Marty began his pro career in the minors in 1989 with the Elizabethton Twins of the Appalachian League. After a season in rookie ball, Cordova moved up to Class A and spent the 1990 season with the Kenosha Twins of the Mid West League. Cordova would then go onto spend the next two seasons with the Visalia Oaks of the Advanced-A California League 1991-1992. After spending two years in Advanced-A, Cordova made the move up to Double-A. In 1993 Cordova joined the Nashville Xpress of the Southern League. In 1994, Cordova moved up to Class AAA and played the season for the Salt Lake Buzz of the Pacific Coast League.\n', '

A promising and talented player, Marty was named the American League Rookie of the Year in 1995. He took the honor over, among others, Garret Anderson, Andy Pettitte, Troy Percival and Shawn Green, after hitting .277 with 24 home runs and 84 RBI for the Twins. His second season saw career-highs in batting average (.309), RBI (111), runs (97) and doubles (46).\n', '

Marty had the potential to hit for average and power, but was often bothered by back injuries over his career. Between 1997 and 2000, he missed 240 games while on the injured list. In January 2000, the Boston Red Sox signed Cordova to a minor league contract after he became too pricey for the small-market Twins, especially considering his history of injuries. The 30-year-old asked for his release from the Red Sox before the season even began, clearing the way for him to eventually sign with the Toronto Blue Jays.\n', '

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