Trading Maroon For Red, White and Blue: Nick Martinez Represents Team USA in Tokyo Olympics
The former Fordham pitcher was selected to pitch on the final roster of the US national baseball team
COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS
Nick Martinez, formerly a pitcher on Fordham’s baseball team, is now on the USA Olympic baseball team.
August 3, 2021
“If you’re good, someone’s going to find you, and you’re going to get your shot,” Nick Martinez, formerly Gabelli School of Business at Rose Hill (GSBRH) ’11, noted in a 2015 interview with The New York Times.
Martinez, the former Ram and current pitcher for Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), seized his opportunity and was one of 24 players named to the USA Baseball’s Olympic roster.
Olympic baseball presents a unique set of circumstances as the major leagues play their regular seasons during the summer. This overlap forces talented and popular players to choose between representing their team (as many are contractually obligated to do) or their country.
The absence of star players presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a number of players to represent their country on the global stage.
During his time at Fordham, Martinez pitched just 26.1 innings, which is not only fewer innings than he played at other positions, but fewer than a player being scouted by major league teams would normally pitch. Martinez mostly played the infield and found success at the plate throughout his collegiate career, slashing a .295 batting average and .381 on-base percentage.
More shockingly, Martinez did not necessarily stand out during his limited time on the mound. His career earned run average (ERA) at Fordham was 5.47, below average by just about every standard. An improved 2.75 ERA in his junior year, however, showed enough promise for the Texas Rangers to take a chance on him. He was drafted in the 18th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft as a pitcher.
“I just always had it in my mind that I was going to play professionally,” Martinez told The New York Times.
Many Fordham players have been drafted. Very few, however, have broken into the major leagues. Martinez stands out because he is one of just four former Rams to earn major league experience in the 21st century.
Pitching for the RoughRiders, Martinez maintained a 1.86 ERA and performed well enough to get called up to the Rangers at the age of 23.
After being drafted, Martinez built on his success from his junior year in the minor leagues. His ERA remained low and he began the process of stretching from a relief pitcher to a starting pitcher. By 2014, he was pitching at the AA level for the Frisco RoughRiders. Pitching for the RoughRiders, Martinez maintained a 1.86 ERA and performed well enough to get called up to the Rangers at the age of 23.
For the next four seasons, Martinez bounced between the major and minor leagues. During that span, he pitched 415.1 innings, started 68 games and finished with an ERA of 4.77. Martinez ultimately concluded his major league career above replacement level, meaning he played better than the average replacement pitcher would in the same scenarios he faced.
After the 2017-18 season, Martinez transitioned to the NPB, Japan’s highest professional baseball league. Since joining the NPB, Martinez earned an ERA of 3.67 and has improved each season since he entered the league. Had he reached the innings minimum in 2020, Martinez would have finished the season with the eighth-lowest ERA in the league.
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Martinez’s success overseas piqued the interest of USA Baseball. He was invited to join the team and ultimately made the cut for the Olympics.
The team’s roster is composed of players from a plethora of backgrounds with varying degrees of experience. There are MLB veterans and former all-stars such as journeyman Edwin Jackson, former Home Run Derby champion Todd Frazier and veteran David Robertson. There are also high-ranking prospects in major league organizations such as Shane Baz, Matthew Liberatore and Simeon Woods-Richardson.
The rest of the roster is made up of international players, like Martinez, and other lesser-known prospects. This results in an interesting team dynamic consisting of players with many different backgrounds.
Martinez now has a chance to compete for the U.S. national baseball team’s second Olympic gold medal, with their first coming in 2000 at the Sydney Olympics.
Martinez, with his breadth of experience and success at almost every level professional baseball has to offer, now has a chance to compete for the U.S. national baseball team’s second Olympic gold medal, with their first coming in 2000 at the Sydney Olympics.
Team USA dominated Team Israel in their opening game on Friday, July 30, and continued its success in pool play against Team South Korea on July 31, but lost to Japan on August 2.
Martinez is joined in the Olympic Village by former Ram Fiona Murtagh, Fordham College at Rose Hill ’16, representing Ireland as a rower, and incoming first-year Alexander Gadegaard Shah, representing Nepal as a swimmer. Murtagh earned a bronze medal for Team Ireland in the coxless four rowing event.
