#232 Tino Martinez

About the Front: I think that Tino Martinez should have used some of that eye black to fill in his mustache.

About the Back: Tino hit ten more grand slams over the course of his career.

Triple Play:

1. His first name is "Constantino".

2. Martinez's career-best season was 1997, when he batted .296/.371/.577 with 44 home runs and 141 for the Yankees. He was a not particularly close second to Ken Griffey, Jr. in MVP balloting, and won his only career Silver Slugger award.

3. The Marlins hired him as their hitting coach last season, but he resigned on July 28 amid allegations that he had been verbally and physically abusive to the team's young players.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: If we jump ahead a couple years to 1995, I saw the benches clear at Camden Yards after Armando Benitez followed up an Edgar Martinez grand slam with a plunking of Tino. I think that's still as close as I've come to seeing an on-field brawl, though in 1998 Armando and Tino would be in the middle of a real donnybrook in the Bronx.

Bill James Said: "When he returns from the [knee] injury he'll play regularly for three or four years and might have one big season." Four years, a dozen...what's the difference?

On This Date in 1993: June 12. The White Sox score a run in their first at-bat against Kansas City, via a Tim Raines leadoff home run. They don't score again until the top of the 15th, when catcher Ron Karkovice takes reliever Rusty Meacham deep to lead off the inning. Roberto Hernandez earns his 11th save with a perfect inning, and Chicago takes the 2-1 victory. Time of the game is a crisp four hours, 13 minutes.