Richie Martin & Josh Tobias Start Professional Careers
Wednesday, July 1, 2015 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Shortstop Richie Martin and third baseman Josh Tobias from the 2015 Gator baseball team each recently signed a professional contract.
Selected by the Oakland A's in the first round with the 20th selection in the Major League Baseball Draft, Martin has been assigned to the Vermont Lake Monsters of the New York-Penn League, the organization's Class A short-season affiliate.
One of two Gators to start all 70 games this season, Martin was a finalist for the Brooks Wallace Award as the nation's top shortstop and batted .291 with career-highs in hits (77), runs (63), RBI (36), stolen bases (20), doubles (11), triples (4), slugging percentage (.430) and on-base percentage (.399). A two-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection who was chosen to the league's First-Year Honor Roll as well, the civil engineering major became the first UF baseball player to earn Academic All-District 4 recognition since 2008.
As a sophomore, Martin started all 63 games at shortstop for the SEC Champions and was on the Watch List for the Brooks Wallace Award. He also batted .265 with team highs in at bats (249), stolen bases (18) and runs scored (49). During his freshman campaign in 2013, Martin played 44 games and made 41 starts (26 in center field, 13 at shortstop, two as the Gators' designated hitter). The Brandon, Fla., native tied for second on the squad in his debut season with a .300 batting average, with 24 runs, 18 RBI, 15 walks and five doubles.
Martin completed his time with the Gators with a .284 career average in 177 games (174 starts), with 136 runs, 81 RBI, 45 stolen bases, 27 doubles, seven homers and seven triples. His total of 29 hit-by-pitches is tied for fifth in school history.
Picked in the 10th round by the Philadelphia Phillies at No. 294, Tobias is playing for the Williamsport (Pa.) Crosscutters, a Class A short-season affiliate in the New York-Penn League. He made his professional debut on Monday night and went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI on a solo homer and a double.
Named an All-American by the ABCA, Baseball America, D1Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), Tobias paced the Orange and Blue in batting average both overall (.355) and in league contests (.357). He committed just one error all year on the hot corner in 141 chances, scored 60 runs, totaled 46 RBI, chipped in with 24 extra-base hits (14 doubles, five homers, five triples) and was 11-for-13 on the basepaths. Tobias was the second-team All-SEC pick at third base and had a .321 batting average in the Gators' 15 postseason outings.
The Greensboro, N.C., native finished with a .301 career average in 213 games, 179 of which were starts. Remarkably, he raised his average all four years at Florida (.252 in 2012, .260 in 2013, .305 in 2014 and .355 in 2015) and wound up with 122 runs, 82 RBI, 28 doubles, 22 stolen bases, 11 homers and eight triples. Tobias played in a pair of NCAA College World Series for the Gators – in 2012 and 2015.
Follow the Gators
For all of the latest information on Florida baseball, log on to GatorZone or follow the team's Twitter account @GatorZoneBB.
