Renie Martin

Right-handed pitcher Renie (pronounced REE-nee) Martin spent 10 years in professional baseball, including all or parts of six seasons (1979-1984) with the Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, and Philadelphia Phillies. In 1980, he was an early-season hero for the Royals’ first American League pennant-winning team, earning victories in six of his first seven starts as the club vaulted from fourth place to the top of the AL West to stay.

Donald Renie Martin was born on August 30, 1955, in Dover, Delaware. He was the third of Paul and Marjorie (Sapp) Martin’s four sons. Paul described himself as an engineer on his marriage license. Renie recalled that his father worked for the Delaware State Highway Department, and that he remained on call whenever it snowed.1 Renie’s mother was a secretary and later a U.S. embassy correspondent – including assignments to Taipei, Taiwan, and Yemen.2

Renie’s initial baseball experience came in the Dover Little League. He was on the same team with his older, twin brothers: Lewis, a fellow pitcher, and John Edward, a catcher.3 (They were all in their teens by the time the fourth sibling, Timothy, completed the family.)

By the summer after his freshman year at Dover High School, Martin was already showing promise on the mound. After Martin and a teammate were chosen for an All-Star tournament, a coach commented that they could “throw anything you can name – fast ball, curve, slider, drop.”4

Martin was Dover High’s number-three pitcher in 1971. The hurlers ahead of him – Bob Naftzinger and Gary Starkey – were each too sick to start the Henlopen Conference title game, however. “Who was third in line for the honor?” asked the Evening Journal the next day. “Some skinny sophomore named Rene (sic) Martin.” After he hurled a 12-strikeout two-hit victory, the newspaper noted that Martin entered the contest with a 0.00 ERA in 20 innings.5 Earlier that month, he had thrown a no-hitter against Seaford.6

That winter Martin helped Dover’s basketball squad reach the state championship game against Wilmington. With 37 seconds remaining, he scored the tying basket, but the Senators lost a heartbreaker, 57-56.7 Dover did win Delaware’s 1972 baseball title. Martin, a junior, frequently manned shortstop while seniors Naftzinger and Starkey were first-team and second-team All-State pitchers, respectively.8

Martin started his own senior year by earning first-team All-Henlopen Conference recognition in basketball.9 In February 1973, the Evening Journal reported, “Seems 6-foot-5 center Renie Martin would appear when most needed in the Dover offense and lead the Senators to victory. Five straight triumphs and a name was born: ‘Renie the Genie.’”10

That spring Martin was also Dover’s pitching ace. He led the Senators to the brink of a second consecutive title by working all nine innings of a 2-1 semifinals victory in 95-degree heat. The championship game was played later the same day, however, and the Senators trailed, 5-2, before he relieved in the second inning. Dover lost, but Martin received two standing ovations at the awards ceremony.11 A few weeks later he was named first-team All-State.12

No professional team drafted Martin, but a Pittsburgh Pirates scout expressed interest.13 Martin was determined to attend the University of Richmond on a baseball scholarship, though, and he matriculated at the Virginia-based school in the fall of 1973 after a successful summer with his age 16-18 Big League club, which reached the national finals in Florida.14

Martin followed a 7-3 freshman record at Richmond with a 9-0 summer performance in 1974 for Dover’s 16-18 team. But his second year at Richmond resulted in a 3-6 (5.44 ERA) mark. Martin’s struggles continued when he joined Delaware’s semipro Parkway club that summer. “He was either one game over .500 or one game under, and I’m sure he was disappointed. 1975 was a year of adjustment for Renie,” recalled Parkway manager John Hickman.15 “We had our annual game at Veterans Stadium in 1975 and the first guy Renie pitched to blasted a home run.”16 Although it didn’t seem likely then, Martin would face the major-league Phillies at the Vet just five years later in the World Series.

