21 Facts About Buck Martinez

1.

John Albert "Buck" Martinez was born on November 7,1948 and is an American former professional baseball catcher and manager, and is currently the television play-by-play announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays.

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2.

Buck Martinez played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Kansas City Royals, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Toronto Blue Jays.

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3.

Buck Martinez attended Elk Grove High School, Sacramento City College, Sacramento State University, and Southwest Missouri State University.

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4.

Buck Martinez was originally signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent before being taken by the Houston Astros in the 1968 rule 5 draft.

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5.

Buck Martinez made his major league debut in 1969, playing 72 games with the Royals.

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6.

Buck Martinez is mentioned in Jim Bouton's 1970 bestseller Ball Four as John Martinez, a player Bouton and his Seattle teammates know little about.

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7.

Buck Martinez never appeared in more than 95 games during his time with Kansas City, through 1977.

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8.

Buck Martinez was traded twice on December 8,1977 during the Winter Meetings.

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9.

Buck Martinez was first sent along with Mark Littell to the St Louis Cardinals for Al Hrabosky, then to the Milwaukee Brewers for George Frazier.

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10.

For Buck Martinez, who played in over 1,000 ML games, this game was his lone appearance in the majors as a pitcher.

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11.

Buck Martinez was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays May 10,1981 after being designated for assignment.

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12.

Buck Martinez is most remembered for his time in Toronto, where he twice hit 10 home runs and was regarded as a solid defensive catcher.

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13.

Buck Martinez's career took a bad turn when he broke his leg and severely dislocated his ankle in a home plate collision with the Seattle Mariners' Phil Bradley at the Kingdome on July 9,1985.

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14.

Buck Martinez attempted a comeback with Toronto in 1986 but retired after hitting.

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15.

From 2005 to 2009, Buck Martinez was a co-host of XM Radio's Baseball This Morning show on the MLB Home Plate channel and contributed color commentary for Sunday afternoon games and on TBS, as well as for the network's postseason coverage.

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16.

Buck 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, replacing Jamie Campbell, who now hosts the pre-game telecast.

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17.

On September 25,2014, Rogers announced Buck Martinez had signed a five-year extension to remain the play-by-play announcer for Toronto.

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18.

From 2016 to 2020, Buck Martinez participated in the MLB International broadcast of the World Series as the color analyst.

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19.

In 2000, Buck Martinez was hired as Toronto's manager after Jim Fregosi's contract was not renewed.

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20.

Buck Martinez was selected as the field manager for Team USA in the 2006 inaugural World Baseball Classic.

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21.

Buck Martinez led the superstar-laden American squad to the second round.

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