#59 Carlos Martinez

About the Front: This is a different sort of photo, with Carlos Martinez leisurely stretching his legs in the outfield grass. You can see his cap resting on the ground in front of him.

About the Back: A little more detail on Martinez' hitting streak: he batted .381 (24-for-63) with a .403 on-base percentage and a .508 slugging percentage during the streak. He had two doubles, two home runs, and nine RBI.

Triple Play:

1. He was nicknamed "Cafe", due to his love of coffee from his native Venezuela.

2. Martinez hit the ball that famously bounced off of Jose Canseco's head and over the outfield fence for a home run on May 26, 1993.

3. Unfortunately, Carlos is the first player I've covered on this blog who is now deceased. He died at age 40 in 2006, reportedly of AIDS.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I thought that Carlos' pose and facial expression made it look like he was pouting on this card.

Bill James Said: "He can play third base about as well as he can perform brain surgery, and the addition of the Indians' young players (Thome and Ramirez, in particular) will probably push him off the roster." If you have to go, it may as well be in favor of a couple of guys who go on to hit 1,167 home runs between them.

On This Date in 1993: August 16. Nike head honcho Phil Knight graces the cover of Sports Illustrated. Inside the magazine, Steve Wulf discusses the recent proliferation of bench-clearing brawls, inspired by the instantly-famous August 4 dustup between Nolan Ryan and Robin Ventura.