After a full morning at Six Flags, Carlos Martinez, Laura Rivas and their two young sons needed a break. The boys were hungry, so the family grabbed some pizza at the amusement park.
That's when they heard a familiar sound that actually can be rare in St. Louis. Martinez and Rivas perked up when they heard a few women speaking Spanish with their distinct dialect and accent.
Martinez and Rivas were intrigued when they recognized the familiar cadence of their Caribbean island nation early last month at Six Flags. What happened next is typical Carlos Martinez.
He reached out to the young Dominicans cleaning at the amusement park. The Cardinals' young ace needs no introduction in St. Louis nor in his native Dominican Republic, but the members of the culinary service didn't want to impose.
Nobody would have blamed Martinez if he had kept to himself and let his family finish their pizza in peace. Most professional athletes, after all, value their privacy, especially when they're with their family.
That's not in Martinez's nature, though. He thrives among his fans and his people. He's quick to offer a smile, quick to offer a laugh, quick to reach out for a hug.
And, in the case of the amusement park's seasonal culinary service workers from the Dominican Republic, he and Rivas were quick to offer their phone number.
Staunchly parochial St. Louis can be a lonely place for Latinos, especially when you don't speak English fluently. Professional athletes and their families are not immune to that sense of being an "other" here.
"It was something that we didn't expect," Rivas said. "To see so many Dominicans in St. Louis it was very cool for us. Just imagine, they're from our country.
"Every time we see someone who speaks Spanish it's as though we're at home. We want to hug them. We want to be with them because, just imagine, this is a city that's totally different. When we find any other person who speaks Spanish we're happy."
Martinez and Rivas were excited to learn that there were close to 50 young adults from the Dominican working in culinary service at Six Flags this summer.
"What can we do for you?" Martinez and Rivas asked one of the workers that day.
It's a question asked often by Martinez, who was raised by his maternal grandmother Marta Martinez after his mother died when he was eight months old. He has never met his father.
Carlos Martinez didn't have much growing up in Puerto Plata, but Marta Martinez sacrificed quite a bit just to guarantee that her grandson at least had a chance to meet his potential.
A blazing fastball was his ticket to prominence, garnering him a $1.5 million signing bonus from the Cardinals as an amateur on April 20, 2010.
He has established himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball since making his major-league debut on May 3, 2013. After signing a five-year, $51 million extension in February, he earned his first opening day start this year.
Martinez, 25, appears set to earn his second All-Star nod when the National League and American League teams are announced Sunday night.
As impressive as he is on the mound, however, his altruistic nature may be more inspirational.
He readily acknowledges some early growing pains in terms of maturity on and off the mound, but nobody has ever doubted his sincere devotion to the less fortunate in his adopted hometown and back in the Dominican.
Whether through his Tsunami Waves Foundation or on his own, he is often lending his name to causes throughout St. Louis. He's beloved by the folks at St. Cecilia School and Academy, which serves low-income students in south St. Louis.
About 75 percent of the parishioners at St. Cecilia are Latino immigrants.
Most of the students at the school had never attended a Cardinals' game until Martinez invited 100 of their families to a game in 2015.
"I think he's a genuine kid at heart and he knows how difficult his upbringing was," Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said. "Any time he can help someone else smile more, feel better about themselves, he's going to be a part of that.
"He's someone that is absolutely gracious with his time, and that is very genuine and that's an amazing trait. I just think he's one of those guys when he's around children and kids, he's really at a happy spot. He loves to see kids smile."
Martinez is one of the rare pitchers in baseball who isn't bothered by speaking to fans or media on the days he pitches.
Because their routines are so crucial and structured, most starting pitchers stick to the same plan on the days they start. They rarely let anything interfere with that plan.
Martinez sticks to his work routine, but he'll also make time to sign autographs in the dugout if fans are there to see him. Less than 90 minutes before his start against the Dodgers on May 31, he was in the dugout posing for pictures and signing autographs for a group of Dominican teenagers who were visiting Busch Stadium as guests of manager Mike Matheny.
He didn't just sign autographs. He hugged each one of the teenagers. Martinez visited with the group for about 20 minutes before holding the Dodgers to four hits and one run over eight dominant innings.
A few days later, he was at Six Flags with his young family when he made another group of Dominicans feel at home.
Maribel Encarnacion, 20, and the rest of the culinary service workers were still a tad homesick when they met Martinez and Rivas.
"We felt special because they were the first people we saw here," Encarnacion said. "We're very happy. It's like we're a Dominican family thanks to Laura. We value it tremendously because they're a great example. We'll come here as many times as they want."
Martinez invited all of Six Flags' Dominican culinary service crew to last Monday's game at Busch Stadium. He bought their tickets, paid for their lunch and gave them all red Cardinals T-shirts with his No. 18 and last name on them.
More importantly, he gave of his time. Although there were close to 50 of them, he signed each of their T-shirts and posed for selfies with all of them before they took a group picture during batting practice.
Young men and women who had never been inside a big league stadium were all but taken to their seats by Martinez and Rivas.
"I feel very grateful for the opportunity to be here," Junior Rodriguez, 22, said. "This is the first time I'm in a baseball stadium, so I'm very excited. For him to invite us to batting practice, to invite us to the game and to talk to us is something that not many people have an opportunity to do. You see his humility, and I thank him."
At times, it was difficult to determine whether Martinez or his countrymen were having more fun as he signed and posed for pictures.
"I'm very happy and proud that my people are everywhere," Martinez said. "To see good people working hard that makes me very proud of them."