As a 1976 junior, Martin earned All-Southern Conference recognition for Richmond.17 “His fastball is unbelievable,” raved Spiders coach Chuck Boone, a former minor-league catcher. “He’s got one that sinks and one that sails.”18 The Giants selected Martin in the ninth round of the June amateur draft, but rather than sign for just over $7,000, he returned to Richmond to complete his finance degree.19

In 1977, Martin slipped to the 19th round before he was chosen by the Royals. Although he signed for less than he had been offered the previous year, he had no regrets.20 Kansas City’s assistant farm director, Dick Balderson, was a former University of Richmond pitcher, and Martin figured that was how he ended up on the Royals’ radar.21

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, Martin emulated Jim Palmer, the similarly built Baltimore Orioles star.22 Martin debuted with the Royals’ Sarasota, Florida-based, rookie-level Gulf Coast League affiliate. After he won three of his four starts, throwing two complete games, including one shutout, he was promoted to the Class A Florida State League (FSL), where he worked out of the bullpen for the Daytona Beach Islanders. “I was shocked,” Martin said three years later. “I’d never even thought of relieving. I kind of thought that if you were a good pitcher, you’d be a starter.”23 In 10 appearances, he had a 2.70 ERA and a team-high four saves.

Fort Myers became the new base for the Royals’ FSL affiliate in 1978. Martin returned to the circuit and posted a 2.05 ERA with seven saves in 26 games. On June 30, he jumped to the Omaha Royals of the Triple-A American Association. In 13 outings for that club, his ERA was 3.32. Overall, Martin allowed just 43 hits in 63 innings in 1978.

In 1979 Martin was invited to Royals’ spring training as a non-roster player. The Sporting News reported that he impressed Kansas City manager Whitey Herzog.24 Martin began the season in the Double-A Southern League by going 3-1 with a 1.00 ERA and three saves in eight appearances for the Jacksonville Suns. On May 8 Kansas City placed reliever Steve Mingori on the 21-day disabled list with a sore shoulder and called Martin up from Jacksonville.25

The following evening, May 9, 1979, Martin joined the Royals for their series finale in Arlington, Texas.26 Herzog wasted no time getting Martin in the game. “When you bring ’em up, put ’em in the first chance you get. That’s the way I like to do it,” Herzog explained. So in the bottom of the eighth inning with the Royals leading, 3-2, and Rangers runners on first and second, Herzog called on Martin to relieve lefty Al Hrabosky and face righty-hitting Billy Sample. Herzog said “I didn’t even get to see him before the game to say, ‘How are you?’ or ‘Glad to have you’ or anything. When he got to the mound, I just told him, ‘Get this man out.”27 Martin retired Sample on a fly out to end the inning. After Kansas City added an insurance run in the top of the ninth, Martin allowed one run on consecutive one-out hits in the bottom of the frame. He then induced a double-play grounder from Richie Zisk to finish off the Royals’ victory and earn a save in his big-league debut.

In Martin’s first seven days in the majors, he pitched five times and notched three saves. After 13 appearances, however, his ERA had ballooned to 9.82. He was optioned to Omaha in mid-June. Martin went 6-2 (3.14) with seven saves in 33 games in Triple-A, and the Royals recalled him on August 28. He would be eligible for the playoff roster if Kansas City could overtake the first-place California Angels to win a fourth consecutive AL West title.

Martin saw action in 12 games down the stretch, holding hitters to a .152 (10-for-66) batting average over 20 innings, but the Royals finished in second place. “I like Renie Martin. He’s going to be a good pitcher,” Herzog remarked that fall.28 But Herzog had already been fired – in part, he believed, because some of Kansas City’s veterans didn’t like the faith that the manager demonstrated in rookie pitchers like Martin, Dan Quisenberry, and Gary Christenson during the pennant race. “I was using the kid pitchers and I was using U.L. Washington at shortstop,” Herzog reasoned. “When you get into a situation like that, they [veteran players] really don’t want you back. Because if you’re back, they know they’re not going to be playing.”29

