Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State Athletics Hall of Fame
Martinez , Felix "Tippy"
Felix "Tippy" Martinez
- Induction:
- 1988
- Class:
- 1972
Baseball (1970-1972)
Felix “Tippy” Martinez is arguably the greatest baseball player to come out of Colorado State University during the 92 years of the baseball program. A native of La Junta, Colo., Martinez was drafted by the Washington Senators (Texas Rangers) in 1969 but decided to attend college before he made the move to professional baseball. The lefty struggled with a sore arm in his first seasons with the Rams, but in 1972 he found his strength and went 10-1 to capture the first and only 10-win season in school history. Ranked second in the nation that year, Martinez also had a school record 1.25 ERA, struck out 71 batters and pitched 93.2 innings.
After nearly taking the Rams to the 1972 WAC championship, Martinez was picked up by the New York Yankees as a free agent and pitched his first Major League game in 1974. It was his career with the Baltimore Orioles which made Martinez the pride of CSU baseball. From 1976 to 1986, Martinez became the Orioles’ all-time saves leader and helped them win the 1983 World Series. His MLB career ended in 1988 with the Minnesota Twins, posting a career record of 55-42 with 115 saves.
Other Accomplishments:
Felix “Tippy” Martinez is arguably the greatest baseball player to come out of Colorado State University during the 92 years of the baseball program. A native of La Junta, Colo., Martinez was drafted by the Washington Senators (Texas Rangers) in 1969 but decided to attend college before he made the move to professional baseball. The lefty struggled with a sore arm in his first seasons with the Rams, but in 1972 he found his strength and went 10-1 to capture the first and only 10-win season in school history. Ranked second in the nation that year, Martinez also had a school record 1.25 ERA, struck out 71 batters and pitched 93.2 innings.
After nearly taking the Rams to the 1972 WAC championship, Martinez was picked up by the New York Yankees as a free agent and pitched his first Major League game in 1974. It was his career with the Baltimore Orioles which made Martinez the pride of CSU baseball. From 1976 to 1986, Martinez became the Orioles’ all-time saves leader and helped them win the 1983 World Series. His MLB career ended in 1988 with the Minnesota Twins, posting a career record of 55-42 with 115 saves.
Other Accomplishments:
- Colorado Sports Hall of Fame (2003)
- Selected to 1983 MLB All-Star Game
- Career strikeouts at CSU – 184
- Pitched in 1979 and 1983 World Series
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