| Buck Martinez | |
|---|---|
 Martinez in 2009 | |
| Catcher /Manager | |
| Born: (1948-11-07)November 7, 1948 (age 77) Redding, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 18, 1969, for the Kansas City Royals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 3, 1986, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .225 |
| Home runs | 58 |
| Runs batted in | 321 |
| Managerial record | 100–115 |
| Winning % | .465 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| |
John Albert "Buck"Martinez (born November 7, 1948) is an American former professionalbaseballcatcher andmanager, and was the televisioncolor commentator for theToronto Blue Jays until his retirement in 2026. He played 17 seasons inMajor League Baseball (MLB) with theKansas City Royals, theMilwaukee Brewers, and theToronto Blue Jays.[1] Since the end of his playing career, he has been a broadcaster, working on the Blue Jays andBaltimore Orioles radio and television broadcasts, and nationally forTBS andMLB Network. Martinez managed theToronto Blue Jays from 2001 to May 2002 andTeam USA at the inauguralWorld Baseball Classic in 2006.[2]
Martinez attendedElk Grove High School,Sacramento City College,Sacramento State University, andSouthwest Missouri State University.[1] He was originally signed by thePhiladelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent before being taken by theHouston Astros in the 1968Rule 5 draft.[1] On December 16, 1968, the Astros traded Martinez to theKansas City Royals alongside Mike Sinnerud and Tommy Smith in exchange for Johnny Jones.[3]
Martinez made his major league debut on June 18, 1969, against theOakland Athletics. He pinch-hit forEllie Rodríguez in the ninth inning, and hit a flyout for the game's final out.[4] He played in 72 games with the Royals that season, batting .229 with four home runs and 23 RBI.[1] He is mentioned inJim Bouton's 1970 bestsellerBall Four as John Martinez, a player Bouton and his Seattle teammates know little about. During a meeting, as Bouton's team is devising strategies to effectively pitch to their opponents, managerJoe Schultz lacks any concrete suggestions about the rookie Martinez, and famously advises that they just "zitz" him.[5]
Over the next few years, however, Martinez developed the reputation of being an offensive liability. He never appeared in more than 95 games during his time with Kansas City, through 1977. In the1976 American League Championship Series, Martinez hit .333 with 4 RBI in five games.
He was traded twice on December 8, 1977, during theWinter Meetings. He was first sent along withMark Littell to theSt. Louis Cardinals forAl Hrabosky, then to theMilwaukee Brewers forGeorge Frazier.[6] In the midst of an 18–8 loss to Kansas City on August 29, 1979, Martinez entered the game as the Brewers' sixth pitcher of the day. As a pitcher, Martinez batted in the ninth inning, stroking an RBI single. For Martinez, who played in over 1,000 career games, this game was his lone appearance in the majors as a pitcher.[7]
Martinez was traded to theToronto Blue Jays in exchange forGil Kubski on May 10, 1981.[8] He is most remembered for his time in Toronto, where he twice hit 10home runs (in 1982 and 1983) and was regarded as a solid defensive catcher.[1] During this time, Martinez formed an effectivebattery with the Blue Jays' ace pitcherDave Stieb.
