Shairon Benjamin Martis (born March 30, 1987) is a Dutch-Curaçaoan professional baseball pitcher for L&D Amsterdam of the Honkbal Hoofdklasse. He has previously pitched for the Washington Nationals and

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) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

of Major League Baseball. Martis was a member of the Netherlands in the

2006 World Baseball Classic The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums that are in and around Tokyo, Japan; San Juan, Puerto ...

and the

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike ...

, as well as the

2011 Baseball World Cup The 2011 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 39th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through the ...

. He played for Team Netherlands in 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 contributed ...

, at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in September 2019.

Amateur and international career

In 2002, Martis was a member of the

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

team that claimed the Senior League World Series, which took place in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

. Martis pitched a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

on March 10, 2006, in the World Baseball Classic against Panama, in a game stopped in the 7th inning due to the mercy rule. He played for Team Netherlands in the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...

. He played for Team Netherlands in the

, and will compete for it at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament, taking place in Italy beginning September 18, 2019.

Professional career

San Francisco Giants

Martis was signed by the San Francisco Giants in 2004. In 2005, he pitched in 11 games with 5 starts. His record was 2–1 with a 1.85 ERA for the San Francisco Giants' Arizona Rookie League team. Martis began the 2006 season with Augusta in the Low A South Atlantic League, where he accrued a 6–4 record and 3.64 ERA in 15 starts. On July 28, 2006, Martis was traded to the Washington Nationals for veteran lefty reliever Mike Stanton.

Washington Nationals

On July 28, 2006, the Nationals acquired Martis from the San Francisco Giants for veteran lefty reliever Mike Stanton. He joined the roster of

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

of the South Atlantic League on August 1, 2006. After going 1–1 with a 3.80 ERA in four starts at Savannah, Martis was promoted to Washington's Potomac club in the High A Carolina League. He pitched two games in Potomac, giving up 4 earned runs in 12 innings, and finished the season at Harrisburg in the Double-A Eastern League, allowing 7 earned runs over 5 innings in his only appearance of the Harrisburg season. In , Martis pitched for Potomac the entire season. In 26 starts and one relief appearance, he logged a 4.23 ERA over 151 innings, striking out 108 batters while issuing just 52 walks. Martis was assigned to Harrisburg to begin the season. After going 4–4 with a 3.98 ERA and a respectable 1.35

WHIP A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

in 14 starts at Harrisburg, he was promoted on June 21 to Triple-A

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

, where he went 1–2 and accrued a 3.02 ERA in 7 starts, striking out 42 batters and walking 17. He was selected as a member of the World Team for the

2008 All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League- ...

in Yankee Stadium. Martis was called up to the major-league roster on September 2, with the intent of assigning him to the bullpen. However, an injury to rotation member

Collin Balester Collin Thomas Balester (born June 6, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2008 to 2015 for the Washington Nationals, Detroit Tigers, and Cincinnati Reds. Balester has also playe ...

caused Martis to put into the starting rotation. He made his major league debut September 4, 2008, against the Atlanta Braves. He gave up 2 runs in 5 innings, getting the loss. He struck out the first batter he faced, Gregor Blanco. Chipper Jones got the first hit off Martis. In his first

plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

, he drew a walk from Braves rookie James Parr, who, like Martis, was also making his first major-league appearance. Martis struck out Parr in Parr's first

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 during their turn at bat, but a bat ...

earlier in the game. Martis got his first major league win on September 23, 2008, against the Florida Marlins. On May 2, 2009, against the St. Louis Cardinals, Martis pitched his first career complete game, which was the Nationals' first complete game since Pedro Astacio's in 2006 against the Atlanta Braves.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On November 22, 2011, he signed a minor league contract with the

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 (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Minnesota Twins

In June 2012,

acquired Martis from the

for a player to be named later or cash. In 9.2 innings he struck out 7, working to a 5.59 ERA. Martis was outrighted off the roster on October 2, 2013.

Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions

On February 26, 2014, Martis signed a 1-yr deal with the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions of the CPBL.

Bridgeport Bluefish

Martis signed with the Bridgeport Bluefish of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

for the 2015 season.

Lincoln Saltdogs

On February 15, 2016, Martis resigned with the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.

Baltimore Orioles

On April 2, 2017, Martis signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles organization. He was released on July 19, 2017.

Return to Lincoln Saltdogs

On July 27, 2017, Martis resigned with the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association. He was released on November 19, 2019.

L&D Amsterdam

Martis signed with L&D Amsterdam of the Honkbal Hoofdklasse for the 2020 season.

References

External links

, o
RetrosheetPelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)Shairon Martis – Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martis, Shairon Living people 1987 births 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players 2015 WBSC Premier12 players 2016 European Baseball Championship players 2017 World Baseball Classic players 2019 European Baseball Championship players Águilas del Zulia players Altoona Curve players Arizona League Giants players Augusta GreenJackets players Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Bridgeport Bluefish players Columbus Clippers players Curaçao baseball players Curaçao expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Curaçao expatriate baseball players in the United States Dutch people of Curaçao descent Harrisburg Senators players Indianapolis Indians players Lincoln Saltdogs players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Curaçao Minnesota Twins players Navegantes del Magallanes players Curaçao expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New Britain Rock Cats players Olympic baseball players of the Netherlands People from Willemstad Potomac Nationals players Rochester Red Wings players Savannah Sand Gnats players Syracuse Chiefs players Tiburones de La Guaira players Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions players Washington Nationals players Curaçao expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic L&D Amsterdam Pirates players Toros del Este players