The White Sox signed him on March 27, 1984, though it would be nearly a decade before he made his MLB debut.
Primarily a shortstop, Martin worked his way up through the minors but was plagued by injuries, which made him miss significant time in 1986.
Entering 1991, he was ranked No. 4 on the White Sox top 10 prospect list (per Baseball America). In 1993, Martin had a great season, hitting .309 and being voted best defensive second baseman in the American Association by Baseball America.
Martin’s MLB debut finally came Sept. 20, 1993 when he pinch ran for Frank Thomas and scored a run on a Robin Ventura double. The first hit came Sept. 28 – a single off Tim Leary. The next day, in only his fifth MLB game and seventh MLB plate appearance, he recorded his second hit - a walk-off single in the 12th inning, giving the White Sox a 3-2 win over the Mariners. He finished the season 5-for-14 (.357) in eight games.
Martin’s first big league home run came on June 4, 1994 – a ninth inning grand slam off Jim Poole in Baltimore. He’s one of eight players in White Sox history whose first career MLB home run was a grand slam.
The 1996 season was his best. In 70 games, Martin hit .350/.374/.421; that batting average was second in the AL to Alex Rodriguez among players with at least 140 at-bats. Frank Thomas was third with .349. In addition, Paco remains one of four players in White Sox history to hit .350 and steal 10+ bases in a season.
Martin went on to play with the Angels and played a career-high 79 games, but he wasn’t the same player, hitting only .215. He played nine games for the Blue Jays in 1999 in what would be the end of his MLB career. He continued to play in the minors, in addition to a stint in Mexico, for a few more years.
After his playing career, he became an instructor at the Academy of Pro Players in New Jersey, where he taught for a few years. He served as the hitting coach for the Helena Brewers in 2004 and from 2007 to 2008; Martin served in the same capacity for the Asheville Tourists, the Class A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies from 2017 to 2019.
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It has been claimed by Keith Bodie that Martin was involved in a triple play in a 1986 spring training game where no one touched the ball.[1]
Personal life
Norberto Martin is married to Judith Carrero with whom he has three kids: Nicolle Martin, Norberto Martin Jr., and Michelle Martin.
He now resides in Raleigh, North Carolina.
References
^Hagerty, Tim. "That time a team turned a triple play without touching the ball". Sporting News. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
^"Remember That Guy: White Sox infielder Norberto Martín". RSN. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
May 03, 2023
norberto, martin, this, spanish, name, first, paternal, surname, martin, second, maternal, family, name, mcdonald, norberto, enrique, paco, martin, mcdonald, born, december, 1966, former, professional, baseball, infielder, played, seven, seasons, major, league. In this Spanish name the first or paternal surname is Martin and the second or maternal family name is McDonald Norberto Enrique Paco Martin McDonald born December 10 1966 is a former professional baseball infielder He played seven seasons in Major League Baseball from 1993 to 1999 Norberto MartinMartin in 1997InfielderBorn 1966 12 10 December 10 1966 age 56 San Pedro de Macoris Dominican RepublicBatted RightThrew RightMLB debutSeptember 20 1993 for the Chicago White SoxLast MLB appearanceMay 4 1999 for the Toronto Blue JaysMLB statisticsBatting average 278Home runs7Runs batted in89TeamsChicago White Sox 1993 1997 Anaheim Angels 1998 Toronto Blue Jays 1999 Contents 1 Career 2 Personal life 3 References 4 External linksCareer EditThe White Sox signed him on March 27 1984 though it would be nearly a decade before he made his MLB debut Primarily a shortstop Martin worked his way up through the minors but was plagued by injuries which made him miss significant time in 1986 Entering 1991 he was ranked No 4 on the White Sox top 10 prospect list per Baseball America In 1993 Martin had a great season hitting 309 and being voted best defensive second baseman in the American Association by Baseball America Martin s MLB debut finally came Sept 20 1993 when he pinch ran for Frank Thomas and scored a run on a Robin Ventura double The first hit came Sept 28 a single off Tim Leary The next day in only his fifth MLB game and seventh MLB plate appearance he recorded his second hit a walk off single in the 12th inning giving the White Sox a 3 2 win over the Mariners He finished the season 5 for 14 357 in eight games Martin s first big league home run came on June 4 1994 a ninth inning grand slam off Jim Poole in Baltimore He s one of eight players in White Sox history whose first career MLB home run was a grand slam The 1996 season was his best In 70 games Martin hit 350 374 421 that batting average was second in the AL to Alex Rodriguez among players with at least 140 at bats Frank Thomas was third with 349 In addition Paco remains one of four players in White Sox history to hit 350 and steal 10 bases in a season Martin went on to play with the Angels and played a career high 79 games but he wasn t the same player hitting only 215 He played nine games for the Blue Jays in 1999 in what would be the end of his MLB career He continued to play in the minors in addition to a stint in Mexico for a few more years After his playing career he became an instructor at the Academy of Pro Players in New Jersey where he taught for a few years He served as the hitting coach for the Helena Brewers in 2004 and from 2007 to 2008 Martin served in the same capacity for the Asheville Tourists the Class A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies from 2017 to 2019 It has been claimed by Keith Bodie that Martin was involved in a triple play in a 1986 spring training game where no one touched the ball 1 Personal life EditNorberto Martin is married to Judith Carrero with whom he has three kids Nicolle Martin Norberto Martin Jr and Michelle Martin He now resides in Raleigh North Carolina References Edit Hagerty Tim That time a team turned a triple play without touching the ball Sporting News Retrieved 18 June 2021 1 External links EditCareer statistics and player information from Baseball Reference or Baseball Reference Minors This biographical article relating to a Dominican baseball second baseman is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Remember That Guy White Sox infielder Norberto Martin RSN Retrieved 2022 07 12 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Norberto Martin amp oldid 1145064722, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
