Starling Marte
Dominican baseball player (born 1988) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Starling Javier Marte (born October 9, 1988) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Arizona Diamondbacks, Miami Marlins, and Oakland Athletics. He made his MLB debut in 2012 with the Pirates. Marte is a two-time MLB All-Star and a two-time Gold Glove Award winner. In 2021, he led the major leagues with 47 stolen bases. He is the active leader in stolen bases and triples with 354 and 55, respectively.
| Starling Marte | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Marte with the Mets in 2024 | |
| New York Mets – No. 6 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: October 9, 1988 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 26, 2012, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| MLB statistics (through April 23, 2025) | |
| Batting average | .285 |
| Hits | 1,568 |
| Home runs | 155 |
| Runs batted in | 640 |
| Stolen bases | 356 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Early life
Marte grew up on the outskirts of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic.[1] After his mother's death when he was nine, his grandmother raised him.[2]
Career
Summarize
Perspective
Pittsburgh Pirates
Minor leagues
He signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2007 and was primarily a center fielder during his time in the minors.[1] In 2010, Marte played 60 games for the Pirates' Class A affiliate, the Bradenton Marauders, ending with a batting average of .315. He hit 16 doubles and five triples that season while also stealing 22 bases.[3] Marte represented the Pittsburgh Pirates at the 2011 All-Star Futures Game.[4] In 2011, while playing for the Altoona Curve, Marte was an Eastern League Mid-Season All-Star[5] and Post-Season All-Star, a Baseball America Double-A All-Star,[6] a Topps Double-A All-Star,[7] and a Milb.com organization All-Star.[8] On August 15, 2011, Marte was named the EL's player of the week.[9] Marte also won the Eastern League Batting Title with a .332 batting average[10] and was named the Eastern League Rookie of the Year.[11] Marte was added to the Pirates 40-man roster on November 18, 2011.[12]
Marte was ranked number 73 on Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects list in February 2012[13] and number 56 on Baseball Prospectus's Top 101 Prospect list in February 2012.[14] In 2012, while playing for the Indianapolis Indians, Marte was named an International League Mid-Season All-Star.[15] On July 2, 2012, Marte was named the International League player of the week.[16]
2012
On July 26, 2012, the Pirates promoted Marte from Indianapolis Indians,[17] becoming the first graduate of the Pirates' Latin American complex, located in the Dominican Republic, to reach the major leagues.[1] He hit a home run on the first pitch he faced in his major league career, off Houston Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel.[18] The hit made Marte the third player in Pirates' franchise history to homer in his first at-bat and the first to do it since Don Leppert in 1961. He also became the first Pirate to homer on the first pitch of his major league career since Walter Mueller did so in 1922.[19]
2013
On June 25, 2013, Marte hit two home runs off of Jeff Locke in a 9–4 victory over the Seattle Mariners, marking the first multi-home run game of his career.[20] Marte made his postseason debut on October 1, 2013, going 2–5 with a double and a run scored during the NL Wild Card Game against the Cincinnati Reds.[21] He hit the first postseason home run of his career on October 4, during Game 2 of the NL Division Series, off of Shelby Miller of the St. Louis Cardinals.[22]
2014
Marte and the Pirates finalized a 6-year, $31 million deal on March 28, 2014.[23][24] On August 18, 2014, Marte had his second career multi-homer game in a 7–3 loss to the Atlanta Braves.
2015
He won his first career Rawlings Gold Glove Award as the best defensive left fielder in the National League in November of 2015.[25]
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2016
Marte won his second career Gold Glove Award in 2016.[26]
2017
On April 18, 2017, Marte was suspended 80 games without pay due to the use of Nandrolone, a type of performance-enhancing drug that violates the MLB's drug agreement. He was also deemed ineligible to play in post-season competition, though the Pirates failed to qualify.[27] Marte issued a statement afterwards,[28] reading: "I have been informed that I have tested positive in one of the tests that are regularly done in my job. In this very difficult moment, I apologize to my family, my fans, and baseball in general. Neglect and lack of knowledge have led me to this mistake with the high price to pay of being away from the field that I enjoy and love so much. With much embarrassment and helplessness, I ask for forgiveness for unintentionally disrespecting so many people who have trusted in my work and have supported me so much. I promise to learn the lesson that this ordeal has left me. God bless you."
