Tag Archives: Jose Martinez

Temple’s Maddux Trujillo Drills Historic 64-Yard Field Goal

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Maddux Trujillo has kicked his way into the history books.

The Latino kicker for the Temple Owls nailed a 64-yard field goal against Utah State to set the record for the longest field goal in Lincoln Financial Field history. The booming kick broke the record of 61 yards set by Jake Elliott of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021.

Maddux TrujilloIt’s also the longest field goal in college football in more than a decade and a half.

The Owls opted to kick the field goal in lieu of a Hail Mary as the first half expired.

Trujillo has a big leg and previously nailed a 54-yarder against Coastal Carolina in Week 3, but this attempt was from behind the midfield mark and right hash of the field. The kick sailed through the air and hooked just inside of the right goal post for a truly historic make.

The field goal not only ranks as the best in the history of the stadium that houses the Eagles, but would in fact rank among the longest kicks in NFL history. Only Justin Tucker‘s 66-yarder in 2021 was longer than Trujillo’s. He would tie Matt Prater‘s 64-yarder in 2013 as the second-longest. Six other players are tied for third with a 63-yarder.

The 64-yard field goal is the longest in FBS play since 2008, when UTEP‘s Jose Martinez nailed a 64-yarder of his own. The last time a player made a longer kick was Kansas State‘s Martin Gramatica in 1998, who booted a 65-yarder.

The senior Trujillo transferred to Temple after starting three years at FCS Austin Peay. Thanks to the Governors’ realignment history, he was named all-conference in three different seasons in three different leagues, ultimately connecting on 38 of his 53 field goal attempts. Trujillo has connected on 4 of 5 field goal attempts, including a 49-yarder against Oklahoma and the 54-yarder against Coastal Carolina.

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Randy Arozarena Named the American League’s Rookie of the Year

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Randy Arozarena is celebrating a special honor…

The 26-year-old Cuban professional baseball outfielder, last year’s breakout postseason star, has been named this year’s American League Rookie of the Year.

Randy ArozarenaThe Tampa Bay Rays outfielder beat out teammate Wander Franco and right-handed starter Luis Garcia of the Houston Astros for the honor.

Arozarena received 124 points in balloting by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, including 22 for first place. Garcia had 63 points and Franco had 30 points.

Arozarena led all rookies with a 4.1 WAR while compiling a .815 OPS. He hit 20 home runs while stealing 20 bases becoming the third rookie (Mike Trout, Andrew Benintendi) in the last decade to compile a 20-20 season.

Arozarena made only one error in 119 games played in the outfield. He and first baseman Jose Martinez were acquired in January 2020 from the St. Louis Cardinals for lefty Matthew Liberatore and catcher Edgardo Rodriguez.

Arozarena was the ALCS MVP that season while hitting 11 home runs during the playoffs.

“I know I was favored to be the rookie of the year,” Arozarena said through a translator. “But for me, my mind wasn’t set on the award or winning the award. My mind and my goal was to have another good season and continue what I had done the year before.”

Arozarena is Tampa Bay’s first rookie of the year since outfielder Wil Myers in 2013.

Franco, 20, made a late season run for top rookie honors as he reached base in 43 consecutive games, tied with Frank Robinson (1956) for the longest such streak by a player 20 years old or younger. Franco only played in 70 games after getting called up from the minors in June.

Garcia, 24, was an integral part of the division winning Astros. He appeared in 30 games including making 28 starts while compiling a 3.48 ERA. He gave up just 133 hits in 155.1 innings. He led all AL rookies in innings pitched and strikeouts.

Jose Martinez Traded to the Tampa Bay Rays

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Jose Martinez is headed to the Sunshine State…

The St. Louis Cardinals have traded the 31-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball player and Randy Arozarena to the Tampa Bay Rays for touted left-handed pitching prospect Matt Liberatore and low-level catching prospect Edgardo Rodriguez, the teams announced Thursday night.

Jose Martinez,

St. Louis also sent a competitive balance Round A pick (38th overall) to Tampa Bay, which sent its Round B pick (66th overall) to the Cardinals.

The Cardinals and Rays had been in active conversations with multiple teams as Tampa Bay tried to add outfield help and St. Louis sought to divest itself of its surplus, according to sources with knowledge of the teams’ intentions.

Liberatore, 20, is a consensus top-100 prospect and is regarded by some as the second-best left-handed prospect in the minor leagues behind San Diego’s MacKenzie Gore.

Chosen with the 16th pick of the 2018 draft, Liberatore spent 2019 in the Rays’ low-A affiliate with Bowling Green of the Midwest League and posted a 3.10 ERA over 78⅓ innings. He struck out 76, walked 31 and allowed only two home runs.

With a farm system regarded as the best in baseball, Tampa Bay reached into its cache of prospects to supplement its major league team, which won the American Leaguewild-card game and took the Houston Astrosto a deciding fifth game in the division series.

The Rays had been targeting outfield help to complement left fielder Hunter Renfroe, center fielder Kevin Kiermaierand right fielder Austin Meadows. They should get it with Martinez, a right-handed batter who hit .305 with 17 home runs and 83 RBIs in 2018. His numbers dipped some this past season, as Martinez posted a .269-10-42 line and missed time in August with a shoulder injury.

Martinez has a .296 batting average since his first full season in the majors in 2017, which is the eighth-best mark in the National Leagueamong the 83 players with at least 1,000 at bats, per ESPN Stats & Informationresearch.

The speedy Arozarena, meanwhile, was called up by St. Louis in August when Martinez went on the injured list. The Cuba-born 24-year-old was hitting .344 in the minors before his call-up, and then went 6-for-20 for the Cards during the regular season before making five postseason appearances (0-for-4). 

Rodriguez, 19, was in the Gulf Coast League this past season, hitting .400 in limited action (25 at-bats).