Tino Martinez Career Biography and Statistics

Bio:
Although he scored over 900 runs, drove in over 1000 runs, and hit over 300 home runs in his career, Constantino “Tino" Martinez will be most remembered as one of the main cogs in the New York Yankees 1990s dynasty. Martinez was drafted in the first round of the 1990 draft by the Seattle Mariners. After several lackluster seasons, Martinez broke out in 1995 when he drove in 111 runs, hit 31 home runs and batted .293 for the division-winning Mariners. Following that season, he was traded to the Yankees to replace the revered Don Mattingly at first base. Initially greeted with skepticism by Yankee fans, Tino's solid defense and timely slugging won them over and he became one of the most popular players in Yankee history, forever remembered for two epochal World Series home runs (see Career Accomplishments, below). His best season was in 1997, when he hit 44 home runs, drove in 144 runs and placed second in the Most Valuable Player voting. After the 2001 season, the St. Louis Cardinals signed Martinez as a free agent, and again Tino found himself replacing a legendary first baseman-Mark McGwire. In 2003, the Cardinals traded him to his hometown Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Martinez struggled through his post-Yankee years, but that didn't stop the team from bringing him back for one more season, in 2005. In May of that year, he hit home runs in five consecutive games. Following the season, Martinez announced his retirement and began working as an analyst for ESPN.