Gene Martin

Thomas Eugene Martin (born January 12, 1947 in Americus, Georgia) is a former Major League Baseball left fielder. He was drafted by the Washington Senators in the 3rd round of the 1965 Major League Baseball draft, and he played in nine games for them in 1968.

Martin, 21 years old, made the most of a very brief major league career. He appeared in just nine games, most as a pinch hitter, and hit .364 with two singles, a double, and a home run in just 11 at bats. His home run was hit against 1968 American League Rookie of the Year Stan Bahnsen. It happened on September 8, 1968, at Yankee Stadium.

Martin had much greater success in Japan, where he played for six seasons from 1974 until 1979. He played five seasons for the Chunichi Dragons, then one season for the Yokohama Taiyo Whales. Over the course of his Japanese career, he hit 189 home runs (averaging over 30 per season) while batting .272.