From Crystal Lake to Cincinnati: A timeline of Prairie Ridge grad Nick Martini’s wild journey to the bigs

Nick Martini, a 2008 Prairie Ridge graduate, was the talk of the town in Cincinnati on Thursday after a sensational opening day.

The Cincinnati Reds designated hitter became the team’s first player to hit two home runs on opening day since Adam Dunn in 2007 as the Reds beat the Washington Nationals 8-2 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

Martini drilled a two-run homer in the second and added a three-run shot in the third – both off Washington starter Josiah Gray – to drive in five runs.

“I know it’s only one game, but it feels good in front of that many fans and the city,” Martini said. “I kind of felt it, especially after the second one. I kind of just felt how loud it got. It was just awesome.”

So how did Martini, who starred on Prairie Ridge’s 2008 Class 4A state championship team, end up in Cincinnati and as one of baseball’s best opening day stories?

It’s been a wild ride for Martini, 33, who has played in the majors with four teams.

First stop, St. Louis

After playing three years at Kansas State, Martini, who grew up in Crystal Lake, was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the seventh round of the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Martini made his professional debut that season but didn’t find success right away, hitting .167 with the Low-A Batavia Muckdogs.

After spending the next two seasons in Single A, Martini made a significant jump in 2014, splitting time between the High-A Palm Beach Cardinals and the Double-A Springfield Cardinals. Martini made his Triple-A debut with the Memphis Redbirds in 2015, hitting .393 in limited action.

Martini bounced between Double A and Triple A for the next three seasons, never reaching the majors, before he was granted free agency. In total, he played 206 games at the Triple-A level with St. Louis.

“At some point, you’re always going to go through a struggle,” Martini said in a Northwest Herald story from 2015. “You don’t really know if it’s going to happen for you or when it’s going to happen for you. I’m just going to keep going until someone tells me no.”

Welcome to the show

On Jan. 10, 2018, Martini signed a minor league contract with the Oakland Athletics. He was assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas and was productive with a .297 batting average in 76 games. Martini, who bats and throws lefty, also displayed an advanced eye at the plate with a .406 on-base percentage.

On June 5, 2018, Martini received the biggest news of his life.

That day, he was pulled in the middle of his Pacific Coast League game against Reno and told by his manager that he was going to the big leagues.

“I didn’t know what was going on,” Martini said. “I was just kind of shocked, kind of at a loss for words.”

Martini joined the A’s on a road trip in Texas a day later and came off the bench for his MLB debut. He played in right field and went 0 for 2. Martini was up for only three games, going 0 for 9, before being sent back to Triple-A to make room after the A’s acquired pitcher Edwin Jackson in a trade.

It wouldn’t be long until Martini made his return.

Martini’s first hit

After being sent to Triple-A, Martini continued to knock the cover off the ball and strung together a 21-game hitting streak, earning him another promotion. On June 23, 2018, he was back in the big leagues.

Of all places, he made his return while the A’s were on a road trip in Chicago to face the White Sox.

Hours after being called up for an early afternoon game, Martini got his first major league hit in front of family and friends at Guaranteed Rate Field. His eighth-inning single off pitcher Juan Minaya drove in the game-winning run as part of a 7-6 victory.

Getting his first hit in Chicago wasn’t lost on Martini.

“It’s hard to describe,” Martini said. “I was excited, but I was so in the moment. I wish I’d gotten my first hit when I was up here the first time, but to get it in my backyard is definitely special, and I was super excited.”

Martini finished the season with the A’s, hitting .296 with 26 runs and 19 RBIs. He hit his first major league home run Sept. 20, 2018, against Los Angeles Angels catcher Francisco Arcia, who was pitching in a blowout win for the A’s.

The A’s finished 97-65 and made the American League wild-card game. Martini led off for the A’s in a 7-2 loss to the Yankees.

Wrigley Field magic

Martini figured to make the A’s major league team out of spring training in 2019, but he suffered a Grade 2 posterior cruciate ligament tear after he caught a cleat on the warning track during a spring training game.

When he returned, Martini started out at Triple A. He was recalled by the A’s for his third major league stint on the final day of July when center fielder Ramon Laureano was placed on the injured list.

Then, on Aug. 15, 2019, Martini returned home to Chicago once again – this time against the Cubs, the team he had grown up rooting for from the Wrigley Field bleachers.

What happened next was almost out of a movie.

Martini worked an 11-pitch at-bat and eventually ripped a two-run, pinch-hit home run off pitcher Steve Cishek to right field in the eighth to help pull the A’s within two runs of the Cubs. The A’s went on to lose 6-5.

“I don’t know if I could have pictured it any better than that,” Martini said of his Wrigley homer. “Pinch hitting, coming off the bench and doing something like that. It was definitely a thrill.”

Sweet home, Chicago

Martini hit .282 in 61 big league games with the A’s before leaving and joining his third major league organization.

Martini was picked up on waivers by San Diego in 2019 and played 26 games with the Padres, then by Cincinnati in November and Philadelphia in January 2020. He did not get a chance to play with the Phillies’ major league club because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Martini then signed a contract with the Cubs, his favorite childhood team. Martini was called up to the big league team on May 7, 2021. In 25 games with the Cubs, Martini hit .270.

NC Dinos

Martini wasn’t able to catch on with an MLB team in 2022, so he played a season in the KBO League in Korea. He signed a free agent deal with the NC Dinos and hit .296 with 16 homers and 85 RBIs.

After that season, Martini looked to sign on with an MLB team. He eventually signed a minor-league deal with the Reds about a week before the start of spring training. He was the oldest player in the Reds’ minor league spring camp.

Martini played most of 2023 in Louisville, where he hit .275 with 15 homers and 65 RBIs in 93 games before making his way back up to Cincinnati.

He hit yet another memorable shot last year, smacking a homer in the ninth inning off Cubs pitcher Adbert Alzolay on Sept. 1 that tied the score. The Reds, chasing one of the wild card spots, went on to win 3-2.

“It’s hard to describe honestly,” Martini said. “Just a big moment for me, especially with how long a road it’s been for me the last couple years. It was fun.”

Back to Cincinnati

Martini found out he made the Reds’ opening day roster not long before the start of this season March 22.

Counting Thursday’s game, Martini has hit .271 with a .363 on-base percentage, 50 runs scored and 51 RBIs over 142 games in his major league career. Martini’s two-home run outburst, the second of his career, on opening day brought his career home run total to 10.

The Reds and Cubs won’t meet this year until May 31 in Cincinnati.

Will Martini be around to provide more magic for the Reds?

Based on his big league résumé, it wouldn’t shock anyone.

“We’ve known this guy can hit, so for it to all come out opening day and his first one, which us surprising or shocking when you think about it because this guy has been a good player for a long time,” Reds manager David Bell said after Martini’s two-homer game Thursday. “We saw a pretty good sample of what he is able to do and why he is good.”

• The Associated Press contributed to this report.