Orioles Outfielder, First From His Country to Reach MLB, Dies at 59
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Chito Martinez, the first native of Belize to reach Major League Baseball, died on Sunday, according to a post on Twitter/X by his son Dalton. He was 59.
"We desperately need help in this time," Dalton wrote. "My father was one of the best men. Taught the game of baseball the right way. Taught young men how to be better. His presence in my life can never be replaced. As I pick up the pieces to my life, please consider helping."
Sunday night on Easter, my dad was taken away off this earth unexpectedly. We desperately need help in this time. My father was one of the best men. Taught the game of baseball the right way. Taught young men how to be better. His presence in my life can never be replaced. As I… — Dalton Martinez (@DaltonMartinez5) April 22, 2025
According to CrescentCitySports.com, Martinez died in Lake Cormorant, Miss., as a result of a heart attack.
Martinez played 158 games with Baltimore from 1991-93, hitting 18 home runs, driving in 58, and finishing his career with a .259/.330/.445 slash line.
We mourn the passing of former Orioles outfielder Chito Martinez, the only native of Belize to play in the majors. pic.twitter.com/n4pE7dw2Nb — Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) April 22, 2025
Martinez was born in Dec. 1965 in British Honduras, 16 years before the country currently known as Belize achieved independence from the United Kingdom.
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Martinez's family moved to New Orleans when he was 2 years old. He grew up and learned to play baseball in the United States.
Chito Martinez of the Baltimore Orioles looks on before a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox on May 13, 1991 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.
Chito Martinez of the Baltimore Orioles looks on before a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox on May 13, 1991 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore."My parents came here because there was more opportunity," he told the Baltimore Sun in 1991. "It was a better place to raise a family."
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Martinez was drafted in the sixth round of the 1984 MLB draft by the Kansas City Royals out of Brother Martin High School in New Orleans. Seven years later, he made his major league debut with the Orioles.
In 1992, Martinez unwittingly made a cameo in an episode of Seinfeld, when a clip of him hitting a foul ball in a game against the New York Yankees is immediately followed by Michael Richards' "Kramer" character being hit in the head by the baseball.
Martinez spent the 1994 season with the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees and the following year with the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies before retiring as a player.
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Martinez's son, Drew, played Division I baseball and was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the 10th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. He is currently the fundamentals coach for the Eugene Emeralds, a San Francisco Giants minor league affiliate. Dalton Martinez is the head baseball coach at Alexander High School in Smyrna, Georgia.
According to CrescentCitySports.com, Martinez is survived by his wife, Millie, and three children (sons Drew and Dalton, and daughter Emliy), along with his mother, Ola Varela, and her husband, Larry Thomas, along with sister Anna Martinez Tomes.
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Martinez's high school coach, Barry Hebert, told CrescentCitySports.com that Martinez would often return to his alma mater to speak to the current players on the team.
"He would come back to school and talk to our kids and his knowledge was amazing," Hebert said. "We have his jersey and playing cards in our trophy case. He came out of his shell and talked a lot and shared so much wisdom. He was always the same, a consistent person and player. We will truly miss him."
For more MLB news, visit Newsweek Sports.
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