Starling Javier Marte (born October 9, 1988) is a Dominican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major leagu ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB). He previously played in MLB for 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) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. ...

Miami 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 club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fra ...

, and

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2012 with the Pirates. Marte is a two-time

MLB All-Star The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

and a two-time

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

winner. In 2021, he led the major leagues with 47 stolen bases.

Early life

Marte grew up on the outskirts of

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

, the capital of the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

. After his mother's death when he was nine, his grandmother took care of him.

Career

Minor leagues (2007–2012)

He signed with the

in 2007, and was primarily a

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

during his time in the minors. In 2010, Marte played 60 games for the Pirates' Class A affiliate, the

Bradenton Marauders The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as the ...

, ending with a

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 i ...

of .315. He hit 16

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

s and five

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a "treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * In ...

s that season while also

stealing Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for som ...

22 bases. Marte represented the Pittsburgh Pirates at the 2011

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 Le ...

. In 2011, while playing for the

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of th ...

, Marte was an Eastern League Mid-Season All-Star and Post-Season All-Star, a ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form ...

'' Double-A All-Star, a

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Double-A All-Star, and a Milb.com organization All-Star. On August 15, 2011, Marte was named the EL's player of the week. Marte also won the Eastern League Batting Title with a .332 batting average and was named the Eastern League Rookie of the Year. Marte was added to the Pirates 40-man roster on November 18, 2011. Marte was ranked number 73 on ''Baseball Americas Top 100 Prospects list in February 2012 and number 56 on

Baseball Prospectus Baseball Prospectus (BP) is an organization that publishes a website, BaseballProspectus.com, devoted to the sabermetric analysis of baseball. BP has a staff of regular columnists and provides advanced statistics as well as player and team perf ...

's Top 101 Prospect list in February 2012. In 2012, while playing for the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which opene ...

, Marte was named an

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 level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

Mid-Season All-Star. On July 2, 2012, Marte was named the

player of the week.

Pittsburgh Pirates (2012–2019)

On July 26, 2012, the Pirates promoted Marte from Indianapolis Indians, becoming the first graduate of the Pirates' Latin American complex, located in the Dominican Republic, to reach the major leagues. He hit a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

on the first pitch he faced in his major league career, off

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

pitcher Dallas Keuchel. The hit made Marte the third player in Pirates' franchise history to homer in his first at-bat and the first to do it since Don Leppert in 1961. He also became the first Pirate to homer on the first pitch of his major league career since Walter Mueller did so in 1922. Marte and the Pirates finalized a 6-year, $31 million deal on March 28, 2014. On August 18, 2014, Marte had his second career multi-homer game in a 7–3 loss to the Atlanta Braves. He won his first career

Rawlings Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in b ...

in 2015.

On April 18, 2017, Marte was suspended 80 games without pay due to use of

Nandrolone Nandrolone, also known as 19-nortestosterone, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) which is used in the form of esters such as nandrolone decanoate (brand name Deca-Durabolin) and nandrolone phenylpropionate (brand name Durabolin). Nandrol ...

, a type of

performance-enhancing drug Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where bann ...

that violates the MLB's drug agreement. He was also deemed ineligible to play in post-season competition, though the Pirates failed to qualify. Marte issued a statement afterwards, reading: "I have been informed that I have tested positive in one of the tests that are regularly done in my job. In this very difficult moment I apologize to my family, my fans and baseball in general. Neglect and lack of knowledge have led me to this mistake with the high price to pay of being away from the field that I enjoy and love so much. With much embarrassment and helplessness, I ask for forgiveness for unintentionally disrespecting so many people who have trusted in my work and have supported me so much. I promise to learn the lesson that this ordeal has left me. God bless you." He was activated on July 18, 2017. In 2017, he batted .275 with 21 stolen bases. In 2018, Marte batted .277 with 33 stolen bases. He and Jean Segura were the only two MLB players to have stolen 20 or more bases each season since 2013. On defense in 2019, he had a -11 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) rating, the lowest in the major leagues among center fielders. However, on offense, he hit .295 and set career highs with 23 home runs and 82 runs batted in.

Arizona Diamondbacks (2020)

On January 27, 2020, the Pirates traded Marte and cash considerations to the

in exchange for infielder

Liover Peguero Liover Peguero (born December 31, 2000) is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022. Career Arizona Diamondbacks Peguero signed with the Arizona Diamondb ...

, pitcher Brennan Malone, and international bonus pool signing money.

Miami Marlins (2020–2021)

On August 31, 2020, the Diamondbacks traded Marte to the

for Caleb Smith,

Humberto Mejía Humberto Albert Mejía (born March 3, 1997) is a Panamanian professional baseball pitcher for the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins and Arizona D ...

and Julio Frias. Between the Diamondbacks and Marlins, Marte slashed .281/.340/.430 with 6 home runs, 27 RBI, and 10 stolen bases in 61 games during the shortened 60-game season. Marte was placed on the injured list on April 20, 2021 with a fractured rib. A month later he would enter his rehab assignment with the

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pl ...

and return to the Marlins on May 28. Marte was named NL Player of the Week for June 7 - June 13, the first Marlins player since 2017. In seven games that week he batted .500 (14 for 28), two home runs, one double, five RBIs, and a 1.298 OPS. He also stole four bases without being caught. On July 18, Marte rejected a $30 million extension offer from the Marlins.

Oakland Athletics (2021)

On July 28, 2021, the Marlins traded Marte along with cash considerations to the

in exchange for

Jesús Luzardo Jesús Guillermo Luzardo (born September 30, 1997) is a Venezuelan-Peruvian professional baseball pitcher for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Oakland Athletics. He plays for the Venezuela national ba ...

. In 56 games, Marte batted .312/.355/.462 with 25 stolen bases for Oakland in 2021. Between Miami and Oakland, Marte stole an MLB-leading 47 bases in 2021.

New York Mets

On November 30, 2021, Marte signed a four-year contract with the

worth $78 million.

Personal life

Marte has three children, sons Starling Jr. and Smerling and daughter Tiana, with his late wife, Noelia Brazoban. In May 2020, Brazoban suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

and died while in the hospital awaiting surgery on a broken ankle. Marte's grandmother, who raised him from the age of 9, died in May 2022, almost two years to the day after the passing of his wife. Upon his return to the Mets after being placed on the bereavement list, Marte hit a home run on the first pitch he faced from

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 (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

starter Germán Márquez, dedicating his hit to his "loved ones up in heaven."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marte, Starling 1988 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players Altoona Curve players Arizona Diamondbacks players Bradenton Marauders players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Republic sportspeople in doping cases Dominican Summer League Pirates players Gold Glove Award winners Gulf Coast Pirates players Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp players Leones del Escogido players Lynchburg Hillcats players Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball players suspended for drug offenses Miami Marlins players National League All-Stars New York Mets players Oakland Athletics players Pittsburgh Pirates players Sportspeople from Santo Domingo State College Spikes players West Virginia Power players World Baseball Classic players of the Dominican Republic 2017 World Baseball Classic players