José MartÃnez (baseball, born 1942)
José MartÃnez Azcuis was a Cuban-born Major League Baseball infielder, coach, executive and scout. As a player, he appeared in 96 games during the and seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates, primarily as a second baseman. MartÃnez threw and batted right-handed and was listed as tall and.
Born in Cárdenas in Matanzas Province, he attended La Progresiva High School in his native city and signed with the Pirates in 1961. In 1969, he made his MLB debut; his 77 games played included 34 starts at second base, third on the club behind Baseball Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski and Gene Alley, the Pirates' former starting shortstop. On September 8, MartÃnez hit his only major league home run, a ninth-inning grand slam off Claude Raymond of the Montreal Expos that delivered the winning runs in a 6–2 Pittsburgh victory at Jarry Park Stadium.
Late in May 1970, MartÃnez returned to the minor leagues, where he spent the remainder of his playing career. He was acquired by the Kansas City Royals' organization in 1972, beginning a 16-year-long association with the club. He managed in the Royals' farm system from 1976–1979 and then joined the team's MLB coaching staff. Working under skippers Jim Frey, Dick Howser, Mike Ferraro, Billy Gardner and John Wathan for eight seasons, he served on the team's 1980 American League pennant winners and the 1985 world championship team. Then, in, MartÃnez joined the Chicago Cubs, reunited with Frey, then the Cubbies' general manager. He spent seven years as a member of the Cubs' coaching staff, working for four different managers.
In 1995, John Schuerholz, who had been farm system director and then general manager of the Royals during MartÃnez' tenure in Kansas City, brought MartÃnez to the Atlanta Braves' front office as his special assistant, and MartÃnez worked for the Braves for 20 years until his death on October 1, 2014.
