Constantino "Tino" Martinez, was raised in West Tampa, Florida by a Cuban-American father and a mother whose Greek ancestry helped to provide his given name. After working in his grandfather's cigar factory with eventual Arizona Diamondback and main character within my own nightmares Luis Gonzalez, Martinez's baseball career began to bud in earnest when he transferred to Jefferson High School before his junior year. Jefferson had churned out major league first baseman Fred McGriff only several years prior, so Martinez had big shoes to fill. The large Cuban population and preposterous baseball history of West Tampa helped introduce Martinez to his future profession at a young age.
1996 Yankees 20th Anniversary Retrospective: Tino Martinez
