He was called to the majors in 1979 and appeared in 25 games in relief in his rookie year. He finished the year with an ERA of 5.19 with five saves. The next year, the
Royals gave him a chance to start. He started twenty games, going 10-10 with a 4.39 ERA. He did have two saves that year, also. In 1981, he had arguably his best year, pitching exclusively in relief, but achieving a 2.77 ERA in 29 games. However, the Royals traded him to the
San Francisco Giants with
Craig Chamberlain,
Atlee Hammaker, and
Brad Wellman for
Vida Blue and
Bob Tufts. Martin spent most of his first year with the
Giants as primarily a starter (7-10, 4.65 ERA). They moved him to the bullpen the next year, and he spent most of the next two years as a relief pitcher before the Giants traded him to the
Philadelphia Phillies at the end of August 1984 with
Al Oliver for
Kelly Downs and
George Riley. He continued his role as a reliever with the
Phillies until they released him after the 1984 season. The
Royals re-signed him in 1985, but he never pitched in the
Majors again. Martin did have some postseason experience. He appeared in three games in the
1980 World Series for the
Royals, appearing in three games, recording 9 IP, allowing three earned runs. He also appeared in the special Division Series after the strike-shortened 1981 season for the
Royals. In that series, he threw 5 innings allowing only one hit. ==Senior baseball==