By KEVIN JAKAHI
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
Roman Martinez is just 27 years old, but he’s already traveled a long, taxing road, especially being from the Dominican Republic, where youthful ballplayers are mined as main exports to Major League Baseball.
The Hawaii Stars closer is 0-0 with a 2.20 ERA and two saves in 16.1 innings covering nine games. The 6-foot-3 right-hander has allowed 17 hits and five walks, and struck out 18.
The Hawaii Stars, fueled by an 11-run 8th inning, rallied past the visiting Sonoma County Grapes 17-9 on Saturday night. The Stars (16-13) and Grapes (10-19) will close their six-game series today with a 1:30 p.m. game at Wong Stadium.
Unlike most ballplayers from the Dominican Republic, Martinez — no relation to brothers Pedro and Ramon Martinez (once former pitchers for the Los Angeles Dodgers) — didn’t grow up playing baseball. Instead, he grew up working his dad’s farm, which fielded corn and tobacco.
“I started playing baseball at 15 years old,” he said. “I didn’t have time before to play baseball. I was always at the farm or in school. One day I was watching Pedro Martinez pitch and I wanted to become a baseball player.
“I went to a baseball academy, where they recruit young kids. In eight months, I signed as a pro at 16 years old. All of the MLB organizations have complexes over there. There’s a Dominican summer league. If you do good, you come to the states. I put up good numbers, and came to the states.”
Martinez was signed by the Seattle Mariners to a free-agent contract. (The Dominican Republic is not covered by the MLB draft.) He was assigned to the Arizona rookie league as an 18-year-old in 2003.
He spent six seasons in the Mariners farm system, reaching as high as Double-A in 2008. During his time in the minor leagues, Martinez stood on a 6-foot, 3-inch 160-pound frame, resembling the slender Ramon Martinez.
“In spring training, young kids would run to get my autograph, thinking I was Ramon Martinez,” said Martinez, who’s now 200 pounds. “People were always getting me confused with him.”
At the end of the 2008 season, Martinez became a free-agent. (Standard minor league contracts are six years.) He wasn’t re-signed by Seattle or picked up by another organization, and spent two years out of baseball.
By then, he married Sydney Wilson from California. They have a 2-year-old son, David, and reside in Victorville, Calif., where he coached baseball during his time off.
There were papers from the Dominican Republic that got lost in translation, and Martinez had shoulder inflammation, reasons for his two-year absence.
Last year, he signed with the Gary SouthShore, an independent team in the American Association. Martinez pitched one inning. He was also with Na Koa Ikaika Maui last season.
Then he found a home with the Hawaii Stars and comfort in Hilo, which reminds him of his old hometown, Puerto Plata, which is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and a hillside village — essentially tropical paradise.
“I like Hilo. The weather is like the Dominican Republic,” Martinez said. “The people are nice and they make me feel at home. That’s what I look for when I go to different places. Before I came here, I wanted to visit with my wife. It’s her dream to come here.
“What I enjoy is being around my teammates. They’re all really good teammates. I like the guys here, Ronnie’s family, especially. They treat me like their own son. Every day I come out here to have fun. That’s what I love to do.”
He has met the well-known Martinez brothers. Pedro Martinez is a three-time Cy Young winner, and his older brother, Ramon, pitched 13 years in the big leagues.
The question in the Dominican Republic, if you’re a baseball player, is who hasn’t met them?
Martinez knows by heart the story of the two brothers. They grew up poor in Santo Domingo, the capital and largest city in the country, but worked their way up the mountain.
When they made it to the big leagues, they gave back, building fields and buying equipment for youngsters. Ramon Martinez is currently a senior advisor in Latin America for the Dodgers.
“Ramon has a house in the Dominican and I’ve been there,” Martinez said. “One of my teammates, his dad signed Ramon and Pedro.
“I admire their hard work. People said they wouldn’t make it, especially Pedro because of his size (officially listed at 5-11), but they worked hard to make it to the big leagues. Their hard work and dedication helped make them who they are.”
Likewise, Martinez remembers the sweat equity he expended in his father Bartolo’s fields — a youth spent learning a valuable life lesson.
“My hands would be all messed up. The skin would peel,” he said. “I would go to school and then work the farm. It taught me working hard would get me where I want to be.”