He was activated on July 18, 2017.[29] In 2017, he batted .275 with 21 stolen bases.[30]
2018
In 2018, Marte batted .277 with 33 stolen bases.[30] He and Jean Segura were the only two MLB players to have stolen 20 or more bases each season since 2013.[31]
2019
On July 13, 2019, in a game against the Chicago Cubs, Marte hit the 99th and 100th home runs of his career, two solo shots off of Jon Lester in the sixth and Randy Rosario in the eighth.[32][33] He became the second player in Pirates franchise history to hit 100 home runs and steal 200 bases, second only to Barry Bonds, who recorded 176 homers and 251 steals with the team.[34] Through 132 games in 2019, Marte hit .295 and set career-highs with 23 home runs and 82 RBI.[30] However, on defense, he had a -11 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) rating, the lowest in the major leagues among center fielders.[35]
Arizona Diamondbacks
2020
On January 27, 2020, the Pirates traded Marte and cash considerations to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for infielder Liover Peguero, pitcher Brennan Malone, and international bonus pool signing money.[36]
Miami Marlins
On August 31, 2020, the Diamondbacks traded Marte to the Miami Marlins for Caleb Smith, Humberto Mejía and Julio Frias.[37] Between the Diamondbacks and Marlins, Marte slashed .281/.340/.430 with 6 home runs, 27 RBI, and 10 stolen bases in 61 games during the shortened 60-game season.[38]
2021
Marte was placed on the injured list on April 20, 2021, with a fractured rib. A month later he would enter his rehab assignment with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp and return to the Marlins on May 28. Marte was named NL Player of the Week for June 7 – 13, the first Marlins player since 2017. In seven games that week he batted .500 (14 for 28), two home runs, one double, five RBIs, and a 1.298 OPS. He also stole four bases without being caught.[39]
On July 18, Marte rejected a $30 million extension offer from the Marlins.[40]
Oakland Athletics
On July 28, 2021, the Marlins traded Marte along with cash considerations to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Jesús Luzardo.[41] In 56 games, Marte batted .312/.355/.462 with 25 stolen bases for Oakland in 2021. Between Miami and Oakland, Marte stole an MLB-leading 47 bases in 2021.
New York Mets
On November 30, 2021, Marte signed a four-year contract with the New York Mets worth $78 million.[42]
2022
After hitting to a .291 average with an .881 OPS during the first half of the 2022 season, Marte was selected to play in the All-Star Game for the second time in his career.[43] Despite suffering from a groin injury throughout the year, Marte hit .292 with 76 runs scored, 63 RBI, and 16 home runs across 118 games.[30]
2023
After double groin surgery in November, Marte's injuries persisted into 2023. He missed games in April with a neck strain, was placed on the IL in July and August due to migraines, and finished the season early after suffering another groin injury.[44] Across 86 games in 2023, Marte hit .248 with 38 runs scored, 28 RBI, and 5 home runs.[30]
2024
Marte returned to the team and hit the first home run of the Mets 2024 season on Opening Day, March 29, against the Milwaukee Brewers.[45] On April 6, Marte recorded the 1,500th hit of his career, a first inning single, off of Miles Mikolas of the St. Louis Cardinals.[46] On April 17, he recorded the 150th home run of his career, a two run shot off of Bailey Falter of Marte's former team, the Pittsburgh Pirates.[33] Marte missed two months of the season due to a bone bruise in his right knee, and he did not return to the team until August 18.[47] Across 94 games in 2024, Marte hit .269 with 46 runs scored, 40 RBI, and 7 home runs.[30]
On October 3, in Game 3 the 2024 National League Wild Card Series, Marte hit a two-out RBI single in the ninth inning off of Devin Williams to insure the win 4–2 and clinch the series victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.[48] On October 18, Game 5 of the National League Championship, Marte had the best postseason game of his career, as he hit three doubles to cash in 3 RBI on four hits, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 12–6.[49] During the 2024 Postseason, Marte hit .277 with 4 runs and 9 RBI across 13 games.[30]
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Personal life
Marte has three children, sons Starling Jr. and Smerling and daughter Tiana, with his late wife, Noelia Brazoban. In May 2020, Brazoban suffered a heart attack and died while in the hospital awaiting surgery on a broken ankle.[50]
Marte's mother died when he was nine years old. Starling was then raised by his grandmother, whom died in May 2022. Upon his return to the Mets after being placed on the bereavement list, Marte hit a home run on the first pitch he faced from Colorado Rockies starter Germán Márquez, dedicating his hit to his "loved ones up in heaven."[51]
In August 2023, Marte got engaged to Elianny Santana. They married in the Dominican Republic in December of that year.[52]
See also
References
External links
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