Chris Martin (baseball)
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Christopher Riley Martin (born June 2, 1986) is an American professional
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
for the Texas Rangers of
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the
Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...
,
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
,
Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...
,
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
,
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
,
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
, and in
Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...
(NPB) for the
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido, Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō, in the Sapporo metropolitan area. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the major ...
. Martin played baseball at Arlington High School and
McLennan Community College McLennan Community College (MCC) is a Public college, public community college in Waco, Texas. It opened in 1965 and now serves about 9,000 students and has more than 700 employees. It is governed by a board of trustees elected from single-membe ...
, but gave up on baseball after he suffered a shoulder injury. After working in a warehouse for three years, Martin began playing catch, and felt strong enough to try out for
independent league baseball Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
. After he pitched for the
Grand Prairie AirHogs The Texas AirHogs were a professional baseball team based in Grand Prairie, Texas from 2008 to 2020. The AirHogs were members of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. B ...
in 2010, the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
of MLB signed Martin in 2011. He pitched in
Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...
for the Red Sox organization, until they traded him to the Rockies after the 2013 season. Martin made his MLB debut for the Rockies in 2014, and was traded to the Yankees after the season. He signed with the Fighters after the 2015 season, and won the 2016 Japan Series with the Fighters. He signed with the Rangers after the 2017 season. The Rangers traded Martin to the Braves during the 2019 season, and he was a part of the 2021 World Series championship team.


Amateur career

Martin attended Arlington High School in
Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...
, where he pitched for the school's baseball team. In 2004, his senior year, the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association named Martin to its Class 5A All-State team. The
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
of
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
(MLB) selected him in the 18th round of the 2004 MLB draft, but Martin did not sign a professional contract. Martin enrolled at
McLennan Community College McLennan Community College (MCC) is a Public college, public community college in Waco, Texas. It opened in 1965 and now serves about 9,000 students and has more than 700 employees. It is governed by a board of trustees elected from single-membe ...
, where he played
college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...
for the McLennan Highlanders. After his freshman year at McLennan, he received interest from the college baseball programs representing the
University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...
and the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
. However, he did not have enough
course credit A course credit is a measure of the size of an educational course, often used to determine whether the requirements for an award have been met, to facilitate transfer between institutions, or to enhance intercomparability of qualifications. Credit ...
s to transfer. The
Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...
of MLB selected Martin in the 21st round of the
2005 MLB draft The 2005 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the best drafts in recent memory. ''SourceMajor L ...
. He returned to McLennan for his sophomore season, with the Rockies following his progress while deciding whether or not to offer him a contract. Martin suffered a shoulder injury while pitching for McLennan as a sophomore, and the Rockies opted not to offer him a contract. Martin was diagnosed with a torn labrum in the shoulder of his pitching arm, and he underwent surgery to correct it.


Professional career


Independent leagues

Martin was not selected in the 2006 MLB draft. After graduating from McLennan, Martin signed with the
Fort Worth Cats The Fort Worth Cats was a professional baseball team based in Fort Worth, Texas, in the United States. The Cats were a member of the South Division of the now disbanded United League Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseba ...
of the
United League Baseball United League Baseball was an Independent league baseball, independent baseball league that operated in Texas. The league operated from 2006 to 2009. The league then temporarily merged with the Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), Northern L ...
, which is
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
of MLB, for the 2007 season. Though Martin made the team out of their tryout camp, he did not pitch in a game for the Cats due to discomfort in his shoulder. A doctor recommended Martin undergo surgery to repair the labrum and the articular capsule of the humerus. Rather than undergo surgery, Martin quit professional baseball. He went to work loading trucks for UPS at
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas region, in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American Airlines, which is headquartere ...
, moving refrigerators for
Lowe's Lowe's Companies, Inc. ( ) is an American retail company specializing in home improvement. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, the company operates a chain of retail stores in the United States. As of October 28, 2022, Lowe's and i ...
, and stocking
washing machine A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a machine designed to laundry, launder clothing. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water. Other ways of doing laundry include dry cleaning (which uses ...
s and
clothes dryer A clothes dryer (tumble dryer, drying machine, drying device, or simply dryer) is a powered Home appliance, household appliance that is used to remove moisture from a load of clothing, bedding and other textiles, usually after they are washed in ...
s in an appliance warehouse in Arlington. Martin and Jordan Bostick, a coworker in the warehouse and a former high school baseball teammate, began playing catch in the warehouse. Martin noticed that his shoulder felt stronger, and with encouragement from Bostick, he agreed to attempt to play professional baseball again. In 2010, after three years out of baseball, Martin tried out with the
Grand Prairie AirHogs The Texas AirHogs were a professional baseball team based in Grand Prairie, Texas from 2008 to 2020. The AirHogs were members of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. B ...
of the independent
American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...
. Martin threw
fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...
s at before he was pulled aside by Pete Incaviglia, the AirHogs
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
, and signed to a contract. He made his debut for the AirHogs that night. He had a 4–0
win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...
and a 1.96
earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
(ERA) for the AirHogs.


