Richie Martin
Richard Allen Martin (born December 22, 1994) is an American professional baseball shortstop in the Baltimore Orioles organization. He attended the University of Florida and played college baseball for the Florida Gators before the Oakland Athletics selected him in the 2015 MLB draft. Early life and college. Martin was born in Detroit, Michigan and lived there until his family relocated to the suburbs of Tampa, Florida after his father, a school teacher, retired. Martin attended Bloomingdale High School in Valrico, Florida. As a senior, he hit .438. Martin committed to enroll at the University of Florida to play  college baseball for the Florida Gators baseball team. Martin led the Gators in at bats (249), stolen bases (18) and runs scored (49) while batting .265 as a sophomore in 2014. Following the end of the season, Martin returned to the Cape Cod League and played for the Bourne Braves, where he hit .364, the highest average in Braves history and second in the league, while leading the league with 59 hits and 36 runs scored and was selected to play in the league's All-Star Game. In 2015, Martin was named to the preseason Golden Spikes Award watch  list. He finished the season with a .291 batting average and set career highs with 77 hits, 63 runs scored, 36 runs batted in (RBIs), and 20 stolen bases. He was a finalist for the Brooks Wallace Award. In three collegiate seasons, Martin recorded a career batting average of .284 with 193 hits, 136 runs scored, 81 RBIs, 45 stolen bases, 27 doubles, seven home runs and seven triples in 176 games played. He studied civil engineering while at Florida and was named Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll all three seasons. Professional career. Oakland Athletics. In the 2015 Major League  Baseball Draft, the Oakland Athletics selected Martin in the first round, with the 20th overall selection. Martin signed with the Athletics. Martin spent 2015 playing for the Vermont Lake Monsters of the New York-Penn League. He finished 2015 batting .237 with two home runs and 16 RBIs in 51 games. Martin spent the 2016 season with both the Stockton Ports and the Midland RockHounds, posting a combined a .235 batting average with three home runs, 38 RBIs and 14 stolen bases in 91 total games between the two teams. In 2017, he played for both Midland and the Stockton  Ports, batting .234 with four home runs and 33 RBIs in 109 total games, and in 2018, he played with Midland, slashing .300/.368/.439 with six home runs, 42 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases in 118 games. Baltimore Orioles. The Baltimore Orioles selected Martin with the first selection in the 2018 Rule 5 draft. Martin made the Orioles' Opening Day roster and made his major league debut on Opening Day against the New York Yankees. Martin recorded his first Major League hit, a single off James Paxton, and his first career stolen base on March 30, 2019. He hit his first  career home run on May 22, 2019, off CC Sabathia in a 7-5 loss to the Yankees. Martin finished his rookie season with a .208 batting average with six home runs, 29 runs, 23 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 120 games played, including 90 starts at shortstop (3rd most by a rookie in Orioles history). Martin underwent wrist surgery on July 15, 2020, putting him out for two to three months and ending his 2020 season. In late January 2021, Martin suffered a broken hamate bone in his left hand while working out and required surgery. On May  19, 2021, it was announced that Martin suffered a non-displaced fracture in the radius bone of his left wrist, putting him out for eight to twelve weeks. He was placed on the 60-day injured list on May 31. On August 2, Martin was activated from the injured list and added to the major league roster. On November 30, 2021, the Baltimore Orioles outrighted Martin off of the 40-man roster and assigned him to the Norfolk Tides. Personal. Martin's maternal grandfather, Walter Lewis Thomas, played professional baseball in the Negro leagues and was a teammate of Satchel  Paige and Jackie Robinson as a member of the Kansas City Monarchs.