Martin Červenka (born 3 August 1992) is a Czech 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 ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

for Hroši Brno of the

Czech Baseball Extraliga The Czech Baseball Extraliga, or simply Extraliga, is the highest level of baseball in the Czech Republic. The league was established in 1993 after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The league is currently contested by eight teams and the games a ...

. He has previously played 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 ten seasons and for the

Czech Republic national baseball team The Czech Republic national baseball team is the national baseball team of the Czech Republic. The team competes in the biennial European Baseball Championship and debuted in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. History Czech clubs began playing ...

in international competitions, such as the

2019 European Baseball Championship The 2019 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament organized by the Confederation of European Baseball. The 2019 Championship was held September 7–15, 2019, in Bonn and Solingen, Germany. The tournament contribu ...

and

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball tournament and the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It began on March 8, 2023, and ran until March 21. It was originally scheduled to take place in ...

Career

Cleveland Indians

Červenka played in Extraliga when he was 15 years old. He trained at the European Baseball Academy at age 16. He signed with the

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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

in January 2009, and participated in

extended 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. Spring ...

in 2009 and 2010, while finishing high school. He made his professional debut in 2011 in for the Arizona Indians of the

Rookie-level 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 L ...

Arizona League The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona, since 1988. Prior to 2021, it was known as the Arizona League (AZL). Along with the Florida Complex League (FCL), it fo ...

, batting .164/.233/.218 in 55

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, ...

s. The next season for the Arizona League team, Červenka batted .240/.352/.280 in 75 at bats. In 2013, playing for the Low–A

Mahoning Valley Scrappers The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were ...

and Single–A

Lake County Captains The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following ...

, he batted .185/.271/.221 in 195 at bats. In 2014, playing with Mahoning Valley he batted .181/.250/217 in 83 at–bats. In 2015, playing in Lake County he batted .184/.233/.247 in 174 at–bats. In 2016, playing for two minor league teams he batted .272/.332/.383 in 342 at bats. In 2017, playing for the High–A

Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinn ...

, he batted .278/.343/.418 in 400 at–bats. He elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2017.

Baltimore Orioles

On 20 November 2017, Červenka signed a minor league contract with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

organization. On 14 December, he was selected by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...

in the minor league phase of the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. In 2018, he played in 97 games for the Double–A

Bowie Baysox The Chesapeake Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. From 1993 to 2024, th ...

, he batted .258/.317/.457 in 337 at bats, hitting a career-high 15

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s (tied for 8th in the Eastern League) and 60

run batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBIs). In 2019, he batted .233/.304/.324 in aggregate for the High–A

Aberdeen IronBirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of th ...

, Double–A Bowie, and the Triple–A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's loc ...

. His stint with Norfolk marked the first time he reached Triple–A. Červenka did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He became a free agent following the year on 2 November 2020.

New York Mets

On 22 March 2021, Červenka signed a minor league contract with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

organization. He played in 72 games for the Triple–A

Syracuse Mets The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which ope ...

, batting .183/.280/.344 with 7 home runs and 19 RBI. On 7 November 2021, Červenka became a free agent.

Eagles Praha

On 9 February 2022, Červenka signed with the Eagles Praha of the

Hroši Brno

On 24 February 2024, Červenka signed with the Hroši Brno of the

International career

Červenka has played for the

at the

2012 European Baseball Championship The 2012 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament being held from September 7 to September 16, 2012. The Confederation of European Baseball selected the Netherlands to host the tournament. Qualification The follo ...

2013 World Baseball Classic Qualification The qualifying round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic was held from September 19 to November 19, 2012. It was the first ever qualifiers for the tournament. Although the 2006 and 2009 editions of the World Baseball Classic were contested by the ...

2014 European Baseball Championship The 2014 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament held in the Czech Republic and Germany. The defending champion Italy lost in the final to the Netherlands, who became champion for the 21st time. Qualification T ...

, 2015 USA Tour,

2017 World Baseball Classic Qualification The qualifying Round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic, officially called the 2016 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers was held from February 11 to September 25, 2016. Teams which participated at the 2013 World Baseball Classic were automatically ...

, and

2016 European Baseball Championship The 2016 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament organized by Confederation of European Baseball. The 2016 European Championship was held from September 9 to 18, 2016 in Hoofddorp, Netherlands. It was organized by ...

. He played for the team at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament, in Italy in September 2019. In 2022, Červenka was selected to play the

2023 World Baseball Classic qualification The qualifying round of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, officially called The World Baseball Classic 2022 Qualifiers was held from 16 September 2022 to 5 October 2022. Teams which participated at the 2017 World Baseball Classic automatically qu ...

. He played for the national team in the

Personal life

Červenka's father, Filip, and older brother, Marek, also play baseball. Červenka completed an

undergraduate degree An undergraduate degree (also called first degree or simply degree) is a colloquial term for an academic degree earned by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. In the United States, it is usually offered at an institution of higher ed ...

and expected to complete his

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

in 2018.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cervenka, Martin 1992 births Living people Arizona League Indians players Baseball catchers Bowie Baysox players Czech expatriate baseball players in the United States Glendale Desert Dogs players Lake County Captains players Lynchburg Hillcats players Norfolk Tides players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Syracuse Mets players Sportspeople from Prague 2014 European Baseball Championship players 2016 European Baseball Championship players 2019 European Baseball Championship players 2021 European Baseball Championship players 2023 World Baseball Classic players 2023 European Baseball Championship players Expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Toros del Este players Gigantes del Cibao players 21st-century Czech sportsmen