1976 Topps #356 - Ted Martinez

• Ted Martinez played in parts of nine seasons from 1970-1979. He was signed by the New York Mets in 1966. Martinez was in the minors for all of the 1967-1969 season as well as most of the 1970 and 1971 seasons. Ted played in four games for the Mets late in 1970 and batted .063 in 16 at bats.

• Martinez was batting .297 for AAA Tidewater when he was brought up to the Mets in early July 1971. Ted batted .288 in 38 games for the Mets. In 1972 Martinez batted .224 in 103 games. Ted played six positions in '72 (all but pitcher, catcher, and first base).

• Ted was a utility guy for the next two years with the Mets. He batted .255 in 92 games in 1973 and was used defensively in two games in the NLCS. In 1974 Martinez batted .219 in 116 games. After the 1974 season Ted was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Jack Heidemann and Mike Vail.

• Martinez wasn't used very much by the Cardinals (.190 in 21 at bats) and was traded to the Oakland A's for a minor leaguer and Mike Barlow on May 18. He was a utility guy for the A's and batted .172 in 87 at bats. Ted was used defensively by the A's in three games in the 1975 ALCS.

• Martinez didn't play for the A's in 1976 and was released by the A's on May 7. He was signed by the Cincinnati Reds on May 30 and spent the season for the Reds' AAA Indianapolis club. After the 1976 season Martinez was drafted by the LA Dodgers in the Rule 5 draft.

• Ted spent the next three seasons with the Dodgers. His best season for the Dodgers was 1977 (.299 in 137 at bats). Ted batted .255 in 55 at bats in 1978. Martinez wasn't used by the Dodgers in the NLCS in '77 or in '78. In 1979 Martinez batted .268 in 112 at bats. He was released by the Dodgers at the end of spring training in 1980. He played for the Dodgers' AAA Albuquerque club but batted only .234 and retired after the 1980 season.

• After his playing career, Ted coached for various teams around the world and spent some time as the Dodgers' representative in Taiwan.

• Liked to face: Steve Carlton (.368 in 38 AB); Carl Morton (.348 in 23 AB); Tommy John (.348 in 23 AB)
• Hated to face: Joaquin Andujar (.071 in 14 AB); Claude Osteen (.115 in 26 AB); Bob Gibson (.118 in 17 AB)