Rafael Martín Romero (born May 16, 1984) is an American former 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, ...

. He has played in

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) for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

Early life

Martin was born in California but spent parts of his childhood in Mexico until the 7th grade. Martin attended

Jurupa Valley High School Jurupa Valley Valley High School is a public high school in Jurupa Valley, California. The school was established in 1989, as part of the Jurupa Unified School District, and the first class graduated in 1992. Located near the junction of the On ...

Jurupa Valley, California Jurupa Valley ( Serrano: ''Hurumpa'') is a city in northwestern Riverside County, California, United States. It was the location of one of the earliest non-native settlements in the county, Rancho Jurupa. The Rancho was initially an outpost of ...

. He played for the school's varsity baseball team for one year. Though coaches at

University of Redlands The University of Redlands is a private university in Redlands, California, United States. The university's main, residential campus is situated on 160 acres (65 ha) near downtown Redlands. An additional eight regional locations throughout Calif ...

and

Riverside Community College Riverside City College (RCC) is a public community college in Riverside, California. The college is part of the Riverside Community College District, as well as the larger California Community Colleges System. History RCC first opened in 1916 at ...

offered Martin the opportunity to walk on to their

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, ...

teams, they did not offer scholarships, and Martin opted not to attend college. He went to work for a contractor in

Fontana, California Fontana is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Founded by Azariel Blanchard Miller in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area. It ...

, becoming a crew foreman and dispatcher.

Career

Saraperos de Saltillo (first stint)

Martin attended a tryout with the

Saraperos de Saltillo The Saraperos de Saltillo (English: Saltillo Serapes) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. Their home ballpark is the Estadio de Béisbol Francisco I. Madero in Saltillo, Coahuila. They have won three championships (1980, 2009 ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

in 2007. He signed with them and made his professional baseball debut that year. On the season, Martin pitched to a 2.65 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 34.0 innings. In 2008, Martin recorded a 4.19 ERA and 6–2 record in 35 games for the Saraperos, notching 38 strikeouts as well. In 2009, Martin appeared in 54 games for Saltillo, accumulating a 6–3 record and 4.12 ERA in 63.1 innings pitched.

Washington Nationals

The

signed Martin out of the Mexican League in 2010. In 2011, Martin pitched for the

Potomac Nationals The Potomac Nationals were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They were situated in Woodbridge, Virginia, and played their home games at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium. After the 2019 season, the team relocated to ...

of the High–A

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 the

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team who play in the Eastern League, and are the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The team is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at FNB Field on Cit ...

of the Double–A Eastern League. The Nationals assigned him to the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

after the regular season. He struggled with elbow and shoulder injuries in 2012. Martin split the 2013 season between Potomac and the

GCL Nationals The Florida Complex League Nationals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Washington Nationals, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Nationals. The t ...

, pitching to an excellent 0.87 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 21 games. In 2014, he pitched for the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

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 ...

. He had a 0.80 ERA for Syracuse, allowing a run in only two of his 38 appearances. The Nationals invited Martin to

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 ...

in 2015. They assigned him to Syracuse to start the year, but selected his contract and promoted him to the major leagues on April 14. The following day, Martin made his major league debut, facing 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 ...

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...

. He started the seventh inning; after allowing a fly out and a single, he proceeded to strike out the next five consecutive batters over two innings. In 13 games for the Nationals in 2015, Martin recorded a 5.11 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 12.1 innings of work. Martin spent much of the 2016 season in Triple-A Syracuse, and was named an

All-Star. In 8 major league games, Martin recorded a 2.45 ERA with 5 strikeouts in 3.2 innings. Martin was assigned to Syracuse to begin the 2017 season, and recorded a 5.18 ERA and 7.77 K/9 for the team in 24.1 innings before he was designated for assignment on June 5, 2017. On June 9, Martin was outrighted and remained in Syracuse to finish the year. He elected free agency following the season on November 6.

Saraperos de Saltillo (second stint)

On March 21, 2018, Martin signed with the

of the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. He allowed 14 runs in 49.1 innings of work in 2018. In 2019, Martin pitched to a 4.98 ERA with 54 strikeouts in 43 games for Saltillo. Martin did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the LMB 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 ...

Personal life

In June 2021, Martin was diagnosed with

Guillain–Barré syndrome Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rapid-onset Paralysis, muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system. Typically, both sides of the body are involved, and the initial symptoms are changes in sensation ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Rafael 1984 births Living people 2017 World Baseball Classic players American baseball players of Mexican descent American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Gulf Coast Nationals players Harrisburg Senators players Jurupa Valley, California Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Naranjeros de Hermosillo players Sportspeople from San Fernando, California Baseball players from Los Angeles County, California Potomac Nationals players Saraperos de Saltillo players Scottsdale Scorpions players Syracuse Chiefs players Washington Nationals players 21st-century American sportsmen World Baseball Classic players of Mexico