{"id":572489,"date":"2026-02-14T17:07:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T17:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/572489\/"},"modified":"2026-02-14T17:07:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T17:07:12","slug":"todays-yankees-birthday-damaso-marte-pinstripe-alley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/572489\/","title":{"rendered":"Today\u2019s Yankees Birthday:\u00a0D\u00e1maso Marte | Pinstripe Alley"},"content":{"rendered":"

For nearly 20 years, the Yankees had an ace in the hole who gave them an advantage over every other team in the league, boasting the nearest the game has ever known to a true shutdown closer. Of paramount importance, therefore, was establishing a bridge between the team\u2019s starters and Mariano Rivera, who lay in wait should the team hold an advantage entering the ninth inning. That role was filled by an endless stream of arms over the years, including All-Stars, phenoms, and journeymen. And, for one glorious month, D\u00e1maso Marte served as a key plank in the bridge as the Yankees captured their 27th championship.<\/p>\n

D\u00e1maso Marte Savi\u00f1\u00f3n
Born: February 14, 1975 (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)
Yankees Tenure: 2008-10<\/p>\n

D\u00e1maso Marte was born on Valentine\u2019s Day in 1975 in the Dominican Republic\u2019s capital city of Santo Domingo. He signed with the Mariners for $2,500 as a 17-year-old, rising through the ranks of their minor-league system until debuting with Seattle during a five-appearance stint in 1999. But, after a left elbow strain cost him most of the following season, the Mariners cut the southpaw.<\/p>\n

It was here that the left-hander would first intersect with the Yankees. \u201cThey released me after elbow surgery, and the only team interested was the Yankees,\u201d Marte would later say<\/a> of his exit from Seattle. \u201cI signed a contract with a clause that [said] I would stay in the big leagues if I could make the team, but, unfortunately, I couldn\u2019t do it and was sent to the minors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Assigned to Double-A Norwich, Marte fared well enough in his first extended action after surgery that he drew the attention of the Pirates, who consummated a swap for the reliever that netted the Yankees utilityman Enrique Wilson. In parts of four seasons in New York, Wilson didn\u2019t exactly light up the stat sheet. But he became a fan favorite for one bewildering \u2014 and exceedingly valuable \u2014 trait. Wilson was the Pedro whisperer<\/a>, hitting .440 against the Red Sox ace over the course of his career.<\/p>\n

After spending the rest of the 2001 season in Pittsburgh\u2019s bullpen, Marte was moved once again, this time to the White Sox. In his late 20s, the reliever finally hit his stride, making 279 appearances with a 2.78 ERA over four seasons. This included a pivotal outing in Game 3 of the 2005 World Series in which he tossed 1.2 innings of scoreless ball during a 14-inning marathon in Houston, taking home the victory as the White Sox pulled ahead to a 3-0 series lead en route to a sweep.<\/p>\n

Ever the nomad, Marte was traded again before the 2006 campaign, this time back to Pittsburgh. After two-and-a-half seasons in their bullpen, the Yankees pulled the trigger midway through the 2008 season on a move that would bring him back to their organization. GM Brian Cashman parted with prospects Jos\u00e9 T\u00e1bata, Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens, and Daniel McCutchen to bring back Marte and outfielder Xavier Nady. \u201cIt was hard to give up the players we did. I like those players,\u201d Cashman said at the time. \u201c[But] the players we got back \u2013 Marte and Nady \u2013 both will hopefully contribute to the 2008 season, and we have them for \u201909.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Marte\u2019s transition back to the AL would not be a smooth one. He posted a 5.40 ERA down the stretch in \u201808 as the Yankees stumbled and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1993. After losing the lion\u2019s share of the \u201809 season to injury \u2014 and allowing more than a run per inning while healthy \u2014 Marte hardly figured to be a key element of the team\u2019s postseason plans. But he did crack the playoff roster, pairing with Phil Coke as the team\u2019s top left-handed options out of the bullpen. His role as a lefty specialist got off to a rough start in the ALDS, when he allowed singles to Minnesota\u2019s top two lefties \u2014 Joe Mauer and Jason Kubel \u2014 in his sole appearance and was pulled by manager Joe Girardi before recording an out.<\/p>\n

Fortunately for Marte, he would get a second chance to help form the bridge to Mariano in the next round. And, fortunately for the Yankees, he would take full advantage of that opportunity. In Game 2 of the ALCS, with the Yankees up a game and Coke already burned in the seventh, Marte entered in extras to face Kendrys Morales, a switch-hitter who\u2019d hit 30 of his 34 homers that season against righties. Marte induced a groundout from the Angels first baseman before giving way to David Robertson, who would record the victory when Melky Cabrera walked the game off. He was back in Game 3 and, while it was the Angels who would walk that game off, Marte came on to retire another switch-hitter who struggled against lefties, Chone Figgins, and strand a runner in scoring position. Likewise in Game 5, when he retired Figgins and the left-handed Bobby Abreu.<\/p>\n

But it was after the Yankees advanced to the World Series that Marte would truly distinguish himself as a lefty specialist par excellence. He appeared in four games, facing eight batters and retiring all eight. He gave particular fits to the left-handed heart of the Phillies\u2019 order, with Chase Utley and Ryan Howard going a combined 0-for-6 with four punchouts.<\/p>\n

Marte\u2019s ability to neutralize Utley \u2014 who hit five home runs that series, four of which came against his fellow lefties \u2014 was a major factor in the Yankees\u2019 ability to prevail. Marte\u2019s heroics garnered him high praise from his manager.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we think about the 2009 World Series, we think of Hideki Matsui, who was the MVP,\u201d said Girardi. \u201cBut, to me, the MVP in that World Series was D\u00e1maso Marte. The Phillies [had] really good left-handed hitters. In the top of the eighth inning of Game One, the first two batters get on and I bring in D\u00e1maso and he strikes out Utley and I go, \u2018Uh, oh!\u2019 Then Game Three in Philly, he strikes out Howard, he strikes out Jayson Werth. \u2026 I\u2019ve got a super weapon here. Then Game Six. There\u2019s two on in the top of the seventh, [and he strikes out Utley]. D\u00e1maso Marte was the unsung hero of that World Series, and I\u2019ll never forget it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marte never reached those heights again. He pitched to a 4.08 ERA while limited to 17.2 innings with the Yankees in 2010 and spent all of the following season recovering from shoulder labrum surgery. At the age of 36, the injuries which had plagued him throughout his career led him to walk away from the game of baseball. He\u2019s now a pastor at the Ministerio Refugio de Fe y Esperanza in Santo Domingo. But, for one incredible run, he was an irreplaceable cog in the Yankees\u2019 bullpen and, in the eyes of his manager, the most valuable player on a championship squad.<\/p>\n

See more of the \u201cYankees Birthday of the Day\u201d series here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For nearly 20 years, the Yankees had an ace in the hole who gave them an advantage over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":572490,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2376],"tags":[5,4,1690,62,2548,2547,142,38397],"class_list":{"0":"post-572489","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-yankees","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-yankees","12":"tag-newyork","13":"tag-newyorkyankees","14":"tag-yankees","15":"tag-yankees-history"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116070085150293283","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=572489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/572490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=572489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=572489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=572489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}