Buck Martinez | |||
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Martinez in 2009
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Catcher / Manager | |||
Born: Redding, California |
November 7, 1948 |||
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MLB debut | |||
June 18, 1969, for the Kansas City Royals | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
October 3, 1986, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .225 | ||
Home runs | 58 | ||
Runs batted in | 321 | ||
Games managed | 215 | ||
Win–loss record | 100–115 | ||
Winning % | .465 | ||
Teams | |||
As player
As manager |
As player
As manager
John Albert "Buck" Martinez (born November 7, 1948) is an American former professional baseball catcher and manager, and is currently the television play-by-play announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays. He played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Kansas City Royals, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Toronto Blue Jays. Since the end of his playing career, he has been a broadcaster, working on the Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles radio and television broadcasts, and nationally for TBS.
Martinez managed the Toronto Blue Jays from 2001 to May 2002 and Team USA at the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006. He attended Elk Grove High School, Sacramento City College, Sacramento State University, and Southwest Missouri State University.
Martinez made his major league debut in 1969, playing 72 games with the Kansas City Royals. He is mentioned in Jim Bouton's 1970 bestseller Ball Four as John Martinez, a player Bouton and his Seattle teammates know little about. During a meeting, as Bouton's team is devising strategies to effectively pitch to their opponents, manager Joe Schultz lacks any concrete suggestions about the rookie Martinez, and famously advises that they just "zitz" him.