Martinez's career took a bad turn when he broke his leg and severely dislocated his ankle in a home plate collision with theSeattle Mariners'Phil Bradley at theKingdome on July 9, 1985.[9] After the collision, he still attempted to throw out the advancing runnerGorman Thomas.[9] When the throw went into left field, Thomas tried to come home.[10] However, he was tagged out by a sprawled-out Martinez, who despite having a broken leg had managed to catch the return throw fromGeorge Bell on the ground, thus completing a9–2–7–2 double play.[10]
Martinez was released by the Blue Jays on November 12, 1986, and became a free agent.[1] He was immediately summoned for a meeting with team management, and executive vice presidentPaul Beeston offered him an opportunity to be a part of the Blue Jays' television broadcast team. Martinez turned down the offer, hoping to instead continue his playing career with another organization. His wife, however, convinced him to call Beeston back and accept the job.[11]
After retiring as an active player following the 1986 season, Martinez began his broadcasting career as a color analyst for Toronto Blue Jays games in 1987.[12] Eventually, this led to a job withTSN in which he was first paired withFergie Olver.[13] When Olver was replaced byJim Hughson in 1990, Martinez remained the color analyst.[13] The pair of Hughson and Martinez also worked together on a number ofESPN telecasts, as well as onEA SportsTriple Play Baseball video game series.[14] Hughson left TSN in 1994, and was replaced byDan Shulman. Like Hughson, Shulman also frequently moonlighted on ESPN and eventually joined ESPN full-time, whereas Martinez became manager of the Blue Jays from 2001 to 2002. During his stint on ESPN, Martinez won aSports Emmy Award for his work as part of the crew for the broadcast of Cal Ripken's 2,131st consecutive game.[15]
For the 2003 to 2009 seasons, he was the color commentator forBaltimore Orioles television broadcasts, alongside play-by-play announcersJim Hunter andGary Thorne on theMid-Atlantic Sports Network.[16] From 2005 to 2009, Martinez was a co-host ofXM Radio'sBaseball This Morning show on theMLB Home Plate channel and contributed color commentary for Sunday afternoon games and onTBS, as well as for the network's postseason coverage.[17] In late April 2009, Buck substituted for the illJerry Remy as commentator for the three gameRed Sox–Rays series forNESN.[18]
Martinez returned to the Blue Jays' broadcast booth in 2010, this time as a play-by-play announcer for their sister company and exclusive broadcaster,Sportsnet, replacingJamie Campbell, who now hosts the pre-game telecast. His main broadcast partner on Sportsnet was former Blue JayPat Tabler. With Shulman's part-time return to the Blue Jays broadcast team in 2016, Martinez now splits duties between play-by-play and color analyst.[19] On September 25, 2014, Rogers announced Martinez had signed a five-year extension to remain the play-by-play announcer for Toronto.[20]
From 2016 to 2020, Martinez participated in theMLB International broadcast of theWorld Series as the color analyst.[21]
On April 17, 2022, Martinez announced he would take a leave of absence while undergoing treatment for cancer.[22] On July 26, Martinez returned to Sportsnet after the completion of his treatment.[23]
In 2023 Martinez was awarded theCanadian Baseball Hall of Fame'sJack Graney Award as a member of the media who has made significant contributions to baseball in Canada.[24]
In May 2025, Martinez stepped away from the booth again as he underwent treatment forlung cancer. He returned in August.[25]
On February 6, 2026, Martinez announced his retirement from broadcasting.[26]
In 2000, Martinez was hired as Toronto's manager afterJim Fregosi's contract was not renewed.[27] Martinez's energetic attitude was seen as the right fit for the Jays' young roster and through the first two months of the season Toronto outperformed expectations. The success, however, was short-lived as the team struggled through the remainder of the season and finished a mediocre 80–82. He was fired 53 games into the 2002 season after posting a 20–33 record.[28] At the time he was fired, the Blue Jays were on a three-game winning streak, having just swept theDetroit Tigers. He was replaced as manager byCarlos Tosca.[29]
Martinez was selected as the field manager for Team USA in the 2006 inauguralWorld Baseball Classic.[30] He led the superstar-laden American squad to the second round. While Martinez wore number 13 as both a player and a manager in the Major Leagues, he wore number 31 while managing in the WBC becauseAlex Rodriguez had already been assigned number 13.
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| TOR | 2001 | 162 | 80 | 82 | .494 | 3rd in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| TOR | 2002 | 53 | 20 | 33 | .377 | fired | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 215 | 100 | 115 | .465 | – | 0 | 0 | – | ||
Martinez and his wife Arlene have one son Casey, a 47th round pick (1,384th overall) by Toronto in the2000 Major League Baseball draft.[31][32] They reside inNew Port Richey, Florida.
Martinez has authored three books.From Worst To First: The Toronto Blue Jays in 1985 was published in 1985,The Last Out: The Toronto Blue Jays In 1986 in 1986[9] andChange Up: How to Make the Great Game of Baseball Even Better in 2016.[33]
Buck Martinez served as president of theBaseball Assistance Team from 2020[34] to 2026 when he was succeeded byEduardo Perez.[35]
Martinez's paternal grandparents emigrated to the United States from Spain.[36] He is a member of theKaruk Tribe ofnorthern California. His mother, Shirley, was born and raised inHappy Camp, where the Karuk Tribe is centered.[37][38] He was inducted to theHispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame in 2012.[39]
In April 2022, Martinez was diagnosed with head and neckcancer.[40][41] He completed his cancer treatment in June 2022.[41] In May 2025, Martinez underwent treatment for lung cancer.[25]
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