On Monday we saw exactly why Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos invested a team-record $82.5m over five years to bring Russell Martin home.
During the Blue Jays’ 6-1 victory in New York over the Yankees, the Canadian catcher guided Drew Hutchison, the youngest opening day starting pitcher in franchise history, through six innings during which he allowed just a single run. Then he steered Miguel Castro, a rookie whose fastball has been clocked at 102mph, past the last three Yankees. In between, Martin threw out a runner, delivered an RBI base hit and drew a walk in four at-bats – not bad for a 32-year-old on his fourth team in 10 seasons. It was one win on one day, with many more games to come of course, but the blueprint for Blue Jays’ success in 2015 was crystal clear, and at the very center of it was Martin.
It’s an unlikely scenario when you consider where the career of the player who was born in Toronto and who grew up in Montreal, was heading just a few years ago. A pair of All-Star years in Los Angeles melted into two subsequent campaigns that reeked of decline. In his final Dodgers season, Martin underwent hip surgery, and put up a slash-line .248/.347/.332 over 97 games, nearly identical totals to the year prior when he played in 143 games. After 2010, LA, which clearly didn’t value his game-calling skills, offered Martin a deal that would have actually been less than if he went to arbitration. In the end, Martin took his services to New York, for even less money.
In 2011, Martin found his Russell muscle in the friendlier confines of Yankee Stadium and was selected for his third All-Star Game. He also finally received credit for the success of a pitching staff, which helped New York reached the playoffs in his two seasons behind the dish. After a down offensive year in 2012, the Yankees, who were in rare cost-cutting mode then, reportedly never offered him a deal. The Pirates came calling, offering two years at $17m or three years at $21m. Martin took the former, a move that would ultimately set him up for a massive payday this offseason.
Pirates fans were shocked their team shelled out those kind of dollars for a catcher with numbers like Martin’s, but he’d win them over quickly by becoming a force in Pittsburgh, by developing into a well-rounded clubhouse leader on a team that reached the playoffs in back-to-back seasons after 20 consecutive losing campaigns.
During his two years with the Buccos, he allowed just seven passed balls and threw out nearly 40% of base-stealers. He also became known for picture-perfect pitch framing, a technique designed to entice as many borderline strike calls as possible from umpires, something Martin has mastered over previous seasons.
Pirates pitchers preached about Martin’s game calling – the trust built with hurlers such as Francisco Liriano, who was posting ERA’s in the fives before joining Pittsburgh, helped the Buccos build one of the best staffs in the bigs. Liriano knew he could throw a ball in the dirt and it wouldn’t get past Martin. That sort of confidence means everything to a hurler trying to pitch to his strengths.
Martin’s stellar staff work is now being applied in Toronto after the Jays splashed out big to wrestle Martin from Pittsburgh to the Rogers Centre. Most of spring training was used to establish relationships with the staff, with an emphasis on their three young starters – Hutchison, Daniel Norris and Aaron Sanchez – who are in their early twenties. Castro and fellow reliever Roberto Osuna are just 20 years of age.
Offensively he’s been given increased responsibility by hitting in second in the line-up – a slot that’s become home to players who make contact and drive the ball, and where some teams, like the Angels with Mike Trout, have been batting their bast hitter. Martin will be sandwiched between the electric Jose Reyes and his former college teammate, slugging Jose Batista, which means he will see his share of hittable pitches as a lineup that also includes the heavy hitting Josh Donaldson seeks to pile on the runs.
So, yes, expectations are high for the Blue Jays, who are seeking to reach the post-season for the first time since winning back-to-back World Series titles in 1992 and 1993, and also for Martin, whose career has come full circle.
Last week, during a two-game exhibition set in Quebec, Martin had the opportunity live out his “childhood dream” and play big league ball in his home city of Montreal for the first time. The Jays put down the red carpet, inviting his father, Russell Martin Sr, a jazz musician, to play the national anthems before allowing him onto the field to remove his son from the game. Fans roared in appreciation of Martin, who was emotional during the tribute.
This isn’t done for everyone of course: Martin has likely experienced more pomp and circumstance than anyone else on the roster, and all before playing a single game in Toronto as a Blue Jay. The catcher is on the fast track to becoming the face of the franchise, and of Canadian baseball. All he has to do now is deliver.
Extra bases
Stay away from Adrian Gonzalez. Don’t touch him, don’t even look at him. Dodgers fans want to keep their first baseman locked into whatever vortex he’s living in right now. Against the Padres on Wednesday he hit three home runs. That’s three on top of the other two he hit in the first couple of games this season. If you’re keeping score at home, you probably already know that’s five gone in the first three games of 2015, and yes, that’s a record to start a season. And get this – the guy insists he’s still not a home run hitter. Well, exhibit A says otherwise: judge for yourself.
That’s about the opposite to how Mat Latos started the season. In his first start Tuesday for his new team in Miami, Latos allowed seven runs in 0.2 innings of “work” against the Braves for a 94.50 ERA. The good news? If the hurler can manage to string together, say, six innings of shutout ball next time out, that incredible early season number will shrink to 10.16, and that’s progress. Meanwhile, the Marlins, expected to compete for a playoff spot this season, were swept in three games by the rebuilding Braves, who are expected to finish in or around the NL East basement.
