New Mexico Activities Association Student-Athlete Spotlight Presented by the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association The Perfect Day for Martinez By Tyler Dunkel, NMAA Sports Information Director A perfect game is defined as a game in which a pitcher tallies a victory in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach a base safely. In short in New Mexico High School baseball, “21 up, 21 down.” - Sophomore pitcher Joe Martinez of Sandia Prep accomplished one of the game’s most impossible feats in the 4A state cham pionship game against Ruidoso on May 16. Martinez threw a perfect game, striking out 15 of the 21 batters he faced and throwing 79 total pitches, 58 of which were strikes. He also had a little help from his teammates as Martinez forced three fly outs and three ground outs. At one point in the game, Martinez struck out nine straight Ruidoso batters on the way to his first career perfect game. Martinez started playing baseball at a very young age and fell in love with the game right away. “I started playing baseball when I was four years old in Little League and really it was just for fun and to keep me active. Around 13, I started in the Albuquerque Baseball Academy and that is when I started to get serious about baseball. In eighth grade I made varsity at Sandia Prep. It has been a long journey but a fun one at the same time. Baseball is a big part of my life. Both my parents’ families were into baseball and my dad played some collegiate baseball at Princeton.” Some of his best childhood memories are watching baseball on television and playing catch with his dad in the street. “When I was younger my dad and I would always watch games on TV. I can also remember going out to the street and playing catch with him for hours. It is one of my favorite memories growing up. Baseball was just something that I always had fun doing.” - Going into the 2015 season, Martinez had his eyes set on being one of Sandia Prep’s starting pitchers but when Coach Paul Huitt said he want ed to make him the team’s closer and centerfielder, to save his arm, he accepted his role. “At the beginning of the season I talked to the coaches about being one of our starting pitchers but they wanted to keep my arm healthy and save me for closing situations. I ended up really liking my role as the closer. As a closer, you get the chance to come into pressure situations in front of big crowds and I liked those opportunities. I had a lot of fun.” - Coach Huitt agreed that Martinez is a true team player and never hesitat ed to do whatever he needed to do to help his team win. “When you see Joe take the mound you can see what he is all about. Other coaches say he is a bulldog out there. He just gets up there and gets after you. He is a very competitive kid and all he wants is for his team to win and he is willing to do whatever he has to do in order to help his team win.” Before the 4A championship game, Martinez knew he would get the chance to pitch at some point but was surprised when Coach Huitt gave him the nod. “I was surprised I got the start in the championship game. Our two best pitchers Mikey (Gangwich) and Harris (McConnell) had thrown the first two games of the tournament and everyone on the team thought that it would be me but I wasn’t too sure. I wanted to throw that game but I didn’t think I would get the start. Since I’m the team’s closer I thought it might be later in the game that I would get my chance.” Martinez said that when he took the mound that day he knew something was different. He couldn’t tell exactly what it was but he knew it was going to be a special day. “When I stepped on the field and up on the mound in the state championship game I definitely could tell that something was different, I felt something special. I knew I had to go out in the first inning and strike out the side. My arm was feeling good and after that first inning I just told myself to keep throwing hard and something special will happen.” It was around the fourth inning when Martinez was aware he was throwing a perfect game but said that he tried to stay focused on the goal of winning a state championship. “I think it was around the fourth inning that I looked up on the scoreboard and realized that I hadn’t allowed a hit and then I realized that I hadn’t allowed a base runner either. It was a great feeling but I knew I couldn’t think about it too much. I still had a lot of game left and I didn’t want that to affect my performance.” He continued by saying, “The excitement was amazing after I threw the last pitch. I knew I had just thrown a perfect game, that we had just won state and finished the year 29-1. Everything we worked for rushed through my head and it was a great feeling to know we had accomplished so much. It was a great moment to share with my teammates. These guys are like brothers to me. The seniors this year have all helped me out a lot and I really wanted to play well for them. To see them run out of the dugout after the game was over is something I will remember forever.” Coach Huitt said it was something he had never seen in all his years around the game of baseball. “I’ve been around baseball a long time and have never seen a perfect game. I even called a few of my friends from the baseball community and asked if they had ever seen a perfect game and none of them had seen one either. I’m sure there has been one or two in the state of New Mexico before but I’m anxious to see if it has ever happened in a state championship game.” “As Joe went out in the first inning I could see he was in the zone,” Coach Huitt said. “The only thing I said to him was to keep hanging zeros. I wasn’t even thinking no-hitters or any of that. We were just thinking about winning a state championship. The further along the game went I knew he had a no-hitter going and a perfect game didn’t even cross my mind. It really didn’t hit me that he had a chance at a perfect game until he went down 3-0 to the leadoff batter in the top of the seven and in the back of my mind I thought let’s see if he can hang on and three strikes later he got out of the jam. It got really intense after that.” He continued, “When they announced it over the speakers at the end of the game that is when it hit me. Like I said I’ve been- around the game a long time and if I recall, there has only been 23 perfect games in the history of Major League Baseball and I was just taken aback that Joe accomplished the perfect game on that stage in front of all those fans in a big venue, with every thing on the line.” - So what type of team player is Martinez? When asked if he would give up the perfect game for a state championship, he responded by saying, “I would take winning a state championship over any accolade. Throwing a perfect game is a great ac complishment but baseball is a team sport and it can’t always be just about one guy. I would rather see my team win a state championship then throwing a perfect game any day.” Coach Huitt agreed, “All Joe wanted to do was win a state championship. He would give up the perfect game in a second. Joe is the ultimate team player.” - Most people would say that watching your son or daughter accomplish a feat like throwing a perfect game would be enough for one day but not for the Martinez family. After Martinez threw the game of his life and helped Sandia Prep win a state cham pionship, the family hustled over to the state track and field meet to watch his twin sisters, Lauren and Meaghan, compete for Eldorado High School in the pole vault. “My twin sisters Meaghan and Lauren both compete in pole vault for Eldorado High School. Two hours after I threw a perfect game and my team won state I was over at the track watching my sisters compete in the state track meet. Lauren ended up winning the event, breaking her own state record and Meaghan finished third. I was very proud of them. My sisters are great people and I look up to them. I was awesome that we were all state champions that day and to share that moment with them made it the perfect day.” - Despite being just a sophomore, Martinez has big dreams for the future and says that the number one priority is his education.