El Presidente Day SABR

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http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/05148239

In 1976, Dennis Mart?nez became the first Nicaraguan to play in the big leagues ? and he remains by far the most successful. Indeed, his 245 major-league wins are the most by any Latino pitcher, two ahead of Juan Marichal. Mart?nez got more than half of those wins after overcoming an alcohol problem that nearly derailed his career. His single most outstanding performance came on July 28, 1991, when he became the 13th pitcher to throw a perfect game.

El Presidente ? as Mart?nez is often known in the U.S. ? was a nickname he first received in 1979 from Orioles teammate Ken Singleton.1 In later years, Mart?nez?s name was bandied about as a candidate for president of Nicaragua, but only by a fringe party. The U.S. press ran with the idea, and it went mainstream in the States. His countrymen refer to Mart?nez as El Chirizo, which refers to his shock of mestizo hair. Without dispute, though, he has long been an enormous hero at home. In 1998, Nicaragua renamed its national stadium in his honor.

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Dick Young, cited Mart?nez’s insistence that Dave Skaggs catch him rather than Rick Dempsey. Skaggs joked, “When I die, they’re going to bury me 60 feet, six inches away from Dennis Mart?nez.” Mart?nez told John Eisenberg, “I had a lot of disagreements with Dempsey. Whatever I was doing, it wasn’t good enough or I wasn’t doing things the right way.

The Demper!

[OFFNY]

o

Denny Martinez was 17 years-old when he married his wife ...... whom was 15 years-old at the time.

They wound up having 4 kids together, and are still married.

Martinez credits his wife for helping him through the trying times of his alcoholism:

When Martinez was 17, he married Luz Marina Garcia on April 29, 1973. She was a fellow student from Granada. "She was 15," said Tito Rondon. "Dennis signed several months later, and left Nicaragua in March of 1974. Her friends told her to leave him, that he would forget all about her once he got to the United States. But he had told her to wait for him, and she had faith in him. And in 1977, when he returned to the United States with the Orioles, she was with him." They had four children together: Dennis Jr., Erica, Gilberto, and Ricardo. Martinez has often credited the support of his wife with helping him get his life back on track, and also with helping it remain there.

http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/05148239

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Happy birthday, Denny Martinez.

Denny and Tippy ..... Tippy and Denny ...... Denny and Tippy .....

Frick and Frack.