Boston Red Sox

Incaviglia started contacting MLB teams to promote Martin. Before the 2011 season, the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
offered him a tryout during
spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...
. After practicing at their training facility, the Red Sox signed Martin to a minor league contract. The Red Sox assigned Martin to the
Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are a member of the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West E ...
of the
Single-A Single-A, formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams cl ...
South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...
to begin the 2011 season. Later in the year, the Red Sox promoted Martin to the
Salem Red Sox The Salem Red Sox are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), based in Salem, Virginia, Salem, an independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia. The team competes at the Single-A level in the Car ...
of the
High-A High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...
Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...
and then the
Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red ...
of the Double-A Eastern League. Across the three levels, Martin had a 6–2 win–loss record and 2.55 ERA in 23 appearances. The Red Sox assigned Martin to Portland in 2012. He began the season as a
starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...
, but was moved back to a
relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
role later in the season. He ended the 2012 season with a 4.48 ERA. In 2013, Martin worked exclusively in relief. He had a 5–3 win–loss record with a 2.25 ERA and five saves in 42 games pitched, split between Portland and the
Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...
of the Triple-A
International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...
during the 2013 season.


Colorado Rockies

After the 2013 season, the Red Sox traded Martin, along with pitcher Franklin Morales, to the
Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...
in exchange for
infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...
Jonathan Herrera. The Rockies insisted on Martin's inclusion in the trade. Martin began the 2014 season with the
Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado R ...
of the Triple-A
Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
. The Rockies promoted Martin to the major leagues for the first time on April 25, 2014. Martin made his major league debut on April 26, pitching a scoreless inning against the
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
. He pitched a total of innings for Colorado, recording a 6.89 ERA while
striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Television in the Republic of Ireland, Irish television legal drama television series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017, based on ''The Good Wife'' by Robert King (writer), Robert and Michelle King. Prod ...
14 and allowing 22
hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...
, before the Rockies demoted Martin to Colorado Springs in June. He pitched the rest of the season for Colorado Springs, where he had a 4.39 ERA. During the 2014–15 offseason, the Rockies agreed to sign
Nick Hundley Nicholas John Hundley (born September 8, 1983) is an American former professional baseball catcher and current front office executive. He is currently a special assistant to the general manager for the Texas Rangers. He played in Major League Ba ...
. The Rockies designated Martin for assignment on January 5, 2015, in order to remove him from their
40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...
, so that the Rockies could sign Hundley.


New York Yankees

The Rockies traded Martin to the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
on January 13, 2015, receiving cash considerations. Martin competed for a spot in the Yankees' bullpen in spring training, and was named to the Yankees'
Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...
roster. On April 28, 2015, Martin recorded his first career save in a 4–2 victory over the
Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...
. Martin began the season with a 0–1 record and a 3.55 ERA in innings pitched across 15 appearances, before he went on the
disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...
on May 9 due to
tendinitis Tendinopathy is a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder ( rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow ( tenn ...
in his right elbow. The Yankees activated Martin from the disabled list on May 31, and optioned him to the
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders, are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...
of the International League. The Yankees recalled Martin from the minor leagues on June 11 to fill in for the injured Andrew Miller, and optioned him back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on June 19. He finished the 2015 season with a 0–2 record and a 5.66 ERA in 24 games pitched for the Yankees.


Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

After the 2015 season, the Yankees sold the contractual rights to Martin to the
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido, Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō, in the Sapporo metropolitan area. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the major ...
of
Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...
's
Pacific League The , or , or the , due to sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the a ...
for $750,000. At the time, he had a career 6.19 ERA in innings in MLB and a .318
batting average against In baseball statistics, batting average against (denoted by BAA or AVG), also known as opponents' batting average (denoted by OBA), is a statistic that measures a pitcher's ability to prevent hits during official at bats. It can alternatively be ...
. Martin succeeded
Hirotoshi Masui Hirotoshi Masui (増井 浩俊, born June 25, 1984) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward th ...
in the role of
closing pitcher In baseball, a closing pitcher, more frequently referred to as a closer (abbreviated CL), is a relief pitcher who specializes in getting the final outs in a close game when his team is leading. The role is often assigned to a team's best reliev ...
for the Fighters in 2016. He made the Pacific League All-Star team, but injured his ankle in September. Martin missed the end of the regular season and the 2016 Japan Series, which the Fighters won. He finished the 2016 season with a 1.07 ERA and 21 saves. He appeared in 52 games, which was a personal single-season best. The Fighters re-signed Martin for the 2017 season for ¥100 million (approximately US$). He had a 1.19 ERA in 40 appearances with the Fighters in 2017. Between his two seasons in Japan, Martin struck out 91 batters and walked 13 in innings. He credited his time with Hokkaido for helping him learn how to prepare himself between appearances with less input from coaches. He also learned how to throw a
split-finger fastball A split-finger fastball or splitter is an off-speed pitch in baseball that initially looks like a fastball from the batters perspective, but then drops suddenly. Derived from the forkball, it is aptly named because the pitcher puts the index a ...
from teammate
Shohei Ohtani is a Japanese professional baseball designated hitter and pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Shotime", he has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Angels and in Nippon Professional Basebal ...
.


