Biography

BIOGRAPHY

Starling Marte was born October 9, 1988, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He is a centerfielder in the MLB.

On July 26, 2012, the Pirates promoted Marte from Indianapolis Indians, becoming the first graduate of the Pirates' Latin American complex, located in the Dominican Republic, to reach the major leagues. He hit a home run on the first pitch he faced in his major league career, off Houston Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel. The hit made Marte the third player in Pirates' franchise history to homer in his first at-bat and the first to do it since Don Leppert in 1961. He also became the first Pirate to homer on the first pitch of his major league career since Walter Mueller did so in 1922.

Marte and the Pirates finalized a 6-year, $31 million deal on March 28, 2014. He won his first career Rawlings Gold Glove Award in 2015.

In 2018, Marte batted .277 with 33 stolen bases. He and Jean Segura were the only two MLB players to have stolen 20 or more bases each season since 2013.

On July 28, 2021, the Marlins traded Marte along with cash considerations to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Jesús Luzardo. In 56 games, Marte batted .312/.355/.462 with 25 stolen bases for Oakland in 2021. Between Miami and Oakland, Marte stole an MLB-leading 47 bases in 2021.

On November 30, 2021, Marte signed a four-year contract with the New York Mets worth $78 million.