Chito Martinez, only Belize native MLB player, dead at 59

Chito Martinez, the only MLB player to ever hail from Belize, has died, the Baltimore Orioles announced on Tuesday. He was 59.

Martinez played three years in the majors for the Orioles as an outfielder from 1991 to 1993. He played in 158 career games, hitting .259 with 18 home runs, 58 RBI and 22 doubles.

“We mourn the passing of former Orioles outfielder Chito Martinez, the only native of Belize to play in the majors,” the Orioles said in a post on X.

Dalton Martinez, Chito’s son, wrote on X that his father passed away on Easter.

“Sunday night on Easter, my dad was taken away off this earth unexpectedly,” he wrote. “We desperately need help in this time. My father was one of the best men. Taught the game of baseball the right way. Taught young men how to be better. His presence in my life can never be replaced. As I pick up the pieces to my life, please consider helping.

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“A kind soul has left us too soon.”

The cause of death was not made known.

Chito Martinez was a sixth-round pick in the 1984 Draft by the Kansas City Royals out of Brother Martin High School in New Orleans.

The Royals released him in 1990 and he signed with the Orioles days later. The Orioles released him after the 1993 season and he later joined the Minnesota Twins. But he never made an appearance with the Twins.

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