Shairon Martis

Shairon Benjamin Martis ( , born March 30, 1987) is a Dutch-Curaçaoan professional baseball pitcher for Neptunus of the Honkbal Hoofdklasse. He pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals in 2008 and 2009 and Minnesota Twins in 2013. He played for the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions of the Taiwanese Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in 2014. After several years in American independent baseball, he came to the Dutch Hoofdklasse in 2020.

Martis has pitched for the Netherlands national team in several international tournaments. He threw a no-hitter in the 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) and has pitched in the WBC in 2013, 2017, 2023, and 2026. He was on the Dutch team that won the 2011 Baseball World Cup and five European Championships and competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Amateur career In 2002, Martis was a member of the Curaçao team that won the Senior League World Series championship in Bangor, Maine. He was teammates with Jair Jurrjens and Sharlon Schoop.

Professional career

San Francisco Giants Martis was signed by the San Francisco Giants in 2004. In 2005, he pitched in 11 games with 5 starts. His record was 2–1 with a 1.85 ERA for the Giants' Arizona Rookie League team. Martis began the 2006 season with Augusta in the Low A South Atlantic League, where he accrued a 6–4 record and 3.64 ERA in 15 starts.

Washington Nationals On July 28, 2006, the Nationals acquired Martis from the San Francisco Giants for veteran left-handed reliever Mike Stanton. Martis got his first major league win on September 23, against the Florida Marlins.

On May 2, 2009, against the St. Louis Cardinals, Martis pitched his first career complete game, the Nationals' first complete game since Pedro Astacio in 2006. Martis started the season with a 5–0 record but then faltered and was optioned to Triple-A on June 28. Martis had a career-high innings pitched in MLB, with a 5–3 record and 5.25 ERA. He began the 2012 season in Triple-A, went on the disabled list in mid-April with elbow inflammation, then was sent down to the Double-A Altoona Curve. On November 20, he re-signed with the Twins on a minor league contract.

The Twins added Martis to their major league roster on September 9, 2013. In innings in his last stint in the majors, he had a 5.59 ERA and seven strikeouts. On October 2, Martis was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings. He elected free agency on October 7.

Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions On February 26, 2014, Martis signed with the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League. He was 8–7 with a 3.15 ERA in 28 games, 23 of them starts.

Bridgeport Bluefish On May 20, 2015, Martis signed with the Bridgeport Bluefish of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He made one start for the Bluefish, taking the loss after allowing eight earned runs on seven hits with one strikeout over of an inning.

Lincoln Saltdogs On June 6, 2015, Martis signed with the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association of Professional Baseball. In 8 games for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides, he had a 4.38 ERA with 8 strikeouts across innings pitched. The Orioles organization released Martis on July 24.

Lincoln Saltdogs (second stint) On July 27, 2017, Martis re-signed with the Lincoln Saltdogs. In 7 games (6 starts), he threw innings with a 4–1 record, 2.01 ERA, and 32 strikeouts. On February 17, 2018, Martis re-signed with the Saltdogs, one of four Netherlands national team players to join the team. He was released by the team in late May but re-signed in June. In 25 games (2 starts), he accumulated a 3–5 record and 5.01 ERA with 32 strikeouts across innings pitched. Martis returned to the Saltdogs in 2019. In 22 games (9 starts) for Lincoln, he struggled to a 2–7 record and 6.44 ERA with 38 strikeouts and 2 saves across innings pitched.

Amsterdam Pirates In February 2020, Martis signed with Amsterdam Pirates of the Honkbal Hoofdklasse. In 11 games, he had a 2.63 ERA, 16 strikeouts, and 1 save across innings of relief. In 11 games (7 starts) in 2021, he posted a 6–0 record with a 0.91 ERA with 51 strikeouts over innings pitched. Martis returned to Amsterdam for a third consecutive season in 2022. In 17 games (8 starts), he had a 6–1 record, 3 saves, 1.22 ERA, and 72 strikeouts across innings of work. In 17 starts for the Rotterdam team, he had an 8–3 record, 2.12 ERA, and 88 strikeouts across innings pitched. Martis led the league with 15 wins, 7 shutouts, and innings pitched in 2025, also ranking in the top 10 in ERA and strikeouts. International career Martis has pitched for the Netherlands national team in international tournaments. He holds the World Baseball Classic (WBC) career record with innings pitched. He pitched a no-hitter against Panama in the 2006 WBC, with the game on March 10 stopped after seven innings due to the mercy rule. He pitched for the Dutch in the WBC in 2013, 2017, 2023, and 2026. Over five tournaments, he has a 1.59 ERA in 10 games, allowing four of his five earned runs in 2013.

Martis went 0–2 with a 6.75 ERA in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Martis was part of the Dutch team that won the 2011 Baseball World Cup, earning a win against Chinese Taipei and going 1–0 with a 1.35 ERA in two games. He played for the Netherlands in the European Championship in 2007, 2016, 2021, 2023, and 2025. He earned the win in the 2025 championship game.

Martis pitched once for the Netherlands in the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament. He pitched in the first three editions of the WBSC Premier12 in 2015, 2019, and 2024 and in the 2022 and 2024 Haarlem Baseball Week.

Personal life Martis is married and has a son. They reside in Leiden.

Martis began playing baseball as a seven year old.