In the Venezuelan winter league, Martin joined a half-dozen other Royals prospects on the Tigres de Aragua. By December 22 Martin had a team-high four saves and a 2.27 ERA in 19 outings.30 But when the team refused to allow him to return home for Christmas, he left anyway with no intention of returning for the conclusion of the sub-.500 team’s season. Martin said, “Let me tell you, playing ball in Venezuela makes you appreciate the United States that much more. I’m really glad to be back.”31

In addition to hiring a new manager – Jim Frey – for 1980, the Royals said goodbye to the pitchers who’d compiled the most saves for Kansas City over the previous two years. Hrabosky signed a free-agent deal with the Atlanta Braves and Mingori was released. “I believe I can match Al Hrabosky’s figures. If I can’t, I’m sure Renie Martin can,” said Quisenberry, who would proceed to lead the AL in saves that season for the first of five times.32 The 1980 Topps “Royals Future Stars” baseball card featured Martin, Quisenberry, and Bill Paschall. “Kids like Renie Martin and Dan Quisenberry were up last year and looked good,” remarked Frey. “All they lack is experience, I am told.”33 Having pitched only 34 2/3 innings in 1979, Martin was still considered a rookie for the 1980 season.

Early in spring training Kansas City center fielder Amos Otis opined that Martin could be the Royals’ closer. “If he comes around, I imagine he’ll be what you call the stopper… I think he can do it. He’s got the best assortment of pitches. He’s a guy who can get out left- or right-handed hitters.”34 As it happened, Martin struggled during grapefruit league play and he appeared in just five of the Royals’ first 25 regular-season games, “the consensus being that he needed to get better location on his fastball and what is considered a great overhand curve,” reported beat writer Del Black.35 In the Royals’ come-from-behind win at Tiger Stadium on April 20, Martin was credited with his first major-league victory.

Although Martin had been exclusively a reliever since rookie ball, Frey – preferring to use right-handers at Fenway Park – assigned him to start against the Boston Red Sox on May 10. “I didn’t feel nervous until I talked to Gary [Christenson] at the hotel,” Martin said. “Some pep talk. He told me not to worry about the Red Sox’ power or the fact they average 10 runs in this park, or that the wind is always blowing out, or that the game would be on national television and that all my buddies and my parents would be watching. I guess he was trying to make me laugh, but I wasn’t laughing too hard.”36

With 30,519 in attendance on a Saturday afternoon, Kansas City knocked out Boston starter Dennis Eckersley with five runs in the top of the first. The Royals’ lead swelled to 12-4, and Martin earned the win by working the first 5 1/3 innings of a 13-8 victory.

Three nights later at Yankee Stadium, Royals southpaw Paul Splittorff was scratched 15 minutes before game time because of back spasms. “I was down in the bullpen watching ‘Splitt’ warm up when I saw him double over in pain,” Martin recalled. “I said ‘Oh, oh, here’s my chance to start.’ … I was hoping to go four or five innings.” Through five frames, Kansas City led, 4-0, and Martin – working on just two days’ rest – had not allowed a hit. “Martin showed enough heart… to start a Valentine’s Day concession,” noted United Press International. In the sixth inning, New York’s Ruppert Jones singled with two outs, but Martin retired one more batter and notched another win. “[Martin] was impressive tonight,” said Jones. “He had a good breaking ball and fastball and he was getting them in the strike zone. When you get a good breaking ball over you’re going to be tough to handle.”37

That weekend, Martin beat the Angels in the rubber game of a series at Royals Stadium by going the first seven innings. “He’s got one of the best curveballs in the American League. It just took him awhile to get in the groove,” said Frey, who told reporters Martin would keep starting when Splittorff returned. “I’ve got to keep sending him out there. He’s been fantastic.”38

When Martin went the distance against the A’s in the final game of the homestand for his fourth consecutive victory as a starter (and fifth overall), the Royals pulled within a half-game of first place. On Memorial Day, he lost a rematch in Oakland, but Kansas City had already moved atop the AL West to stay. After Martin won his next two outings, including a complete-game five-hitter against the Yankees, his 7-2 record gave him more victories than any right-handed pitcher in the majors through June 4.

