(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photos by Henk Seppen)
 Neptunus also acquires pitcher Shairon Martis
Nederlands
 ROTTERDAM (Neth.) -
For the seventh time since early October, Curaçao Neptunus has added a new player to its roster for the 2023 season.
On Friday (October 28), Neptunus announced the addition of righthanded pitcher Shairon Martis, who played for L&D Amsterdam Pirates in the past three seasons.
Martis also pitched in the American Major League.
...Shairon Martis pitching for Amsterdam Pirates...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
Since late September, Neptunus announced several additions to its roster.
First, the club announced that Greg Muller was named new Head Coach as the successor of Raily Legito.
Shortly thereafter, Neptunus acquired pitchers Ryan Huntington and Tom de Blok.
Since then, Neptunus announced the addition of outfielder/first baseman Arthur Bonevacia, then the return of infielder Tyriq Kemp, the coming of righthanded pitcher Mike Groen and the transfer of outfielder Rayshelon Carolina.
So far, Neptunus only has added players who are coming from Amsterdam Piratess and Twins Oosterhout.
De Blok, Groen and Martis played for Amsterdam Pirates, while Bonevaria, Carolina, Huntington and Kemp all played for Twins Oosterhout.
De Blok didn't pitch the entire season due to an arm-injury.
In the announcement of the addition of Martis, Neptunus-Chairman Jorian van Acker stated:
,,It is great that Shairon is coming to Neptunus.
Since Orlando Yntema's injury, we're missing a real ace in our pitching staff who can lead the team.
Shairon is the type of pitcher who can dominate a game and give the offense a chance to win the game.
He has a wealth of experience and is a real role model that the rest of the group can rely on.
We are very happy that he is coming to Curaçao Neptunus.''
After being left empty-handed in the past four seasons, Neptunus is clearly building a team with the goal of winning the 20th Dutch Championship-title in club-history.
In 2019, Neptunus won the first three games of the best-of-seven Holland Series against Amsterdam Pirates, which then became the first team in history to win the next four games and turn the Final around to capture the title.
In 2020, Pirates won the first two games of the Holland Series, which then was halted due to measures against the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Last year, Pirates again defeated Neptunus in the Championship Final.
In this years Series, Neptunus was swept in four games by HCAW.
The 35-year old Shairon Martis made his debut in the Dutch big league in the abbreviated 2020 season.
In that year, he was 1-0 with one save and a 2.63 ERA for Amsterdam Pirates, striking out 16 batters in 13 2/3 inning, while walking four.
Last year, Martis was 4-0 and had one save in nine appearances for the Amsterdam-team with whom he then captured the Dutch Championship-title.
He led the pitching-staff with an 0.56 ERA and struckout 35 batters in 32 1/3 inning, while walking only six batters.
In the postseason, the righthander was credited with four more wins.
He earned two of them in the Holland Series against Neptunus.
In the best-of-seven Championship Final, Martis threw three complete games and played an important role in the Amsterdam-team en route to the title.
This year, Martis was 3-0 in the regular season, pitching in eleven games (two starts) and earned three saves.
In 31 2/3 inning, Martis struckout 37 batters and walked six.
In the Play-Offs, Pirates was eliminated by HCAW, which then swept Neptunus in the Holland Series to win the Dutch Championship-title.
Shairon Martis played professionally since February 2004 when he signed his first contract with San Francisco Giants.
He then made his professional debut in 2005 playing in Rookie League.
After having started the 2006 season in Single-A, he was traded to Washington Nationals in July and then pitched at the Single-A and Double-A level.
In 2008, Martis promoted to Double-A and Triple-A.
In the same year, on September 4, at age 21, Martis made his Major League-debut when he was the starting pitcher for Washington against Atlanta Braves.
During the 2009 season, Martis again played in Triple-A, but also made 15 Major League-appearances (all starts) for Washington and was 5-3 with a 5.25 ERA.
...Shairon Martis pitching for the Netherlands...
...in the Final of the Baseball Week Haarlem...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
After having pitched in Triple-A (2010) and Double-A (2011) with Washington, Martis became a Free Agent in November 2011 and signed with Pittsburgh Pirates.
There, the righthander pitched in Double-A and Triple-A in 2012.
Halfway the season, Martis was purchased by Minnesota Twins for whom he pitched at the same levels.
It was with Minnesota that he made his comeback in the Major League during the 2013 season.
This time, he pitched in six games, all as a reliever, and was 0-1 with a 5.59 ERA.
As he was without a contract after the 2013 season, Shairon Martis tried his luck in Asia and went to Taiwan.
In 2014, he pitched for Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions in the Chinese Professional Baseball League.
During the 2015 season, Martis in two Independent Leagues.
He first played for Bridgeport Bluefish in the Atlantic League, then for Lincoln Saltdogs in the American Association for whom he played through 2019.
In that span, he also signed another contract with a Major League-club, this time with Baltimore Orioles in 2017.
He pitched in eight games in Triple-A, but then was released and he returned to Lincoln Saltdogs.
Martis also has pitched in several winter seasons in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.
Since 2006, Shairon Martis pitched regularly in the Netherlands National Baseball Team.
In 2006, the righthander wrote baseball-history during the first edition of the World Baseball Classic, as he threw a No-Hitter against Panama.
Martis' No-Hitter is still the lone one in WBC-history.
In 2011, Martis was a member of the Orange Team that captured the title at the World Championship in Panama.
Martis also pitched for the Netherlands during the World Baseball Classic in 2013 and 2017 when the Netherlands reached the Semi-Final both times.
In 2008, Martis was one of the Orange-pitchers during the Olympic Games in Beijing (China).
Martis also pitched in five European Championships, winning the title four times.
The pitcher also participated in two Premier12-tournament.
This year, Martis played for the Orange Team in the Baseball Week Haarlem in Haarlem (Netherlands).
He then threw a complete 7-inning game for the Netherlands in the Final against Curaçao.
Martis threw a 2-hitter, struckout six batters and the Netherlands won 6-1 to win the international tournament.
In total, Martis pitched in 35 international games for the Netherlands Team.
(October 28)
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