Texas Rangers

On December 15, 2017, Martin signed a two-year, $4 million contract with the Texas Rangers. He recorded a 4.54 ERA in innings pitched in 2018. After the 2018 season, Martin represented MLB in the 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series from November 8–15. When Rangers' closer
Shawn Kelley Shawn Andrew Kelley (born April 26, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners from 2009 to 2012, New York Yankees from 2013 to 2014, San Diego Padres in 2015, Wa ...
went on the
injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...
in May 2019, Martin filled in for him. Martin and
José Leclerc José Ramón Leclerc (born December 19, 1993) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Texas Rangers. He made his MLB debut in 2016. Early life José ...
received save opportunities when Kelley was injured in July. For the Rangers in 2019, Martin had a 3.08 ERA in 38 appearances; from May 24 to July 30, he had a 1.45 ERA.


Atlanta Braves

On July 30, the day before the 2019
trade deadline In professional sports within the United States and Canada, a trade is a sports league transaction between sports clubs involving the exchange of player rights from one team to another. Though player rights are the primary trading assets, draft ...
, the Rangers traded Martin to the
Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...
in exchange for Kolby Allard. On September 11, Martin pitched an immaculate inning in the bottom of the seventh against the Philadelphia Phillies. He had a 4.08 ERA with Atlanta in 20 games after the trade, finishing the season with a 3.40 ERA and four saves in 58 total appearances. The Braves included Martin on their roster for the
2019 National League Division Series The 2019 National League Division Series were two best-of-five series in Major League Baseball (MLB) to determine the participating teams of the 2019 National League Championship Series. The three divisional winners, seeded first through third, a ...
, but he injured an oblique muscle while warming up in Game 1 and was removed from the roster. A free agent after the 2019 season, Martin re-signed with Atlanta on a two-year contract worth $14 million on November 19. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he pitched to a 1.00 ERA in 19 relief appearances spanning 18 innings. In 2021, Martin had a 3.95 ERA in 46 relief appearances. During the 2021 postseason, Martin had a 2.08 ERA in five appearances as the Braves won the 2021 World Series.


Chicago Cubs

On March 17, 2022, Martin signed a one-year contract with the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
worth $2.5 million, with additional achievable incentives. Martin appeared in 34 games for the Cubs, recording a 4.31 ERA in innings. He recorded a 3.29 ERA in his appearances after June 17.


Los Angeles Dodgers

On July 30, 2022, the Cubs traded Martin to the
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
in exchange for Zach McKinstry. He pitched innings over 26 games and finished 3–1 with a 1.46 ERA.


Boston Red Sox (second stint)

On December 8, 2022, Martin signed a two-year contract with the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
. He started the 2023 season as a member of Boston's bullpen, and spent two weeks during the second half of April on the injured list. Martin served as an effective reliever for the Red Sox, posting a 4–1 record with a 1.05 ERA in 55 appearances before being placed on the injured list on September 28 due to a viral infection.


Texas Rangers (second stint)

On January 6, 2025, Martin signed a one-year, $5.5 million contract with the Texas Rangers.


Pitching style

Martin is listed at and . He throws a
fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...
that averages . He also throws a slider, a splitter, and a
cut fastball Cut or CUT may refer to: Common uses * The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely directed force ** A type of wound ** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past ** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment ** ...
. He has exceptional control, walking just 1.1 batters per 9 innings over the course of his career.


Personal life

Martin is the youngest of four children born to Connie and Matt Martin. His three older siblings, Crystal, Jonathan, and Shannon, all played baseball or
softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...
when they were growing up. Crystal played softball at the collegiate level for the
Texas A&M Aggies The Texas A&M Aggies are the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "wikt:aggie#Etymology 2, Aggie" was once common at land-grant or "ag" (agriculture) schools in many states. The teams are also simply referr ...
as their
shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...
, and was named an All-
Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...
selection during her collegiate career.


See also

* List of Major League Baseball single-inning strikeout leaders


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Chris 1986 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Japan Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Arlington, Texas Boston Red Sox players Chicago Cubs players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Grand Prairie AirHogs players Greenville Drive players Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players Leones del Escogido players Los Angeles Dodgers players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball pitchers McLennan Highlanders baseball players New York Yankees players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Pawtucket Red Sox players Portland Sea Dogs players Salem Red Sox players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Surprise Saguaros players Texas Rangers players Worcester Red Sox players