First baseman Tino Martinez, had a sixteen-year Major League baseball career beginning with the Seattle Mariners where he played from 1990 to 1995. He was traded to the New York Yankees in 1996, where he made his mark as one of the all time Yankee greats.
      In 1996, Martinez stepped into the shoes of the much revered Yankee first baseman, Don Mattingly. In his first year with the Yankees, Martinez hit 25 home runs and drove in 117 RBI’s. His first base predecessor was the only Yankee first baseman to exceed Martinez’s RBI record when Mattingly had 145 RBI’s in 1985. Martinez also won the Home Run Derby where the top Major League hitters face off to see who can hit the most home runs. Martinez went on to help the Yankees win the 1996 World Series.
      Statistically, Martinez had his best year in 1997 when he finished second in the American League with 44 home runs and 141 RBI’s. He was runner up for 1997 Most Valuable Player. The Yankees lost a close match in the World Series in 1997.
The Yankee World Series winning streak picked up again in 1998. Martinez hit a two out grand slam home run in game one of the World Series. It was the seventeenth grand slam in World Series history, and the eighth by a Yankee player.
      The Yankees went on to win the 1998, 1999 and 2000 World Series with Martinez consistently playing an outstanding game. With four World Series wins under his belt, Martinez and the Yankees ended the winning streak in 2001.
      Martinez played for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2002 to 2004. He returned to the Yankees in 2005 and retired after one year at age 38.