Over the next six weeks, however, Martin went just 1-5 in eight starts, while averaging 5.9 walks per nine innings. He returned to the bullpen. In his first outing, he hit one batter and walked another in a two-inning stint. “Some guys pitch to spots. Some guys pitch to zones. Renie pitches to continents,” quipped Quisenberry.39

The Royals went 23-7 in August to increase their AL West advantage to 20 games. Martin saved two of the victories: striking out Rusty Staub for the final out in Texas on August 20, and preserving a one-run lead in Milwaukee a week later with a perfect frame. When tendinitis sidelined Kansas City’s Rich Gale in September, Martin moved back into the rotation and went 2-3 in five starts. In 32 appearances (20 starts) overall, he finished with a 10-10 (4.39 ERA) record.

Martin did not pitch in the ALCS, as the Royals swept the Yankees to claim the franchise’s first pennant. But when the World Series opened in Philadelphia – less than a 90-minute drive north of Dover – he was the first reliever out of Kansas City’s bullpen. The Royals trailed Game One, 6-4, when he relieved Dennis Leonard to get the final out in the bottom of the fourth. Martin worked four innings and allowed just one run, but the Royals lost, 7-6, despite a two-run homer by Kansas City’s Willie Aikens in the eighth, the slugger’s second two-run blast of the contest.

The Phillies won the following night as well, increasing the stakes when the series moved to Royals Stadium for Game Three. The score was tied, 2-2, when Martin relieved Gale and extinguished a fifth-inning threat. Martin held Philadelphia scoreless in the sixth and seventh frames, and Otis’s homer gave Kansas City a one-run advantage entering the eighth. Martin departed after allowing a tying, two-out RBI single to Pete Rose, but the Royals prevailed in the bottom of the 10th.

The teams split the next two games, making Game Six in Philadelphia an elimination contest for the Royals. Kansas City trailed, 2-0, in the bottom of the third when Martin relieved Gale again. Martin held the Phillies in check until he was replaced by Splittorff in the fifth with one out, runners at the corners, and lefty-hitting Bake McBride coming up to bat. McBride’s groundout drove in Philadelphia’s fourth run, and the Royals fell to future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton and Phillies relief ace Tug McGraw, 4-1. For the Series, the 25-year-old rookie had appeared in three games, pitching 9 2/3 innings and yielding three runs, for a 2.79 ERA.

Kansas City wanted Martin to gain experience as a starting pitcher that winter by working with former All-Star Camilo Pascual in Venezuela. However, the Venezuelan winter league had suspended Martin for going home early the previous year. Royals first-base coach José Martínez managed to get the ban lifted, but his efforts were in vain. After spending three weeks in Venezuela without appearing in any games, Martin flew back to the United States again. Kansas City pitching coach Billy Connors told The Sporting News, “I talked to his dad. He said something about Renie warming up on the sidelines but never getting into a game. He just got disgusted and came home.”40

“Salute to the Phillies” was the theme of the annual Wilmington Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association banquet in early 1981, but Martin received the top honor – Delaware’s Athlete of the Year.41 “John Wockenfuss won it last year,” Martin said. “I think I’m in very good company. It’s a big thrill.” Frey said that Martin “really gave our pitching staff a shot in the arm last season. Because of injuries to several established starters, he had to jump in and carry a big load during a critical part of the season.”42

Martin was the Royals’ chief setup reliever in 1981. “It’s good to have somebody in the bullpen to keep you from worrying, like we have in Renie Martin,” Quisenberry said. “It’s impossible not to stay loose around him.”43 In 29 appearances during the strike-shortened campaign, Martin posted a 2.77 ERA and four saves. Kansas City overcame a losing record in the first half of the split season to win the second-half AL West crown and meet Oakland in the extra round of playoffs. Martin hurled 5 1/3 innings of scoreless, one-hit relief in two Division Series appearances. He finished both Games 1 and 3, but the Royals scored only two runs in the series and were swept in three games.

