His most productive season came in 1989 with the White Sox, when he posted career highs in batting average (.300), at-bats (350), hits (105), runs (44) and doubles (22), and also was named to the Topps All-Star Rookie Team.

He is perhaps best remembered as the batter who hit the long fly ball that bounced off José Canseco's head for a home run on May 26, 1993.

[1][2] In a seven-season career in MLB, Martínez was a .258 hitter with 25 home runs and 161 RBI in 465 game appearances.

His son, José Martínez, is an outfielder who has played minor league baseball for the White Sox, Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals, and in the major leagues with the Cardinals in 2016-2019, Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs in 2020, and currently plays for the New York Mets.

[4] Martínez died on January 24, 2006, in Catia La Mar, Vargas, at age 40 after a long battle with stomach cancer, according to an article about his son in issue #2 of Cardinals Gameday Magazine.