Martin was scouted by the White Sox as an amateur free agent in 1956. After five seasons in the ChiSox farm system, which included call-ups to the majors late in 1959 and 1960, Martin became a regular in 1961. Splitting time between first and third base, Martin batted .230 with five home runs and 32 runs batted in.\n', '

Martin converted into a catcher in 1962, after Al López convinced him to go down to the minor leagues and learn to catch. Regular catcher Sherm Lollar was at the tail end of his career at the age of 37; moreover, the White Sox had traded Earl Battey and Johnny Romano and had no catchers in their farm system. As the team’s regular catcher, Martin batted only .205 in 1963 and .197 in 1964.\n', '

In 1965, Martin batted a career-best .261, however, he also set a major league record with 33 passed balls (after committing 24 the year before)—due, in large part, to catching knuckleball pitchers Hoyt Wilhelm and Eddie Fisher. This record stood until Geno Petralli broke it in 1987.\n', '

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