Martinez's career took a bad turn when he broke his leg and severely dislocated his ankle in a home plate collision with the Seattle Mariners' Phil Bradley at the Kingdome on July 9, 1985. After the collision, he still attempted to throw out the advancing runner Gorman Thomas. When the throw went into left field, Thomas tried to come home. However, he was tagged out by a sprawled-out Martinez, who despite having a broken leg had managed to catch the return throw from George Bell on the ground, thus completing a 9–2–7–2 double play.