professional baseball player who in 1997 became the first Latin American pitcher to strike out 300 batters in a season (see also Sidebar: Latin Americans in Major League Baseball). Martínez began his journey to the major leagues by signing with the National League Los Angeles Dodgers in 1988 and made his major-league debut with the Dodgers in 1992. In 1993 he was traded to the Montreal Expos, and the right-handed pitcher used his blazing fastball and ability to pitch inside to compile a record of 55 wins and 33 losses over four years with the club. He won the National League Cy Young (Young, Cy) Award—the most prestigious annual award given to a pitcher—in 1997.

Martínez signed a six-year contract worth $75 million in 1997 with the Boston Red Sox, which made him the highest-paid player in baseball at the time. For 1998–2004 (he was on the disabled list for much of 2001), he had 117 wins and 37 losses, winning the American League Cy Young Award in 1999 and 2000. In 1999 Martínez led the league in victories (23), earned run average (2.07), and strikeouts (313)—known as the Triple Crown of pitching. He became a fan favourite in Boston and was a member of their 2004 World Series championship team. Martínez became a free agent after the 2004 season and signed a $53-million, four-year contract with the New York Mets. In his first season with the Mets, he compiled a 15–8 record, with a 2.82 earned run average, but injuries caused him to spend significant portions of subsequent seasons on the disabled list and limited his effectivess. Still, on September 3, 2007, Martínez became the 15th pitcher (and first Latin American) in major league history to record 3,000 strikeouts.

Martínez lived in the Dominican Republic during baseball's off-season and was actively involved in community and charity work there. This community service combined with his on-field success made him, along with Hall of Famer Juan Marichal (Marichal, Juan Antonio) and Sammy Sosa (Sosa, Sammy), one of the most popular sports figures in the Dominican Republic.