Nick Martinez, who was ejected from Yankee Stadium in college, will return to the Bronx on Wednesday to try to send the Tampa Bay Rays to the American League Championship Series.
Martinez played for Fordham, a school just five miles from the Big Ballpark, from 2009-11. His final trip to Yankee Stadium as a student was memorable.
“Our practice got canceled, so my roommate and I went out early. They were playing the Red Sox. Probably drank too many adult beverages. Got kicked out,” he recalled in May. “It was rowdy. We were kind of rowdy. The next time I was at Yankee Stadium, I was pitching.”
Tampa Bay, looking for its first World Series title, takes a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five AL Division Series against New York. Martinez made nine appearances at Yankee Stadium, going 2-2 with a 2.93 ERA.
“As a student at Fordham, whenever we would have a break from practice or a day off and they were playing at home, we would come over, take the train to Yankee Stadium and watch the game, and we would sit in the stands with my roommate or a few friends,” the 36-year-old right-hander recalled Tuesday.
“Man, obviously playing here is going to be really bad,” Martinez remembers thinking.
He was named an All-Star for the first time this year and is 15-6 with a 3.10 ERA, including 7-3 with a 2.38 ERA and a .232 opponent batting average on the road.
“It’s cool to see a guy that’s been around for a long time have success,” Rays outfielder Jonny DeLuca said. “It’s the vibe. It’s everything he brings to the table.”
Martinez was primarily a middle infielder in college, batting .295 with four home runs and 66 RBIs. He made five relief appearances as a freshman, none as a sophomore and 10 as a junior, for a total of 26 1/3 innings.
On March 14, 2011, he pitched four three-hit innings against Charleston Southern, catching the attention of Texas Rangers scout Jay Schiffner. Schiffner was recommended to watch Martinez play by Juan Alvarez, a former major leaguer who was also a scout for the Rangers at the time and who gave Martinez some pitching lessons as a junior at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School in Kendall, Florida.
Martinez was selected by the Rangers in the 18th round of the 2011 amateur draft with the 564th overall pick and signed with a bonus of $60,000. He made his major league debut in 2014 and compiled a 17-30 record with a 4.77 ERA in 68 starts and 20 relief appearances while being selected to the minor leagues 13 times.
Not wanting to risk being assigned assignment, Martinez left and spent four seasons in Japan with the Nippon Ham Fighters and the Fukuoka SoftBank Eagles. He pitched for Team USA at the 2021 Olympics, which defeated South Korea in the group stage and allowed Munetaka Murakami’s go-ahead homer in the third inning of a 2-0 loss to Japan in the gold medal game.
“We could spend an hour talking about how Japan changed my career,” Martinez said. “I grew physically and mentally as a pitcher and was able to hone my craft. Eventually, I shed the label of being a depth player and became a guy who could go to Triple-A and DFA and bounce around the team and fill in the gaps.”
He blossomed again in the majors, compiling a 53-65 career record and a 3.99 ERA in nine major league seasons. After pitching for San Diego and Cincinnati. He joins the Rays in 2026 on a one-year deal worth $13 million.
“Cause soft contact,” manager Kevin Cash said. “We have a lot of guys and a lot of starters who strike out. We know that and he knows that’s not his bread and butter. It’s about getting guys out early and trusting the defense. He’s done that as well as anybody.”
After bouncing between the rotation and the bullpen, Martinez became the full-time starter this season.
“I always believed I could be a starter,” he said. “I’ve been happy to be one of the five or six horses that the team relies on throughout the season.”
Cash was also impressed by Martinez’s demeanor.
“He’s so sincere and real,” the manager said. “A selfless attitude. I’ve heard him look at me like this at least 20 times this year, ‘I don’t care. I’ll do anything. I’ll throw for the fences. I’ll start the game. I’ll do whatever you need me to do to help the team win.'”
Martinez returned to Fordham on September 21, and on an off day before his final game against the Yankees, he joined Rays pitchers Drew Rasmussen and Freddy Peralta in throwing long pitches to Jack Coffey Field.
“It made logistical sense to him to come to campus and throw more than he did in Central Park,” Fordham baseball coach Kevin Leighton said. “They could have relaxed, but those guys were up early in the morning after flying to New York and they were getting to work at Fordham. To me, that says a lot about these guys and their work ethic and commitment to being the best they can be.”