About Martín Maldonado
Martín Benjamín Maldonado (born August 16, 1986) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 15 seasons. During those 15 seasons, he played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Angels, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, and San Diego Padres. The Angels selected Maldonado in the 27th round of the 2004 MLB draft, and he made his MLB debut in 2011 as a member of the Brewers. In 2017, he both won a Gold Glove and a Fielding Bible Award. The New York Times described him in October 2021, following a season in which Maldonado batted.172, as “arguably the worst hitter in baseball,” and Sports Illustrated wrote that "he quite possibly could be the worst-hitting everyday player in MLB history", although he has also been cited as a key factor in the success of the Astro pitching staff. As a member of the Astros, Maldonado was the backstop for two American League (AL) pennant-winning teams, which included a World Series championship in 2022. He is one of two catchers in Astros' franchise history to catch multiple no-hitters: the first in 2019, the second in 2022, and the third August 1, 2023. He caught one complete game no-hitter and two combined no-hitters, and he became the first catcher in major league history to catch multiple combined no-hitters. On May 31, 2015, Maldonado caught a 17-inning game and also hit his first walk-off home run, in the bottom of the 17th against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.