(Photo: Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants)
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Former New Orleans Privateer baseball student-athlete, J.P. Martinez was recently promoted to pitching coach of the San Francisco Giants organization. Martinez has been with the Giants organization for four seasons.
Martinez joined the club during the offseason ahead of 2021. This past season, the Giants ranked eighth in the Majors in strikeouts per nine innings. The team also ranked in the top ten in the league in fielding independent pitching. In his four total seasons, the Giants have the fourth lowest ERA in the National League in that span.
After spending two years with the Privateers (2003-04), Martinez went on to become a ninth-round pick in the MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins. He played five years professionally and had a career ERA of 3.36 in the Minors with 357 strikeouts in 340 innings. He had 20 saves and a 1.82 ERA while playing for Class-A Beloit in 2005.
“Transferring to UNO from LSU was one of the biggest decisions of my life and ended up being one of the best I made for myself,” said Martinez. “Playing for Coach Bush & Coach Bonura was the best possible situation for me to prepare for a career and life in professional baseball. I look back on those two years I spent as instrumental in my education as a coach.”
As a Privateer, Martinez appeared in 44 games. His first year, Martinez was mostly used out of the bullpen with 25 appearances (23 in relief). He pitched to a 3.64 ERA and struck out 78 batters in 69.1 innings of work.
Martinez then became mostly a starter the next year with 14 starts and five relief appearances. He went 7-3 and threw 100.1 innings that year. Martinez struck out 110 batters in his final year with the Privateers. Both seasons, he played under Randy Bush who also played at New Orleans and was part of two World Series winning teams as a player with the Twins in 1987 and 1991.
“I was thrilled to represent the city I grew up in – where my grandfather and parents all graduated from and where my younger brother played for Coach Maestri and Coach Dean,” said Martinez. “I’m so proud to be promoted to pitching coach of the Giants and it all started at UNO.”
J.P.’s younger brother, Daniel also played at the University of New Orleans for four years from 2013-16 and was the team’s closer in his senior year while accruing 12 saves and pitching to a 2.75 ERA.
“I’m really thrilled,” said Randy Bush who coached Martinez in college. “I’ve kept in touch with him over the years. As a player, J.P. was always hard working and curious about how to improve as a pitcher. He carried that over into pro ball. He deserves this opportunity. Over the years he would reach out periodically when he had questions or wanted advice on how to pursue different opportunities. He’s overall a hard worker and there’s no question about that.”
In his first season as pitching coach, Martinez will be working with a mostly young rotation. Of the five returning pitchers who made at least 12 starts, the oldest is age 27.
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