That fall, the Royals visited Japan for a 17-game exhibition tour. Martin appeared in seven of the contests and went 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA.44

At Royals spring training in 1982, Martin, Quisenberry, and teammates George Brett and John Wathan “worked all spring to perfect a dance chorus routine as they [sang] ‘Petticoat Junction.’ It is as absurdly funny as the name they picked for their group, ‘Function Junction,’” reported beat writer Mike McKenzie.45 But Martin also received a scare on March 14 when a policeman – in a case of mistaken identity – aimed a shotgun at him in the parking lot of a Fort Myers, Florida, convenience store. “He told me to lay down on the ground and spreadeagle,” Martin described. “So I laid down on the ground and spreadeagled.”46

On March 30, 1982 – less than a week before Opening Day – the Royals swapped Martin and three other players to the San Francisco Giants for six-time All-Star Vida Blue and another pitcher.47 Gale, who had been traded to San Francisco in a separate deal in December, said “Renie can help a team because he can start or relieve. He can pitch great on short notice. His breaking pitch is a real knee-buckler. And he is a funny man, a great guy to have around the clubhouse.” Asked about Martin, Giants GM Tom Haller remarked, “We got a young right-hander who is an established major league pitcher.”48

After just four relief outings, however, Martin was optioned to the Giants’ Triple-A Pacific Coast League farm club in Phoenix, Arizona. He returned to the majors as a starting pitcher, on May 15 in Philadelphia. Following a no-decision, he lost his next three starts, but he went 5-2 with a 3.56 ERA over the next dozen. “[Being traded] was quite an adjustment for me at first… I was in shock there for a couple weeks,” Martin said. “The biggest thing I have to keep working on is getting ahead of the hitters. My control has sometimes been a problem for me.”49

When Martin worked into the ninth inning to beat Houston on August 7 and even his record at 5-5, the Giants were in the middle of a 10-game winning streak that turned them into surprise contenders. Although Martin won just two of seven subsequent decisions, San Francisco kept rolling. Martin earned two of the club’s 20 September victories, including a 2-0 win over the Reds on September 22 in which he outdueled All-Star righty Mario Soto with seven innings of two-hit work. The Giants were just one game out of first place with seven contests remaining when Martin faced the Braves at Candlestick Park on September 27. But Atlanta won, 7-0, and clinched the division five days later. Martin finished 7-10 with a 4.65 ERA. Although he had had just one professional at-bat prior to the season, he batted .265 and led San Francisco’s pitchers with 13 hits.

In 1983, Martin said, “[Giants manager] Frank Robinson told me in spring training that I’ll be a long reliever, and maybe spot start once in a while. He said they weren’t going to be flip-flopping me like they did last year. To tell you the truth, I like relief better because you get the ball more.”50 San Francisco got off to a bad start with a 7-14 April and wound up in fifth place with a losing record. In his 31 relief appearances, Martin did a solid job, compiling a 3.18 ERA and limiting opposing hitters to a .238 batting average. But in six second-half starts, he went 0-3 (6.44).

During spring training 1984, Giants pitching coach Herm Starrette mentioned Martin while answering a question about rookie Scott Garrelts. “[Garrelts is] pressing, so I think his problem is more mental than physical. The same goes for guys like Renie Martin and Andy McGaffigan. Those guys can look around and realize they’ve got to produce because we’ve got some good young arms.”51

Martin relieved in 12 of San Francisco’s first 44 games. Then he was outrighted to Triple-A Phoenix, unable to be recalled by the Giants without passing through waivers first. With Phoenix, Martin went 5-1 (2.32) with nine saves in 32 appearances, prompting his manager, Ray Mull, to say, “I have to think that Martin could help some major league team the way he has been pitching since coming down.”52

On August 20, 1984, San Francisco traded 37-year-old first baseman Al Oliver and a player to be named later to Philadelphia for pitchers Kelly Downs and George Riley. Ten days later, Martin was sent to the Phillies to complete the deal. He went 0-2 (4.60) in what proved to be his final nine major-league appearances.

