John Martin (baseball)
| John Martin | |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | |
| Born: April 11, 1956 Wyandotte, Michigan |
|
| Batted: Switch | Threw: Left |
| MLB debut | |
| July 27, 1980 for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 12, 1984 for the Detroit Tigers | |
| Career statistics | |
| ERA | 3.46 |
| Record | 45-23 |
| Strikeouts | 191 |
| Batting Avg. | .307 |
| Teams | |
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John Martin (aka Jack) (born April 11, 1956 in Wyandotte, Michigan) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher.
Martin attended Eastern Michigan University. He was a member of the 1976, and the 1977, MAC Championship EMU teams. Martin is a member of the Eastern Michigan University Hall of Fame.
After appearing in nine games, starting five, and winning three in his rookie year of 1980, with the St. Louis Cardinals, Martin recorded his best year in 1981, recording fourteen wins against five losses, four complete games, and a 3.42 ERA. In 1982, after a subpar start with a sore arm, he only started in 17 games, and finished the season mostly out of the bullpen (8-5, 3.83 ERA). Martin adjusted to pitching in relief and bounced back with a 4–1 record and 3.43 ERA, and pitched in the 1982 World Series which the Cardinals won in seven games. In 1983 he went 11-7 with a 3.95 ERA in 26 games for the St. Louis Cardinals. However the St. Louis Cardinals sold him to the Detroit Tigers, on August 4, 1983. He was never the same again. He went 5-5, with 14 Saves and a 4.15 ERA in 1984, mostly in relief. Yet earning a 1.43 ERA in six and two-thirds innings, and recorded two saves in the 1984 World Series which Detroit won in 5 games.
Though Martin was a pitcher. He had an amazing bat. Both his Hall of Fame managers ((Whitey Herzog, and Sparky Anderson)) used him as a pinch hitter. Martin is one of just a few players to have amassed over 100 pinch hits in his Major League career.
It was actually the Detroit Tigers who drafted Martin in the 7th round of the 1978 Major League Baseball Draft. The Tigers traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals with Al Greene for Jim Lentine on June 2, 1980. After a career-ending injury in game 3 of the 1984 World Series the Tigers released him on January 14, 1985.
Martin went on to coach in the Major Leagues for the next 20 years. He retired after the 1996 season as a hitting coach with the St Louis Cardinals.
Updated by Major League Baseball
Sources[edit]
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