Marty Cordova

Marty Cordova
Left fielder
Born: July 10, 1969 (1969-07-10) (age 42) Las Vegas, Nevada
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 26, 1995 for the Minnesota Twins
Last MLB appearance
April 21, 2003 for the Baltimore Orioles
Career statistics
Batting average	.274
Home runs	122
Runs batted in	540
Teams
Minnesota Twins (1995–1999) Toronto Blue Jays (2000) Cleveland Indians (2001) Baltimore Orioles (2002–2003)
Career highlights and awards
1995 AL Rookie of the Year

Martin Keevin "Marty" Cordova [cor-DOH-vuh] (born July 10, 1969 in Las Vegas, Nevada), is an American former Major League Baseball left fielder. He played for the Minnesota Twins (1995–1999), Toronto Blue Jays (2000), Cleveland Indians (2001) and Baltimore Orioles (2002–2003). Before embarking on a major league career, Cordova played six seasons in the minor leagues.

Baseball career

Cordova began his pro career in the minors in 1989 with the Elizabethton Twins of the Appalachian League. After a season in rookie ball Cordova moved up to class A and spent the 1990 season with the Kenosha Twins of the Mid West League. Cordova would then go onto spend the next two seasons with the Visalia Oaks of the California League 1991-1992. After spending three years in class A, Cordova made the move up to double A. In 1993 Cordova joined the Nashville Xpress of the Southern League.

A promising and talented player, Cordova was named the American League Rookie of the Year in 1995. He took the honor over, among others, Garret Anderson, Andy Pettitte, Troy Percival and Shawn Green, after hitting .277 with 24 home runs and 84 RBI for the Twins. His second season saw career-highs in batting average (.309), RBI (111), runs (97) and doubles (46).

Cordova had the potential to hit for average and power, but was often bothered by back injuries over his career. Between 1997 and 2000, he missed 240 games while on the injured list. In January 2000, the Boston Red Sox signed Cordova to a minor league contract after he became too pricey for the small-market Twins, especially considering his history of injuries. The 30-year-old, who had been signed to a minor-league contract, asked for his release from the Red Sox before the season even began, clearing the way for him to eventually sign with the Toronto Blue Jays.

He returned in good form with the Indians in 2001, hitting .301 with 20 home runs, and in 2002, with the Orioles, he belted 18 homers. Then, Cordova missed all of 2004 and appeared in just nine games in 2003 after two operations on his right elbow.

In January 2005, Cordova signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He retired a day after he was scheduled to report to spring training.

In a nine-season career, Cordova was a .274 hitter with 122 home runs and 540 RBI in 952 games.

He is also known for having fallen asleep in a tanning bed, which prevented him from playing several day games with the Orioles.^[1]

Post-baseball life

Cordova is a personal friend of UFC President Dana White and can be seen in several of White's video blogs.^[2] Cordova is also part-owner of a jewelry company that makes UFC-branded merchandise.^[3] He was shown on Dana White's video blog trying to enter Canada after he forgot his passport as he flew in Dana White's private jet.^[4]

On the morning of Dec. 16, 2010 Ashley McAdam, Cordova's daughter, was heading to Herriman High School just outside Salt Lake City. She was a passenger in a vehicle driven by a friend that was hit by a truck as it pulled into school. She suffered severe head trauma and is currently in a coma. In addition to the head trauma, she broke her jaw, elbow and thighbone. Cordova and Ashley's mother, Tamara McAdam-Burleigh, have set up a Facebook page titled "Supporting Ashley McAdam," where people can offer support.

References

1. ^ Top 10 Bizarre Baseball Injuries
2. ^ Official UFC youtube channel
3. ^ UFC and Marty Cordova
4. ^ [1]

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• BaseballLibrary.com - biography
• Christensen, Joe. "Cordova gets burned," The Baltimore Sun, Thursday, May 23, 2002.

Preceded by Bob Hamelin	American League Rookie of the Year 1995	Succeeded by Derek Jeter
Preceded by Bob Hamelin	Players Choice AL Most Outstanding Rookie 1995	Succeeded by Derek Jeter

Persondata
Name	Cordova, Marty
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 10, 1969
Place of birth	Las Vegas, Nevada
Date of death
Place of death