After Philadelphia released Martin that fall, he signed a minor-league deal to return to the Royals organization. In 1985 and 1986, he relieved a total of 60 times for their Triple-A Omaha farm club, going 2-8 (5.57). “I was losing velocity,” Martin recalled in 2010. “It wasn’t really painful. It just kind of bothered me, and I didn’t want anybody cutting on my arm.”53

Martin retired with a record of 24-35, a 4.27 ERA, and 12 saves in 173 big-league games (51 starts) over parts of six seasons. However, he also retired as a .300 major-league hitter. His 25 hits in 83 at-bats yielded a .301 average, with three doubles and three triples for a .410 slugging average. In the fall of 1990, he returned to professional baseball briefly with the Florida Tropics of the Senior Professional Baseball Association, but the 35-and-over circuit folded in midseason.

As of February 2023, Martin and his wife had resided in Florida for more than three decades, where he made sales for a leading distributor of plumbing and HVAC supplies, and swimming pools. They had two sons. In 2010, Martin told an interviewer he that stayed connected to baseball by attending Tampa Bay Rays games and visiting Phillies’ spring training in Clearwater. (His former minor-league roommate, Rich Dubee, was Philadelphia’s pitching coach from 2005 to 2013.)54

“[The 1980 World Series] was definitely the highlight of my career,” Martin reflected. “I was definitely blessed to play as long as I did. I really don’t have any regrets. It was a blast as long as it lasted, and then it was time to move on.”55

Last revised: June 27, 2023

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Renie Martin (telephone interview with Malcolm Allen, February 18, 2023).

This biography was reviewed by Rory Costello and Rick Zucker and checked for accuracy by SABR’s fact-checking team.

Sources

In addition to sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted www.ancestry.com, www.baseball-reference.com, www.retrosheet.org, and https://sabr.org/bioproject.

Notes

1 Renie Martin, telephone interview with the author, February 18, 2023.

2 “Marjorie S. Martin,” https://www.torbertfuneral.com/obituaries/Marjorie-S-Martin?obId=714938 (last accessed February 25, 2023).

3 Matt Zabitka, “Martin is Off to Best Start in Minors,” Evening Journal (Wilmington, Delaware), May 2, 1979: 28.

4 Gary Smith, “R.I. Team is First Dover Foe,” Evening Journal, August 12, 1970: 63.

5 Gary Smith, “Dover Pitching Runs Deep,” Evening Journal, May 25, 1971: 25.

6 “Lake Forest in Title Test,” Evening Journal, May 14, 1971: 46.

7 Matt Zabitka, “Evans’ Shot Caps Exciting WHS Win,” Evening Journal, March 13, 1972: 13.

8 “Tourney Foes Head All-Delaware Nine,” Morning News (Wilmington, Delaware), June 17, 1972: 28.

9 “Dill Only Henlopen Repeater,” Evening Journal, March 21, 1973: 27.

10 Paul Smith, “Cape Henlopen Foils Dover’s Magic Act,” Evening Journal, February 14, 1973: 22.

11 Paul Smith, “Coppol’s Sore Arm No Handicap to Title,” Evening Journal, June 11, 1973: 17.

12 “4 From Claymont on All-State,” Evening Journal, June 30, 1973: 15.

13 Kevin Tresolini, “Once a Foe of the Phillies, But Always a Fan,” News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware), October 16, 2010: D8.

14 “Dover Hopes Alive,” Evening Journal, August 17, 1973: 14.

15 Monte Martin, “Renie Martin’s Back in Form After Year of Many Struggles,” Evening Journal, April 4, 1976: 39.

16 Hal Bodley, “Martin Has it Made This Spring,” Evening Journal, March 17, 1981: 10.

17 Associated Press, “Furman Puts 4 on All-Stars,” Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), May 16, 1976: B18.

