinental Cup. In the 1993 Central American and Caribbean Games, he struck out 10 in 13 2/3 shutout innings, including a win over Aruba. He led the event in ERA.

In 1994, he was 8-2 with a save and a 3.78 ERA for Boer. He again led the league in walks (62) but also led in winning percentage. He was 1-1 with a 4.02 ERA for Nicaragua at the 1994 Baseball World Cup, fanning 18 in 15 2/3 IP. He was 5th in the tournament in Ks, behind Masanori Sugiura, Sung-min Cho, Dong-hwan Mun and Lazaro Valle. He faced off with Sugiura in the Bronze Medal Game but struggled (5 R, 7 H in 4 IP) before being relieved by future major leaguer Oswaldo Mairena in a 8-1 loss for the hosts. The hard-throwing righty beat El Salvador in the 1994 Central American Games as Nicaragua went on to take the Gold.

He was excellent in '95 (14-6, Sv, 2.48) but did not lead the league in any major departments. In 1996, he fell to 1-5, 4.02 with five saves, costing him a shot at the 1996 Olympics. His woes piled up in 1997 (3-7, Sv, 6.32) and he led the league in doubles allowed (25) and wild pitches (11). He again got the call for the national team despite his domestic woes. He was 1-0 with a save and a 4.00 ERA in the 1997 Intercontinental Cup. He beat out Panama in the 1997 Central American Games but Nicaragua lost the rematch in the Gold Medal Game; Zelaya pitched in relief that day.

Zelaya was 8-1 despite a 5.42 ERA and .299 opponent average in 1998, leading the league in winning percentage. He helped Nicaragua to a Silver Medal in the 1998 Central American and Caribbean Games, posting a 4.63 ERA. In the 1998 Baseball World Cup, he was 2-1 with a 2.29 ERA and struck out 23 in 19 2/3 innings. He tied Eiji Yano for 5th in strikeouts, behind Koji Uehara, Jose Contreras, Byung-hyun Kim and Zhanpeng Wang, three of them being future major leaguers. He also tied for the most wins in the World Cup that year. He started the Bronze Medal Game against Italy and battled Diego Ricci to a 1-1 game through 7 before Nicaragua got 4 in the 8th. Zelaya got the win with 8 K, 6 H, 3 BB and 1 R in 7 1/3 IP; Vicente Padilla closed it out.

In 1999, Zelaya fell to 9-11, 6.17 with a save for Boer. He led the league in strikeouts (113) but also runs allowed (114), doubles (32) and triples (7). He was 5-10 with a save in 2000 but his ERA improved to 3.58. He led the league in losses, runs allowed (59), walks (52) and wild pitches (11). In 2001, he was 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA for Boer. He sat out 2002-2003 but returned in 2004 with Boer (0-1, 5.47) and Esteli (0-2, 12.80). He allowed 8 runs in 3 1/3 IP for Matagalpa in 2005. After not pitching in 2006, he was crisp once again in 2007 with Leon (2-0, 7 Sv, 4.35), leading the loop in saves. He faded to 2-3, 7.77 with a save for Norte in 2008.

Marvin was effective for San Fernando in 2009 (8-5, 11 Sv, 3.28), leading in saves for the second time, his last time as a league-leading hurler. He was the 12th Nicaraguan hurler in the 100-win club, joining Asdrudes Flores, Julio Espinoza, Martín Bojorge, Barney Baltodano, Joaquín Avendaño, Epifanio Pérez, Sergio Lacayo, Diego Raudez, Germán Espinoza, Porfi Altamirano and Francisco Cruz. In 2010, the 42-year-old pitched well for Carazo (7-4, 4 Sv, 2.18) and Granada (1-1, Sv, 3.71). The next year, he became the 5th player to strike out 1,000 batters in Nicaragua, following Espinosa, Flores, Bojorge and Raudez. He finished 3-3 with 5 saves and a 3.41 ERA for Leon in his third stint with the team. He finally wound up in 2012 at age 44, going 3-4 with a 3.59 ERA in his 4th decade.

He was 119-98 with 41 saves and a 4.22 ERA in 431 games (221 starts). He threw 14 shutouts. In 1,621 1/3 innings, he allowed 1,653 hits and 710 walks while striking out 1,032. He is 13th in Nicaraguan annals in wins as of February 2018.

Primary Sources: Nicaraguan Baseball Federation, Old IBAF website