Nica of the Month          
June 2003 
NicademiksPuntoCom
         

Baseball is not only the United States' national pastime, but is also the 
preferred sport of Nicaraguans everywhere. Introduced during the 1920s
by U.S. Marines occupying the Central American nation, baseball is the 
pride and joy of Nicaragua.   

Today, we are celebrating an individual who best exemplifies Nicaraguan
baseball...the man has a stadium named after him in Managua!  So, 
without further ado...congratulations Dennis Martinez, you are June's
"Nica of the Month."

Dennis "El Presidente" Martinez
 "Pinolero por gracia de Dios"      

Birthplace: Granada, Nicaragua
(not far from the Alvarado Family
on Calle Guzman)
Birthdate: May 14, 1954
Height: 6' 1" (a giant among Nicas)
Weight: 191 lbs of churrasco
Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Career Stats: 245-193 (W-L)
Teams: Baltimore Orioles,
Montreal Expos, Cleveland Indians,
Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves
MLB Debut: Sept. 14, 1976 as a
Baltimore Oriole
Favorite Restaurant: Los Ranchos

Story by Rafael Alvarado:
It was another warm afternoon, a few weeks after moving down to Miami 
last fall.  I had picked up a job at Kinko's to hold me down while I continued
my search to find a better job elsewhere.  I landed a position in their
computer department which at least allowed me access to computers, 
where I spent my off-time reading articles on slate.com. Aside from that,
I spent most of my days constantly staring at my watch to see how long 
I had until I could go home and watch the Giants breeze through the playoffs.  

Most days were uneventful.  But this one special day made my whole
experience at Kinko's worthwhile.  On this warm afternoon, Dennis Martinez
walked into Kinko's Dadeland, 8603 S Dixie Hwy Ste 101, Miami, FL 33143.
To be quite honest, I'm not the star-struck type.  I've never really under-
stood why people cry or faint when they see someone famous. But being 
a baseball guy, I knew that I was in the presence of baseball greatness.
Let me just run the numbers by you, in case you're not familiar with this 
future Hall of Famer:  245 Career wins, breaking Juan Marichal's record of 
most wins by a Latin American pitcher.  Is one of only seven pitchers in 
Major League history to have 100 wins in both the National and American 
league. 30 Shut Outs. 3.79 career ERA (.29 less than league average).  
1 Perfect Game: On July 28, 1991, he tossed the 13th perfect game in 
major league history against the Los Angeles Dodger, striking out five 
batters in the no-hitter (any Giants fan can respect that...represent!)

Well, on that particular afternoon, I helped Mr. Martinez with a project he 
was working on.  I helped him format a project using Microsoft Excel.  
Being the respectful young man I am, I let him go about his business 
without asking him for an autograph.  He thanked me for the help and 
went on his way.  When I got home 
that evening, I called my parents to 
tell them who I saw.  I knew I should 
have asked him for an autograph.  
Lucky for me, he came back again 
two days later...this time I was 
prepared.  I brought with me a disposable 
camera just in case I were to see him 
again.  He came to work on his project.  
While I was helping him, he sparked up 
a casual conversation with me and of 
course, I was more than willing to indulge.  
He could tell I knew who he was.  We 
talked about baseball of course.  I asked 
him about his favorite team, the Braves (Its okay, Giants fans)...we talked 
about Granada, the city where he and my father are both from.  And after 
he finished paying, I asked him if I could take a picture with him.  And then 
he went on his way. I wish my dad could have been with me.

Well, we are giving him respect not only because he was the first 
Nicaraguan to play Major League baseball, or because he is arguably the 
best Latin American pitcher ever, but because he is a man of integrity who 
is giving back to his community.  In 1997, he established a foundation 
under his name which is dedicated to helping underprivileged children.  
The Dennis Martinez Foundation has helped children in Nicaragua, flood 
victims in Venezuela, earthquake victims in El Salvador, as well as the 
victims of Hurricane Mitch.  Check out his website to get a better idea of
what The Dennis Martinez Foundation is about.  So congratulations 
"El Presidente", you can add this award to your long list of career 
achievements...you are June's Nicademiks.com "Nica of the Month".  


          
Stay tuned for July's Nica of the Month. Think someone deserves this 
award, email us your nomination. 
           



NOTE: Although hard investigative work has contributed to this biography, the 
above article was written for entertainment purpose only, without the explicit 
written consent  of the featured individual. Pictures courtesy of 
dennismartinezfoundation.org and nicademiks.com.  All opinions are solely 
those of Nicademiks.com, all rights reserved.

 

Jeromey
Jerome's Archive...

Pinolero
Rafa's Archive...