18 Monte Martin, “Renie Martin’s Back in Form After Year of Many Struggles.”

19 Kevin Tresolini, “Once a Foe of the Phillies, But Always a Fan.”

20 Kevin Tresolini, “Once a Foe of the Phillies, But Always a Fan.”

21 Renie Martin, telephone interview.

22 Renie Martin, telephone interview.

23 Del Black, “Royals Play an Ace: Martin as Starter,” The Sporting News, June 7, 1980: 8.

24 Sid Bordman, “Royals’ Camp Overflows with Pitching Depth,” The Sporting News, March 17, 1979: 37.

25 Associated Press, “Cowens, White on Disabled List,” Chillicothe (Missouri) Constitution-Tribune, May 9, 1979: 2.

26 Associated Press, “Rookie Does Job,” Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune, May 10, 1979: 2.

27 Associated Press, “Rookie Does Job.”

28 Del Black, “Whitey Rips Royals’ Milquetoast Style,” The Sporting News, December 15, 1979: 51.

29 Del Black, “’Why?’ Folks Ask at Whitey’s Exit,” The Sporting News, October 20, 1979: 29.

30 Renie Martin’s Venezuelan League statistics from https://www.pelotabinaria.com.ve/beisbol/tem_equ.php?TE=1979-80&EQ=TIG (last accessed February 19, 2023).

31 Matt Zabitka, “Renie Martin Didn’t Enjoy Playing Ball in Venezuela,” Evening Journal, January 6, 1980: 52.

32 Sid Bordman, “Royalties,” The Sporting News, March 15, 1980: 42.

33 Del Black, “KC Counting on the Kids,” The Sporting News, February 9, 1980: 36.

34 Associated Press, “Otis is Happy with New Boss,” Iola (Kansas) Register, March 6, 1980: 6.

35 Del Black, “Royals Play an Ace: Martin as Starter.”

36 Larry Whiteside, “Royals’ Odd Couple Does Job,” Boston Globe, May 11, 1980: 1.

37 United Press International, “Martin Stars Again,” Salina (Kansas) Journal, May 14, 1980: 9.

38 Del Black, “Royals Play an Ace: Martin as Starter.”

39 “A.L. Flashes,” The Sporting News, August 30, 1980: 10.

40 Mike DeArmond, “K.C.’s Martin Goes AWOL,” The Sporting News, December 20, 1980: 48.

41 Hal Bodley, “Phillies,” The Sporting News, February 7, 1981: 45.

42 “Royals’ Player Earned Honor,” Iola Register, January 21, 1981: 8.

43 Lowell Reidenbaugh, “Relieving Takes Brass, Out Pitch,” The Sporting News, April 25, 1981: 10.

44 Mike McKenzie, “Royalties,” The Sporting News, December 12, 1981: 46.

45 Mike McKenzie, “Brett ’82,” The Sporting News, April 10, 1982: 18.

46 Glenn Miller, “Terry Park,” Ness Press (Fort Myers, Florida), July 18, 2004: A1.

47 In addition to Martin, pitchers Craig Chamberlain and Atlee Hammaker and infielder Brad Wellman went to the Giants. The Royals received pitcher Bob Tufts along with Blue.

48 Kevin Tresolini, “Renie Martin Traded from Royals to Giants,” Evening Journal, March 31, 1982: 29.

49 Jack Ireland, “Martin is Back on Track with Giants,” Evening Journal, June 30, 1982: 31.

50 Ray Finocchiaro, “Martin Won’t Balk at Bullpen,” Evening Journal, April 10, 1983: D1.

51 Nick Peters, “Giants Open Season with Shaky Rotation,” The Sporting News, April 9, 1984: 24.

52 “Frozen Assets in Phoenix, Portland,” The Sporting News, August 6, 1984: 44.

53 Kevin Tresolini, “Once a Foe of the Phillies, But Always a Fan.”

54 Kevin Tresolini, “Once a Foe of the Phillies, But Always a Fan.”

55 Kevin Tresolini, “Once a Foe of the Phillies, But Always a Fan.”