Martinez looks to finish strong at St. Augustine before taking talents to SDSU baseball
SAN DIEGO (BVM) — San Diego and its local high schools have produced many past and current Major League Baseball players. Some include Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Phillip Evans, San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove, Houston Astros catcher Garrett Stubbs and many more. Now, the city is looking for its next star and Cade Martinez may be someone to keep an eye on in the coming years.
Martinez, 6-foot, 165 pounds, will be completing his junior year at St. Augustine High School (Saints), an all-boys, Catholic institution in San Diego in a few weeks and will be ending his third season playing for the Saints. He has played all three seasons as a varsity shortstop, with an occasional trip to the pitcher’s mound where he has topped out at an 88 mile-per-hour in-game pitch.
The Saints hold an overall record of 21-6-1, including their league record of 8-4, and are currently ranked 49th in California. Helping with the team’s success, Martinez has 23 hits, recording a batting average of .280 and an on-base percentage of .422 in 27 games played. He also has 21 RBIs and has scored 25 runs of his own.
According to MaxPreps High School Sports, all of Martinez’s stats are above the national average, which has helped him earn a spot on San Diego State University’s (SDSU) baseball team. The SDSU Aztecs are currently ranked No. 71 in the NCAA. They are coached by Mark Martinez, who succeeded Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn as head coach and is Cade’s father.
Cade has attributed most of his success and growth to the Saints baseball team. Ironically, he never knew of the Saints until his eighth-grade year. His parents always imagined him going to the high school closest to their house in the San Diego suburb of El Cajon. However, the Martinez family quickly changed their mind and decided to enroll Cade at Saints. They were immediately attracted by the fraternal feeling and outstanding education experienced at the school.
When school started, Cade thought playing freshman football would be an excellent way to meet new friends. However, he quickly realized football was not his sport and decided to stick to baseball, especially since summer ball overlaps with Saints’ football schedule. Cade then tried out for the baseball team and made the varsity squad as a freshman. Throughout the seasons played, he has become a leader whose energy and words encourage the rest of the team.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, contact and training with SDSU’s team have been limited, but Cade still attends games to cheer for his dad and future team. Nonetheless, the pandemic did not stop him from working on his game.
“Covid, honestly, helped my game to an extent. I have been working out and training every day,” Cade said.
He is looking forward to seeing how his career at Saints wraps up and is extremely excited to get to work with SDSU’s team and his dad. It will be the first time his father has ever been his coach.
