On Sunday night, Alberth Martinez hit a solo home run to become the franchise home run leader in the history of the Navegantes del Magallanes. For Martinez, it was the 57th home run of his career in Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional. Martinez went 4-5 on the night, scoring three runs and driving in two RBIs.
Martinez, 33, was born in San Felix, Venezuela, and was formerly a member of the San Diego Padres from 2010-2017. He has been a member of the Navegantes del Magallanes since the 2011-2012 season. While not playing in Venezuela, he spent 2018-19 in the Canadian-American Association (now American Association). Since 2021, he has played in Liga Mexicana de Beisbol (LMB), most recently with the Caliente de Durango and the Bravos de Leon. Between both teams in LMB, Martinez hit seven home runs, driving in 46 RBIs, while hitting for a .250 average.
This season with the Magallanes, Martinez has played 37 games so far, hitting for a .295 average with five home runs and 23 RBIs. He’s mainly played left field this season, registering 31 games in the outfield thus far. With Martinez’s 57th home run of his Venezuelan career, he surpassed former MLB outfielder Richard Hidalgo, who played with the Magallanes after his MLB career ended, from 2006-2012.
It will be fascinating to see how many home runs Martinez finishes with this winter. He hopes to bring the Navegantes del Magallanes to the Caribbean Series in February.
