A fairytale unfolded at Fenway Park last week and, for once, a Red Sox player wasn’t involved.

At the age of 30, Washington Nationals relief pitcher Rafael Martin became the fourth Jalisco-born player to make his debut in Major League Baseball.  

But that’s not the fairytale.  Mexican pitchers plying their trade in the majors is nothing new. More than 100 have graced the league over the course of its long history. 

It’s Martin’s atypical rise to the heights of the game that epitomizes  the stuff that dreams are made of, to coin a cliche.

Born in Tepatitlan and brought up in Riverside California, Martin eschewed a university place after leaving high school because he wasn’t offered a sports scholarship.  So he went to work for a contractor and make his way in the building trade.  In the evenings he played beer league softball and pitched in a men’s league on Sundays.  Although he knew he had talent, the thought of a pro career was the last thing on his mind.

Nonetheless, in 2007 he did turn up for a Mexican Pacific League tryout across the border in Tecate, after a friend persuaded him to go.  A savvy scout from the Mazatlan Venados quickly recognized his potential and offered him around US$2,000 to pack his bags and head south.  It was less than the 22-year-old was earning in his blossoming construction career but he realized this was a chance that might never come around again.

In 2010, at the age of 25, Martin was spotted by a Nationals scout and signed up to the big leagues. “A dream come true” was how he described the moment of putting pen to paper.With the help of some decent coaching Martin flourished, pitching for the Venados in the winter and the Saltillo Saraperos in the summer (they were Mexican Baseball League champions in 2009).  

Awaiting a call up that never seemed to come, Martin gradually perfected his craft in the minors (helped by further winter trips back to Mazatlan). And in 2014 with Syracuse, he was voted Triple-A’s relief pitcher of the year.

Reports say Martin impressed hugely in the Nationals’ spring training this year and was finally called up into the big time on April 10.

Just four days later he was summoned out of the bullpen at Fenway Park, five years after inking his deal with the Nationals. After waiting so long, he took his chance in stunning style, striking out five straight Red Sox batters in two scoreless innings.  

Let’s not forget that Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens and Nolan Ryan were all pitching well into their 40s. Could we be seeing just the start of a long MLB career for this patient Jalisco native?