JUPITER, Fla. • The first true glove Carlos Martinez had as a kid in the Dominican Republic had another name stitched on it and was better suited for a position he once dreamed of playing.
His uncle, Winston Martinez, borrowed the money needed to buy the glove from a professional ballplayer, Tony Abreu. Also a native of the Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, Abreu got his start in the Dodgers’ organization and reached the majors with LA in 2007, at 22. The glove he brought back home was a shortstop’s glove – with the web an infielder uses, not a pitcher – and had his name stitched into.