Nolan Martinez has been called the best pitcher at Culver City High School in the last 40 years.
This afternoon he stood that reputation up straight, becoming the first millionaire in his class mere days after graduating Culver High.
Tall and slender, the 6-foot-2, 160-pound fastball specialist signed with the New York Yankees for $1.15 million.
Next, Mr. Martinez will report to the Yankees’ Tampa farm team in the Gulf Coast League.
Once projected to be chosen in the top 50 of the Major League Baseball draft, Mr. Martinez instead was the No. 98 pick.
He will collect almost twice as much as the $608,200 that was projected for No. 98.
He was chosen lower than anticipated, it was presumed, because of the dollar amount he sought.
Did not seem to make a significant difference.
The 50th selection signed for $1.25 million.
A considerably younger but equally promising Nolan Martinez starred in the Culver City National Little League and Culver City Little League, and he went on to win a Babe Ruth World Series for Westchester before high school.
Mr. Martinez led Culver High to the quarterfinals of the CIF playoffs.
Here are sweet numbers to digest and remember:
As a senior, Mr. Martinez pitched 57 innings — equivalent to eight games — and he gave
up just 16 hits while striking out 81.
