J.D. Martinez (2014) - Hall of Fame - Nova Southeastern University Athletics

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J.D. Martinez

Class

2009
Induction

2014
Sport(s)

Baseball

J.D. Martinez is considered a trailblazer for future Shark baseball players, after becoming the first NSU player to reach the Major League level. While at NSU, Martinez posted offensive numbers that rewrote the record books. He is currently the program's all-time career home run leader with 32, ranks second in career batting average .(394), ranks third in career RBI with 142, and ranks fourth with a career slugging percentage of .691. In 2009, he posted a .428 batting average, 15 home runs and a program-record 73 runs scored. That year, he also earned Rawlings/ABCA All-American honors, was recognized for the second straight year on both the All-Sunshine State Conference Team and the All-South Region team selected by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

Following his junior year, he was selected in the 20th round of the 2009 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros. In 2010, he was tabbed as the organization's Minor League Player of the Year after hitting .340 with 13 home runs during the 2011 season with Double-A Corpus Christi. Martinez made his Major League debut for the Astros on July 29, 2012 after only two seasons playing in the minor leagues. He took to the majors quickly, as he led the Astros in RBI during his first month in the big leagues. Following spring training in 2014, Martinez signed with the Detroit Tigers where he continues to flourish at professional baseball's highest level.

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