José Dennis Martínez Ortiz (born May 14, 1955), nicknamed "El Presidente" (lit. 'The President'), is a Nicaraguan former professional baseball pitcher. Martínez played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Expos, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, and Atlanta Braves from 1976 to 1998. He threw a perfect game in 1991, and was a four-time MLB All-Star. He was the first Nicaraguan to play in the majors.
Martínez was born in Granada, Nicaragua, the last of seven children to Edmundo and Emilia Martínez. The family was poor, but he helped his parents on the farm that raised food for the family. He was scouted by Ray Poitevint of the Baltimore Orioles on December 10, 1973, for $3,000 (equivalent to $21,758 in 2025). He spent three years in the minor leagues with three separate teams. He went 15–6 with the Miami Orioles in 1974 with a 2.06 earned run average (ERA). The following year, he spent time with Miami (going 12–4), Asheville (4–1), and the Rochester Red Wings (earning no decisions). He went 14–8 with the Red Wings for 1976 with a 2.50 ERA before being called up to Baltimore late in the season.
Martínez made his debut on September 14, 1976, against the Detroit Tigers at Memorial Stadium. He replaced Dave Pagan in the top of the fourth inning with the Orioles trailing 7–5. He pitched 5+2⁄3 innings while allowing no runs on four hits, one walk and five strikeouts as the Orioles rallied in the seventh to win 9–7 and give Martínez his first career win. In four games pitched with the team, he went 1–2 with a 2.60 ERA in 27+2⁄3 innings. He had 18 strikeouts and eight walks.
The following year, Martínez went 14–7 with a 4.10 ERA in 42 games (of which he started 13) in 166+2⁄3 innings, with four saves and five complete games. He had 107 strikeouts and 64 walks.
For 1978, Martínez went 16–11 with a 3.52 ERA while appearing in 40 games, having 15 complete games in 276+1⁄3 innings of work. He had 142 strikeouts and 93 walks (a career high). He faced 1,140 batters, the first of three times in his career that he would do so. He finished in the top ten for numerous categories in the American League, such as innings pitched (6th), strikeouts (9th), walks (6th), and hits (9th with 257).
The following year, he was at his peak of usage, appearing in 40 games with 39 starts while having 18 complete games and 292+1⁄3 innings of work (the latter three being career highs). He went 15–16 with a 3.66 ERA while having 132 strikeouts and 78 walks. He faced a career and league high 1,206 batters. Martínez made his postseason debut in Game 3 of the ALCS against the California Angels, pitching 8+1⁄3 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits, while striking out four, although he did not receive a decision in the 4–3 loss.
For the 1980 season, Martínez went 6–4 with a 3.97 ERA in 25 games. He had two complete games and one save in a total of 99+2⁄3 innings. He had 42 strikeouts and 44 walks. He was put into the lineup as a designated hitter on September 29, 1980, although Terry Crowley pinch-hit for him prior to batting. On the field, he had five putouts, 16 assists and one double play for a 1.000 fielding percentage.
The following year, Martínez improved. He went 14–5 with a 3.32 ERA in 25 games, having nine complete games with two shutouts in 179 innings of work. He had 88 strikeouts and 62 walks. He had 20 putouts, 44 assists, two errors, and four double plays for a .970 fielding percentage. He received votes for the Cy Young Award, finishing fifth, and the Most Valuable Player award, coming 23rd.
For the 1982 season, Martínez was selected to pitch the Opening Day game against the Kansas City Royals at Memorial Stadium on April 5, 1982. In four innings of work, he allowed four runs on six hits with two strikeouts and three walks while allowing a home run, although the Orioles rallied in the seventh to win 13–5. That year, he went 16–12 with a 4.21 ERA in 40 games. He had ten complete games in 252 innings of work, while having 111 strikeouts and 87 walks. He faced 1,093 batters, the third and last time he faced a thousand batters in a season.
The following year, he was selected for the Opening Day start once again. Facing the Royals on April 4, he allowed four runs on six hits and six innings of work, with six strikeouts and two walks as the Royals trounced the Orioles 7–2. That year, he went 7–16 with a 5.53 ERA. In 32 games and 153 innings of work, he had four complete games while having 71 strikeouts and 45 walks.
Martínez was plagued by alcoholism in the beginning of his career; he had been introduced to drinking when he was 17, with his drinking problem developing further by the time he made the majors. With the clubhouse always having beer, he drank only on road trips and not in the presence of his family. It was this problem that led Joe Altobelli to keep him off the 1983 postseason roster, although he did receive a championship ring. One night after the 1983 World Series was over, Martínez and a friend of his went drinking. On the ride home, he was cited for intoxication by a state trooper. The humiliation from the arrest, which his kids had heard about, led him to enter rehab.
Despite quitting drinking, he struggled in the seasons afterwards, going 6–9 in 1984 with a 5.02 ERA in 34 games and 141+2⁄3 innings with 77 strikeouts and 37 walks. Martínez stated that dedication to sobriety affected his focus on the field: "When I tried to play, it wasn’t the same. I wasn’t the same pitcher, not the same before I stopped drinking. And it’s true, you can’t concentrate on the game and on sobriety at the same time. You have to concentrate on one or the other." He had slight improvements in 1985, going 13–11 with a 5.15 ERA in 33 games and 180 innings of work. He allowed more hits and runs than the season before while having 68 strikeouts and 63 walks. On June 5, Martínez recorded his 100th win. Pitching against the California Angels at Memorial Stadium, he threw a complete game, allowing no runs on one hit, striking out three batters, walking one, and hitting one. In 1986, Martinez's struggles proved to be the end of his tenure in Baltimore. He had a 6.75 ERA in his four games with the Orioles, pitching 6+2⁄3 innings while having two walks and strikeouts each. On June 16, he was traded by the Orioles along with an additional player to be named later (which the Orioles did by sending John Stefero later in the year) to the Montreal Expos for a player to be named later (which the Expos did by sending Rene Gonzales). In 11 seasons in Baltimore, Martínez went 108–93 while having a 4.16 ERA in 1,775 innings with 858 strikeouts and 583 walks. He still ranks in the top ten of several categories for the Orioles, such as wins (10th), innings (9th), strikeouts (10th), walks (8th), losses (8th), and earned runs (6th). Gonzales would bat .221 in four seasons of 267 total games with the Orioles while Martínez won 100 games with the Expos.
Trade and Montreal Expos (1986–1993)
Martínez pitched in relief for his first three games before being put in as a starter in July. He lost three of his first four starts (with one no decision). Although his sluggish start did not improve with the Expos, he went 3–6 with a 4.59 ERA in 19 appearances, with a complete game and a save in 98 innings of work. He had 63 strikeouts and 28 walks.
After the season, Martínez had a contract dispute with the Expos, who offered him half ($250,000) of what he had been earning with the Orioles. He entered free agency, but no one took an offer on him, and so he re–signed with the Expos, although he couldn't sign until May 1, which he would do for the minimum. He pitched in the minor leagues to start his comeback to the team, pitching with the Miami Marlins, a Class A independent team. He later went to the Indianapolis Indians, a AAA affiliate for the Expos, going 3–2 with a 4.46 ERA, but he was called back up to the Expos in June. Martínez went 11–4 with a 3.30 ERA in 22 games, pitching 144+2⁄3 innings while having 84 strikeouts and 40 walks.