Dámaso Marte Saviñón (born February 14, 1975) is a
Dominican former professional baseball
relief pitcher
In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...
. He played for the
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...
(),
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
(, –),
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
(–), and
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 ...
(–).
Professional career
Seattle Mariners
Marte was signed as an amateur
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
by the Seattle Mariners in . He made his major league debut on June 30, 1999, during a 14–5 loss against the
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...
, allowing three earned runs in an inning of work.
Pittsburgh Pirates
On November 16, , Marte signed with the New York Yankees,
but was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 13, 2001, for
Enrique Wilson. In his Pirates debut, he hurled three innings of one-
hit ball against the
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...
. He went on to throw 14 innings in which he only allowed one
run and
struck out a career-high five batters against the
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...
.
Chicago White Sox
On March 27, 2002, Marte along with Edwin Yan were traded to the Chicago White Sox for
Matt Guerrier. In , he enjoyed his most successful big league season, where he went 4–2 with a 1.58
ERA
An era is a span of time.
Era or ERA may also refer to:
* Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time
* Calendar era
Education
* Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school
* ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia
* E ...
in 79.7 innings pitched where he struck out a career high 87 batters. He continued his success in when he held opposing batters to a .217
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 ...
and left-handed batters to an average of .143. He also matched his career high for strikeouts in a game with 5 against the
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park.
The ...
.
A notable achievement for him was being the winning pitcher in what was then the longest game in
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
history, Game 3 of the
2005 World Series
The 2005 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2005 season. The 101st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Chicago White Sox and the National ...
. In that game, he tossed 1.2 scoreless innings and struck out three batters in the 14 inning win over the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...
. The White Sox would then win the World Series against the Astros in 4 games.
Second stint with Pirates
On December 8, 2005, the White Sox traded Marte back to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for
Rob Mackowiak. Marte made three relief appearances in the
World Baseball Classic
The World Baseball Classic (WBC), also referred to as the Classic, is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the sport's global governing body, and organized in World Baseball Clas ...
for the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
in 2006 but was shut down after experiencing shoulder inflammation. In the regular season, he lost seven straight games as a reliever but still averaged 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.
In , he enjoyed some success where he held left-handed batters to a .094 batting average. He also did not allow a hit in 32 consecutive
at-bat
In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...
s against left-handers which happened to be the longest streak of consecutive hitless at-bats by a left-handed batter against any pitcher in the MLB. For a stint, after an injury to
Matt Capps, Marte was the Pirates
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 ...
. He amassed five saves before being traded to the Yankees.
New York Yankees
On July 26, 2008, Marte and
Xavier Nady were traded to the Yankees in exchange for
José Tábata
José Nicolas Tábata (born 12 August 1988) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder. He was an international signee of the New York Yankees in 2005, and by 2008, became the Yankees' No. 2 prospect. He played in Major League Baseba ...
,
Ross Ohlendorf,
Jeff Karstens, and
Daniel McCutchen.
In his Yankees debut, he relieved
José Veras (for only one batter), and faced
David Ortiz
David Américo Ortiz Arias (born November 18, 1975), nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican Americans, Dominican-American former professional baseball designated hitter and first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1997 ...
, who struck out swinging.
Following the 2008 season, the Yankees declined Marte's option. However, the Yankees then re-signed him to a new three-year deal with an option for a fourth.
Following a disappointing regular season in which Marté posted an ERA of 9.45, he delivered an extraordinary performance for the Yankees in the playoffs. After a shaky first outing in Game 2 of the
2009 American League Division Series, in which he surrendered two consecutive singles to the
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...
before being relieved, Marte retired all twelve of the remaining batters he faced during the postseason. During Game 6 of the
2009 World Series
The 2009 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2009 season. As the 105th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff contested between the Philadelphia Phillies, champions of the National Le ...
, Marte faced
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
stars
Chase Utley
Chase Cameron Utley (born December 17, 1978) is an American former professional baseball second baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 16 seasons, primarily for the Philadelphia Phillies. He also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers. ...
and
Ryan Howard, striking out both of them on the minimum six pitches. Marte and the Yankees went on to win Game 6, clinching the Series for the team's 27th championship.
Marte missed much of the 2010 season due to left arm inflammation. He underwent left shoulder surgery late in the 2010 season and was knocked out for the entire 2011 season. In late June, Marte started to play catch in his journey to recovery. He became a free agent at the end of the 2011 season after the Yankees declined his 2012 option and paid him a $250,000 buyout.
Children's Foundation
Marte supports a children's foundation in his name.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marte, Damaso
1975 births
Living people
Arizona League Mariners players
Charlotte Knights players
Chicago White Sox players
Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States
Everett AquaSox players
Lancaster JetHawks players
Gulf Coast Yankees players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic
Nashville Sounds players
New Haven Ravens players
New York Yankees players
Norwich Navigators players
Orlando Rays players
Pittsburgh Pirates players
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players
Seattle Mariners players
Baseball players from Santo Domingo
Tacoma Rainiers players
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players
World Baseball Classic players of the Dominican Republic
2006 World Baseball Classic players
2009 World Baseball Classic players