Martin Kevin Cordova (born July 10, 1969) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the Minnesota Twins,

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

, and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

. He was born in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

. Before embarking on a major league career, Cordova played six seasons in the minor leagues.

Baseball career

Marty began his pro career in the minors in 1989 with the Elizabethton Twins of the Appalachian League. After a season in rookie ball, Cordova moved up to Class A and spent the 1990 season with the Kenosha Twins of the Mid West League. Cordova would then go onto spend the next two seasons with the Visalia Oaks of the Advanced-A California League 1991-1992. After spending two years in Advanced-A, Cordova made the move up to Double-A. In 1993 Cordova joined the

Nashville Xpress The Nashville Xpress were a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins from 1993 to 1994. They were located in Nashville, Tennessee, and played their home games at Herschel Greer Stadi ...

of the Southern League. In 1994, Cordova moved up to Class AAA and played the season for the

Salt Lake Buzz Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

of the Pacific Coast League. A promising and talented player, Marty was named the American League Rookie of the Year in 1995. He took the honor over, among others, Garret Anderson,

Andy Pettitte Andrew Eugene Pettitte (; born June 15, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the New York Yankees. He also pitched for the Houston Astros. Pettitte won fiv ...

Troy Percival Troy Eugene Percival (born August 9, 1969) is an American baseball coach and former professional baseball pitcher. He gained fame as a closer. During a 14-year baseball career spanning from 1995 to 2009, he pitched for four Major League Baseball ...

and

Shawn Green Shawn David Green (born November 10, 1972) is an American former Major League Baseball right fielder. Green was a 1st round draft pick and a two-time major league All-Star. He drove in 100 runs four times and scored 100 runs four times, hit ...

, after hitting .277 with 24

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 84 RBI for the Twins. His second season saw career-highs in

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(.309), RBI (111), runs (97) and doubles (46). Marty had the potential to hit for average and power, but was often bothered by back injuries over his career. Between 1997 and 2000, he missed 240 games while on the injured list. In January 2000, the Boston Red Sox signed Cordova to a minor league contract after he became too pricey for the small-market Twins, especially considering his history of injuries. The 30-year-old asked for his release from the Red Sox before the season even began, clearing the way for him to eventually sign with the Toronto Blue Jays. He returned in good form with the Indians in 2001, hitting .301 with 20 home runs, and in 2002, with the Orioles, he belted 18 homers. Marty appeared in just nine games in 2003 and missed all of 2004 and after two operations on his right elbow. In January 2005, Cordova signed a minor league contract with the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

. He retired a day after he was scheduled to report to spring training. In a nine-season career, Cordova was a .274 hitter with 122 home runs and 540 RBI in 952 games. He is also known for having fallen asleep in a tanning bed, which prevented him from playing several day games with the Orioles.

Post-baseball life

Marty is a personal friend of UFC President Dana White and can be seen in several of White's

video blog A video blog or video log, sometimes shortened to vlog (), is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in ...

s. He was shown on Dana White's video blog trying to enter Canada after he forgot his passport as he flew in Dana White's private jet. When asked about the incident White joked that Cordova (despite having played for the Blue Jays) had not realized Toronto was not in the United States. Cordova formerly served as the COO o
Bent Pixels
a digital media network focused around YouTube creators.

References

External links

Marty Cordova
- Baseballbiography.com
Christensen, Joe. "Cordova gets burned," ''The Baltimore Sun'', Thursday, May 23, 2002.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordova, Marty 1969 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Nevada Bishop Gorman High School alumni Cleveland Indians players Elizabethton Twins players Kenosha Twins players Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners Minnesota Twins players Nashville Xpress players Orange Coast Pirates baseball players Salt Lake Buzz players Sportspeople from Las Vegas Toronto Blue Jays players UNLV Rebels baseball players Visalia Oaks players