Marty Cordova Marty Cordova, born Martin Kevin Cordova (July 10, 1969 in Las Vegas, Nevada), is a former left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Minnesota Twins (1995-99), Toronto Blue Jays (2000), Cleveland Indians (2001) and Baltimore Orioles (2002-03). He batted and threw right-handed. A promising and talented player, Cordova was named the American League Rookie of the Year in 1995. He took the honors over players nominees Garret Anderson, Andy Pettitte, Troy Percival and Shawn Green, after hitting .277 with 24 home runs and 84 RBI for the Twins. In his sophomore 1996 season, he posted career-highs in batting average (.309), RBI (111), runs (97) and doubles.
Cordova had the potential to hit for average and power, but he was often bothered by back injuries over his career. Between 1997 and 2000, he missed 240 games while on the injured list. He returned in good form with the Indians in 2001, hitting .301 with 20 home runs, and in 2002, with the Orioles, he belted 18 homers. Then, Cordova missed all of 2004 and appeared in just nine games in 2003 after two operations on his right elbow.
In January 2005, Cordova signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He retired a day after he was scheduled to report to spring training.
In a nine-season career, Cordova was a .274 hitter with 122 home runs and 540 RBI in 952 games.
He is also known for having fallen asleep in a tanning bed, which prevented him from playing several day games with the Orioles.
