So, who is the man that is called the "Bam-Tino?"

Constantino "Tino" Martinez (born December 7, 1967 in Tampa, Florida) is a retired first baseman in Major League Baseball. Martinez was the 1st round draft pick for the Seattle Mariners in 1988 out of the University of Tampa where he starred during his time on campus. He began his Major League career in 1990 and has played for the Mariners, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and rejoined the Yankees in the 2005 season. During his career, he has scored over 900 runs, driven in 1271 runs, and hit 339 home runs. He has had 100 RBIs in six seasons and has been on the All-Star team twice.

Playing career


The Seattle Mariners drafted Martinez in 1988. Martinez began his career playing under Lou Pinella who was a friend of his father. He had several mediocre seasons, but broke out in 1995 when he drove in 111 runs, hit 31 home runs and batted .293. The Mariners clinched the AL West and went on to play in the first season of divisional post season play against the New York Yankees. The franchise's future in Seattle had been in question due to poor attendance, but the Mariners' win against the Yankees in Game 5 changed many minds and gave enough momentum to keep the team in place. Martinez's performance in the 1995 ALDS was key to the Mariners' win.


Following that season, he was acquired in a trade by the New York Yankees to replace Yankee legendary first baseman and team Captain Don Mattingly. The Yankee years are regarding by many fans of not only the Yankees, but of baseball, as the finest years of Tino's career. He put up impressive numbers in addition to career highs and won 4 World Series rings with the Yankees in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000. He also won the 1997 Home Run Derby during the All Star Game festivities at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio.

Tino's arrival in New York wasn't as easy as the end was. He was traded from Seattle to New York in order to replace the big shoes of another Yankee legend, team captain Don Mattingly. Tino himself has admitted in interviews during the first few months of the 1996 season he was pressing too much during at bats, wanting the fans of New York to accept him. The acceptance of the tough New York fan base was cemented with Tino's play in the batter's box and his numerous diving stops and eye dropping plays at the first base position.

Martinez hit two memorable home runs as a Yankee in the World Series. The first came off Mark Langston in Game 1 of the 1998 Series. The Yankees had tied the game earlier in the inning with a Chuck Knoblauch 3-run home run. The following three batters got on base, and Martinez came to the plate. After taking a very close ball 3, he hit a grand slam into the upper deck on a 3-2 count, giving the Yankees a four run lead. The second came on October 31, 2001. With two outs in the 9th inning and the Yankees trailing by two runs, Martinez came to the plate with a runner on. He hit a home run to right center off Arizona Diamondbacks closer Byung-Hyun Kim. The feat was repeated the following night by Scott Brosius. However, the Yankees would lose Games 6 and 7 and thus, the series.

His best season statistically came in 1997, when he was second in the American League in home runs and RBI (with 44 and 141 respectively), and finished second in AL Most Valuable Player voting. In 1998, he was hit in the upper back by Orioles pitcher Armando Benitez, which resulted in a huge brawl between the two teams. The 2001 World Series was the end of the Yankees dynasty that Martinez had been a part of when Martinez's best friend Luis Gonzalez hit a game winning single off Yankee closer Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the 9th inning of Game 7 in Arizona. Gonzalez later recalled that when he went back home to check his answering machine, the first message of congratulations was from Martinez.


After the 2001 season when the Yankees elected to sign Jason Giambi, Martinez went on to play for the St. Louis Cardinals for two seasons, once again replacing an aging legendary first baseman, this time being Mark McGwire. His production during these three years declined, and he went through several prolonged slumps.

One of his most memorable moments during this tenure with the Cardinals came when he returned to Yankee Stadium during Interleague play. An emotional Martinez was driven to tears when he went to bat as he was given a standing ovation by the Yankee fans who appreciated the integral part he played during the team's last dynastic run. In the second game of the three game series, Martinez hit 2 home runs off former teammate Andy Pettitte to a loud thunderous ovation both times. The Yankee fans cheered him for a curtain call, a rare occurrence in honor of a visiting team's player.

The Cardinals eventually traded Martinez to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays when they decided to have Albert Pujols switch from left field to first base.


Martinez eventually returned to his hometown with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2004 where he was reunited with Lou Pinella. Martinez hit 23 home runs while serving as a mentor for the team's many young players. His family lived just minutes from the Tropicana Field and he was popular with the Devil Rays fans.


Martinez returned for a second tour of duty with the Yankees for the 2005 season. Yankee fans were immediatly energized on Opening Day 2005 when Tino entered the game as a late innings defensive replacement. A hard liner was driven down the first base line, and naturally, Tino looked like the Tino of old, snagged the ball, and made the play. From May 7, 2005 to May 11, 2005, Martinez hit 5 home runs in 5 straight games, which is one more than his previous record set from June 27, 2001 to July 1, 2001. While held homerless on May 12, 2005, Tino hit two homers on May 15 to give him 8 HR in 8 games. On November 8, 2005, the Yankees declined their $3 million option on Martinez, making him a free agent. On Wednesday February 15, 2006 he officially decided to end his playing career. Martinez confirmed the decision in the St. Petersburg Times, telling the paper that he will begin his broadcasting career at ESPN. Martinez said that the offer from ESPN made his decision to retire a lot easier, as he would work on Baseball Tonight, do some radio work, and broadcast a few games. In his 16-year Major League career, Martinez hit .271 with 339 home runs and 1,271 RBIs. During his seven years with the Yankees, he hit 192 home runs and drove in 739 runs.




In 2008, Martinez agreed to be a special instructor for the Yankees to help their first basemen with defensive skills.  After Spring Training, he was named Special Assistant to the General Manager. The premiere of Yankeeography: Tino Martinez appeared in early May 2006, on the YES Network. On April 2, 2007, Martinez received the 2007 Pride of The Yankees Award at the New York Yankees Homecoming Banquet. Tino also participates annually in a cystic fibrosis golf tournament in Tampa.